Between 80 and 100 storm systems form each year as bodies of hot, dry air over the Sahara Desert, pick up moisture as they move out across the Atlantic.
And farmers and fishermen concede that the only way to get that much rain quickly -- from a tropical storm or hurricane -- would cause more damage than the worst dry spell ever in one the wettest places on Earth.
Kovacs' coverage plans included alternate storm newsrooms in three different locations, including a hotel in the French Quarter, which stayed high and dry through Katrina.