According to the Associated Press, Ernesto is now Category 1.  By Thursday it could be Category 3.  Katrina was Category 3 when it his New Orleans a year ago last Tuesday.

Reuters: Ernesto could become dangerous Gulf hurricane. Associated Press: New storm worries La. after Katrina. NOAA: Public Advisory on Ernesto. NCH Advisory: Computer Map. NOAA: Sat Picture.

Crunchgear points to some interesting research into hurricanes going on at the Southeastern University Research Association in conjunction with IBM.  They have built a grid to study hurricanes.  Check out Blake’s post, “Anti-Hurricane Grid Computing.”