It's now Hurricane Isaac as New Orleans hunkers down

Story by NBC News

Written by Miguel Llanos

Updated at 2 p.m. ET: Isaac finally reached hurricane strength on Tuesday, closing in on New Orleans and the entire Louisiana coast as a slow-moving giant of a system expected to make landfall Tuesday night or early Wednesday.

"We fully expect that we will get the brunt of it," New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu said at a briefing Tuesday afternoon. "We think that we're well prepared," he added, while emphasizing that much depends on how well residents heed warnings to hunker down.

President Barack Obama added his voice to those of local officials urging residents to hunker down or evacuate if told to do so. "Now's not the time to tempt fate," he said in brief comments Tuesday morning. "Listen to your local officials and follow their directions, including if they tell you to evacuate."

At 12:20 p.m. ET, Isaac had 75 mph sustained winds, a mile above the speed needed for a Category 1 hurricane.
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