At 11:00 p.m. EDT August 26 , approximately 56 hours before Katrina 's landfall near Buras , Louisiana , the National Hurricane Center had predicted that the New Orleans metropolitan area could face a direct hit by the storm . At 11:00 p.m. EDT August 26 , approximately 56 hours before Katrina 's landfall near Buras , Louisiana , the National Hurricane Center had predicted that the Greater New Orleans area could face a direct hit by the storm .