Hurricane Gustav came ashore in Louisiana Monday, leaving its mark on the state and the Gulf Coast as a whole. The Category 2 hurricane produced numerous tornadoes from Florida to Louisiana, along with significant flooding and power outages.

Winds were measured well over 100 mph near the storm`s center, including a gust of 111 mph at a WeatherBug Live Tracking station in Arabi, La., early Monday afternoon, and to hurricane force in Baton Rouge and Alexandria, La., during the late afternoon and evening.

Several tornadoes were reported Monday, including ones near Stennis Air Force Base, Miss., and Pensacola Naval Base, Fla., in Greensburg, Marksville, and Lake Catherine, La. Strong winds also uprooted trees in Houma, La., and Hattiesburg, Miss. More than 800,000 residents are without power from Louisiana to Alabama from Gustav. The electric companies are bringing in extra help from across the region. Even so, many residents could be without power through the end of the week.

Storm surges on Monday caused significant flooding in the west end of Dauphin Island, Ala., in Gulfport, Miss., where water crossed U.S. Route 90, as well as in Grand Isle, La., where a 5-foot surge was reported.

A privately-owned levee in Plaquemines Parish was breached by the water early Monday evening. Workers spent much of the evening trying to shore up the levee to save the development behind it. Water overtopped the levees protecting New Orleans` Upper Ninth Ward from the Industrial Canal. Despite water also seeping through seals in the levee, the walls were never breached. Pumps worked at near-capacity all day to drain rainwater gathering in New Orleans.

In spite of the path of destruction wrought by Hurricane Gustav, New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin said Tuesday that people would be returning in a matter of days, not weeks.

In Baton Rouge, Louisiana State University will remain closed until next Monday, September 8th, in order for clean-up efforts and damage assessment to continue.

Meanwhile, the New Orleans Saints have announced that they will indeed go ahead with this home opener this Sunday against Tampa Bay as scheduled.

President Bush is planning to visit Louisiana today to assess hurricane damage from Gustav.

So far, there have been a dozen U.S. death attributed Gustav. Four from a car accident in Temple, Ga., two when a tree fell on a house in Baton Rouge and six, mostly elderly patients during evacuations from nursing homes and hospitals. Dozens more were killed in landslides and flooding in Haiti, Dominican Republic and Jamaica when Gustav roared through the northern Caribbean.

Have you been impacted by Hurricane Gustav? Share Your Story with other WeatherBug users.

WeatherBug meteorologists will continue to track Gustav as it moves inland from the Gulf Coast, and provide the latest information on the storm. Be sure to check your WeatherBug often.

Source: AP, National Weather Service, Local Media.

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Story Image: Ships and barges that broke moorings and ran aground as a result of Hurricane Gustav clutter the Industrial Canal in New Orleans, La., Tuesday, Sept. 2, 2008. (Eric Gay, AP)

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