Though Isaac's cold rains and wind are still with us, New Orleans is now below the storm. The center of the "weather event" is about 70 miles northwest, close to Baton Rouge. Forecasters mostly believe that means the rains will be with us into Thursday. Around 8:00 tonight, the storm was downgraded to a tropical depression.

Issac is still hoveringring over the Greater New Orleans area, and Mayor Mitch held another press conference urging people to stay vigilant, mind the curfew issued "from dusk til dawn," and be easy on their toilets. 

Isaac slowly moved inland overnight, and continues to hover over southern Louisiana. At 11:00 AM, the eye was located near Houma, and the storm remained a Cat1 hurricane. Isaac is expected to be downgraded to a Tropical Storm tonight as it moves further inland. However the formation is projected to continue his visit to Southeast Louisiana for the next 12-24 hrs. 24 hr rainfall totals are about 8 in. at Audubon Park and 9 in. At Lakefront airport.

As of midnight, Wednesday morning, Entergy is reporting multiple outages in every neighborhood in the Crescent City, totaling over 110,000 New Orleanian households without power. And additional 105,000 plus customers in Jefferson Parish were also without electricity.

Hurricane Isaac is still a Category One and currently in the Gulf of Mexico, 30 miles southwest of the mouth of the Mississippi River. The center of the storm will pass over the Gulf within the next few hours, and is expected to slow down soon. Winds are at 80 miles per hour, and a 9.5 storm surge has been reported at Shell Beach, La. The storm will continue moving inland at 8mph, and is currently 75 miles away from New Orleans. Be safe, and stay with NoDef for all your Isaac coverage. 

Amid earlier predictions that Tropical Storm Isaac was very close to becoming a hurricane, the National Hurricane Center continued to classify the system as a Tropical Storm in its 10 p.m. advisory Monday night. Little strengthening was reported since this afternoon. Dry air on the north side of the storm is likely keeping hurricane status at bay, the advisory reported. However, conditions remain ripe for strengthening until the storm hits land.

With the city hunkering down to shelter in place, Mayor Mitch again gathered the press to address preparation as Tropical Storm Isaac gets closer to the Gulf Coast. The storm is forecast as a Category 1 and there are no plans for an evacuation at this time, but the Mayor reminded everyone to take precautions, and treat the storm seriously. And the city moved into the nitty gritty of storm prep, addressing boats, pets and standing water. Here's a play-by-play:

With a Hurricane Warning declared for most of Southeast Louisiana late this afternoon, New Orleans moved into "High Alert" mode Sunday afternoon as Cone of Uncertainty re-entered our vocabulary and Rouses started piling up gallons of water. Before the day was out, Bobby Jindal was spotted inside the state. To officially welcome the anxiety, Mayor Mitch called a press conference where he declared a state of emergency, and ran down precautions the City is taking. Here's a play-by-play:

by Mary-Devon Dupuy

The 2012 hurricane season has been kind to the Crescent City so far, but the Red Cross has just released a free Iphone app to remind us that we’re not in the clear yet. Until November, New Orleans residents need to gather emergency supplies, map out their evacuation routes, and come up with family plans before it’s too late. The new app, simply called, “Hurricane,” gives people all the information they could possibly need to prepare before a hurricane, and maybe even a little bit to help out during the throes of a big storm.

In what is becoming a daily rite, we return to Mayor Mitch's Press Room in City Hall for an update on the storm situation. Perhaps sensing fatigue, the Powers That Be have been keeping these real short, and today was no exception. Here are the key points.