Company's Coming!

Bad weather is coming to Precinct 333! It looks like we have about a 38% chance of this one making landfall right here.

The low pressure remains of Hurricane Ivan that wandered in the Gulf of Mexico today swelled into a tropical storm that's expected to assault the Texas and Louisiana coasts Thursday.

The storm, with sustained winds of 40 mph at 8:30 p.m., likely will make landfall between western Louisiana and Houston late today or early Friday, said Tom Bradshaw, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service's southern regional office in Fort Worth.

Surf is high down along Todville Road, the main coastal road here in Precinct 333. When we reach high tide, I expect to see the road flood in spots -- though that still leaves the Loyal Opposition (and the dog) a couple of ways out if it gets too bad.

But we've ridden a couple storms out in our home, and expect to do the same with this one. The fury was expended elsewhere.

Still, keep all of us in your thoughts and prayers.

And by the way -- since it died down to a low pressure center it may get a new name.

Bradshaw said the storm, which had been called called Tropical Depression Ivan earlier today, would likely be renamed Matthew once it reached tropical storm strength. The hurricane center had not changed the name by 9 p.m.