At 8:00 a.m. EDT, Gustav's maximum sustained winds had decreased to near 120-mph, but Gustav was a Category-3 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson scale. Some re-strengthening was forecasted during the next 24-hours...and it was thought that Gustav could regain Category-4 strength later on Sunday, or Sunday night. Gustav's center was located near latitude 24.7 north, and longitude 85.5 west, or about 375-miles southeast of the mouth of the Mississippi River.

Gustav was moving toward the northwest near 16-mph, and was expected to continue moving in that direction for the next couple of days. Minimum central pressure reported by the Air Force Hurricane hunter was 960-millibars.

The National Hurricane Center noted that "On this track Gustav would be moving across the central Gulf of Mexico on Sunday, and would make landfall on the northern Gulf coast on Monday.