Preparations began locally this morning for what could be the first major hurricane to threaten the central Gulf Coast since Hurricane Katrina, three years ago Friday.

Some models showed Gustav’s eye taking a path toward Morgan City in south central Louisiana, with associated bands of wind and rain stretching as far north as Interstate 20, west to the Texas state line and east to Mobile, Ala.

The tropical storm was stalled andgathering strength east of Jamaica this morning on its way to becoming a hurricane for the second time, possibly late today, the National Hurricane Center in Miami said.

Local lodging was already filling up, hoteliers said, and local officials started getting ready for southern evacuees from Mississippi and Louisiana.

“We’re just preparing at this point,” said American Red Cross Vicksburg Area Chapter executive director Beverly Connelly. She said nonperishable food items were being gathered this morning in preparation for evacuation orders from state and local governments.

The decision on local shelters is expected to be made at a 9 a.m. Friday meeting of Vicksburg and Warren County emergency management officials and such nonprofits as Red Cross. Entergy Mississippi officials also are expected at the meeting, said Gwen Coleman, Warren County Emergency Management director.

“Right now, we’re just looking at sheltering,” she said. “We want to make sure we all know what we’re doing.”

Mayor Laurence Leyens said he and other city officials will be visible if Gustav remains an inland weather threat after landfall, which has been projected to make landfall anywhere between the upper Texas coast to the Florida panhandle.

“We’re looking at this as an exercise opportunity,” Leyens said, adding city emergency management functions director Anna Booth will participate in Friday’s meeting with county and other officials.

Vacation has been suspended until further notice for Warren County Sheriff’s Department personnel, Sheriff Martin Pace said.

The 50,000-square-foot Vicksburg Convention Center, which became the long-term shelter for up to 1,000 evacuees after Katrina hit Aug. 29, 2005, will not be used this time around, Connelly said.

Warren County Board of Supervisors President Richard George said fuel supplies for county road crews are stored in case of a shortage.

Other potential government-sponsored services such as housing and food assistance will not be firmed up until after federal and state emergency declarations.

Local hotels reported being at or near capacity this morning.

“We’re packed 100 percent,” said Paul Patel, regional director of operations for Southern Hospitality Services, parent of Holiday Inn Express and Comfort Inn and Courtyard locations in Vicksburg.

Gustav moved little during the morning hours but was expected to resume a motion toward the westsouthwest near 6 mph. A turn west was expected later today and to the west-northwest on Friday. The center of Gustav is expected to pass very close to Jamaica later today.

Maximum sustained winds increased to near 70 mph with higher gusts, the Hurricane Center said, predicting Gustav would strengthen later today to the hurricane status of 74 mph.

Tropical storm force winds extend up to 50 miles from the center.

Evacuations had not been ordered along the coastal counties in Mississippi this morning, but the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency were to decide today whether to do so for those in temporary trailers issued after Katrina.

Gustav, the hurricane, is blamed for flooding in Haiti and the Dominican Republic that left 23 dead.

This storm is particularly worrisome because few surrounding wind currents are capable of shearing off its top and diminishing its power, the hurricane center said. “Combined with the deep warm waters, rapid intensification could occur in a couple of days,” a spokesman said.

On fears that the storm would disrupt oil production in the Gulf of Mexico, the price of a barrel of oil jumped above $120 this morning from $113 early in the week. Gas in Vicksburg was up about 6 cents