Battening down in advance of Tropical Storm Isaac, New Orleanscredit unions were preparing Monday to close early to giveemployees time to prepare for the coming storm.

The storm was expected to make landfall as early as Tuesdaynight or Wednesday morning, following much the same path asHurricane Katrina, which hammered New Orleans and coastalLouisiana, Mississippi and Alabama seven years earlier to the dayon Aug. 29, 2005.

RELATED: CUNA, GTE Financial Still Ready for GOP Party in Tampa

While Isaac is not expected to be as nearly as powerful a storm,“our credit unions are taking the usual precautionary disastersteps with many planning to be closed tomorrow,” Connie Major,executive vice president of the Louisiana Credit Union League, saidMonday. The league officers were closed Monday as staffersprepared.

Credit unions in Florida, Alabama and Mississippi also werereacting to the tropical storm.

“Some of our credit unions on the Gulf Coast are preparing togive out extra cash today and closing at noon today, and will beclosed tomorrow,” said Charles Elliott, president/CEO of theMississippi Credit Union League.

Meanwhile, the $5.2 billion Tampa-based Suncoast Schools FCUkept all its 51 branches closed until noon Monday as the stormbrushed by on its way west, also pushing the GOP national convention back a day.

But the $1.2 billion Pen Air FCU in Pensacola on the Floridapanhandle is more in the expected path of the storm and said it wasclosing all its branches at noon on Tuesday with plans to re-openon Thursday.

“This is provided there is no damage caused by the storm,” PenAir said in a statement, adding that ATMs at two of its branchesare operated by generator and will remain accessible in event of apower outage.

And in Alabama, Steve Swofford, president/CEO of the $517million Alabama FCU in Tuscaloosa, said Monday, “We do expect tofollow the governor's order and close by 4 p.m. this afternoon twoof our branches at Gulf Shores and Orange Beach. But it looks likenow the storm will hit west of us.”

The NCUA said Friday it was ready to activate its emergencyplans if necessary.