emergency. >> right now we believe that any overtopping of levies will be relatively short duration of 12 hours but that is a very, very significant hazard and so we're asking everyone to take this very seriously. >> local media reports more than 200 flood gates are closed. many around the mississippi river. let's get to meteorologist derek van dam live in the weather center. derek? >> the 5 a.m. national hurricane watch said this is a disturbance, not a storm yet. we still expect that to form and organize within the next 12 to 24 hours due to the favorable conditions across the gulf of mexico. here's the official track again coming in to us. this is the first time i'm actually seeing it. it has shifted a little to the east. that doesn't bode well to new orleans. we'll explain that. we anticipate hurricane conditions making landfall