Update 12 PM August 30
Hurricane Ida made landfall at 11:55 a.m. Sunday as a Category 4 storm with 145 mph winds at Port Fourchon, Louisiana. The storm hit Louisiana on the 16th anniversary of when Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans.
Ida will continue to weaken and move farther inland over western and central Mississippi Monday afternoon and is then forecast to move over northeastern Mississippi tonight, and across the Tennessee Valley Tuesday and near the central Appalachians on Wednesday, bringing heavy rain and a flash flood threat.
Update 9 AM August 29
Extremely dangerous category 4 hurricane Ida is expected to make landfall in southeastern Louisiana in the next few hours.
Life-threatening storm surge and hurricane-force winds are reaching southeastern Louisiana as Ida bears down on the coast with 150 mph sustained winds, gusting to 185 mph.
Total rainfall accumulations of 10 to 18 inches with isolated maximum amounts of 24 inches are possible across southeast Louisiana into far southern Mississippi through Monday.
Update 11 AM August 28
Hurricane Ida is rapidly gaining strength Saturday over the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico and is forecast to hit southeastern Louisiana as an "extremely dangerous" Category 4 storm on Sunday evening. Sunday is the 16th anniversary of catastrophic Hurricane Katrina which made landfall in that same area.
Ida has the potential to cause catastrophic damage from high winds, nearly two feet of rain and up to 15 feet of storm surge inundation. New Orleans is likely to see significant impacts, including hurricane-force winds and a storm surge that could test the city's post-Hurricane Katrina flood protection system.
Update 4 PM August 27
The newest forecast from the National Hurricane Center strengthens Ida to a category 4 storm with 140 mph winds before making landfall in Louisiana Sunday.
A Hurricane Warning has been issued for the coast of Louisiana from Intracoastal City to the Mouth of the Pearl River, including Lake Pontchartrain, Lake Maurepas, and Metropolitan New Orleans.
Update 1 PM August 27
Ida has strengthened to a category 1 hurricane in the Caribbean sea and is forecast to rapidly intensify to a major hurricane before making landfall on the coast of Louisiana Sunday.
A Hurricane Watch is in effect for Cameron, Louisiana to the Mississippi/Alabama border, Lake Pontchartrain, Lake Maurepas, and Metropolitan New Orleans.
Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards declared a state of emergency Thursday evening due to the potential impacts from Ida. New Orleans issued its first evacuations for coastal communities outside the city's levee system that protects from flooding.
Ida is forecast to hit the area Sunday which is 16 years to the day from when Katrina made landfall in Louisiana and Mississippi as a catastrophic Category 3 storm.
The storm will send higher long period swells into south Texas giving us an increased risk of rip currents, hazardous/rough seas, and minor coastal flooding during high tide beginning Sunday and persisting through at least Tuesday.
Original Post- 6 PM August 26
Tropical Storm Ida, the ninth-named storm of the 2021 Atlantic season, formed Thursday afternoon in the Caribbean as it moved to the west of Jamaica on a northwest track at 14 mph.
The storm is forecast to move over western Cuba Friday night then emerge into the Gulf and strengthen as it tracks to the north-northwest toward the central Gulf Coast through the weekend.
Conditions are favorable for the storm to quickly strengthen from a category 1 hurricane Saturday to a high end category 2 or low end category 3 hurricane before making landfall, possibly with winds near 110 mph.
The latest forecast from the National Hurricane Center shows Ida making landfall on the central Louisiana coast by early Monday morning.
For the Coastal Bend, high period swells are expected to arrive on the mid-Texas coast Sunday with seas reaching up to 9 feet with 10-13 second periods by Sunday night into Monday. This will give us a high rip current risk and minor coastal flooding for early next week.
