Tropical Storm Gustav is forecasted to make landfall on the central Gulf Coast by Monday and could make landfall as a category three storm, forcing University administrators into planning mode.The storm is expected to strengthen into a hurricane in the next 24 hours, and by late Saturday is expected to be a category three storm, said Jay Grymes, University climatologist.Hurricane Katrina was a category three storm when it hit the Gulf Coast region nearly three years ago.The affected areas of the storm could see inclement weather as early as Friday, Grymes said.Barry Keim, Louisiana state climatologist, said on average, the error level on the five-day forecast is about 300 miles. That means the storm could hit anywhere between Houston and the Florida panhandle.The state might begin its hurricane response activity during the early stages of the weekend, Grymes said.Kristine Calongne, University spokeswoman, said the safety of students and faculty is the key determinent for canceling class. The Emergency Operations Center, a group of key administrators and public safety officers, works in conjunction with the administration to determine if classes are canceled because of inclement weather. “Our goal is to keep the University up and running and safe,” Calongne said.Decisions concerning class cancellation are evaluated on a case-by-case basis because each storm has an unpredictable path, Calongne said.D’Ann Morris, Emergency Operations Center interim director, said all portions of the campus have begun hurricane preparations and are required to complete checklists monitoring the progress of their preparations. Fuel, food and water levels will be closely monitored by the EOC to ensure there is enough to keep the University going in the event of a disaster.Morris said it’s too soon for the University to consider canceling classes.”The chancellor and the provost are the only two people who can cancel classes at LSU,” Morris said. Astrid Merget, executive vice chancellor and provost, said the University is working with state and local authorities to monitor and make decisions concerning the storm.”We are in high gear awaiting whatever call may come,” Merget said.The University should know about closures within the next couple of days, Merget said.Saturday’s season opening football game between LSU and Appalachian State has not been canceled, but fans trekking to Tiger Stadium may be delayed in their arrival.”I don’t think it’s going to be rained out. I think the issue may be a significant traffic problem,” Grymes said. “Saturday evening, traffic in the Baton Rouge area could be a major headache.”The storm should move along the southern side of Cuba today, Keim said. On that trajectory, the storm will be fueled by favorable intensification conditions such as warm water and favorable upper-air conditions.”The bottom line is all the ingredients are there for this storm to really gain in intensity,” Keim said.Keim said Louisiana’s best hope would be for the storm to head east, meaning the state would catch the west — the weaker — side of the storm.”The Hurricane Center’s last track had it coming in just on the east side of New Orleans,” Keim said. “Right around the area Katrina came in.”The EOC was created post-Katrina to help the University in a similar situation.”If there is any silver lining that came out of Katrina, it would be that LSU is much better prepared for a crisis than they were before,” Calongne said.—–Contact Lindsey Meaux at [email protected]