8/29/2021 – 8:34 a.m.
NOAA HURRICANE HUNTERS FIND IDA HAS CONTINUED TO STRENGTHEN.
EXTREMELY DANGEROUS CATEGORY 4 HURRICANE IDA EXPECTED TO MAKE LANDFALL IN SOUTHEASTERN LOUISIANA LATER TODAY.
Reports from a NOAA Hurricane Hunter aircraft indicate that maximum sustained winds have increased to 145 mph (230 km/h).
A NOAA C-MAN station at Southwest Pass, Louisiana, recently reported a sustained wind of 60 mph (96 km/h) and a gust to 74 mph (118 km/h).
SUMMARY OF 500 AM CDT…1000 UTC…INFORMATION
LOCATION…28.2N 89.3W
ABOUT 80 MI…130 KM SSE OF GRAND ISLE LOUISIANA
ABOUT 65 MI…100 KM S OF THE MOUTH OF THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER
MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS…145 MPH…230 KM/H
PRESENT MOVEMENT…NW OR 315 DEGREES AT 15 MPH…24 KM/H
MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE…946 MB…27.93 INCHES
Update: That’s just 7 mph from making Ida a Category 5 storm.
It was 60 miles south of the mouth of the Mississippi River, NHC forecasters said in a 7 a.m. ET update, as the storm continued its march toward Louisiana and the Gulf Coast at 15 mph.
The hurricane has quickly increased in intensity since striking Cuba on Friday, threatening to be an “extremely dangerous major hurricane” when it makes its projected landfall along the Louisiana coast Sunday afternoon.
Ida gained 35 mph in sustained wind speed in just six hours.
A hurricane warning remains in effect from Intracoastal City, Louisiana, to the mouth of the Pearl River and includes Lake Pontchartrain, Lake Maurepas and New Orleans.
A tornado watch is in effect until 8 p.m. ET for parts of Alabama, Florida, Louisiana and Mississippi, according to the Storm Prediction Center. Quick-moving, brief tornadoes will be possible throughout Sunday.
There is also a danger of life-threatening storm surge inundation Sunday in areas along the coasts of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama.
