Ida is a very dangerous Category 4 storm

Hurricane Ida is now a category 4 storm. The track still has the storm headed straight for Houma. Sustained winds are at 140 mph. A gust was recently recored at 167 mph. A very dangerous storm surge is expected over Terrebonne and Lafourche parishes. Port Fourchon, LA to Mouth of the Mississippi River…12-16 ft Morgan City, LA to Port Fourchon, LA …8-12 ft.  Hurricane conditions are expected to start later this morning with tropical storm conditions expected to begin by early this morning.

At 400 AM CDT (0900 UTC), the center of Hurricane Ida was located near latitude 28.0 North, longitude 89.1 West. Ida is moving toward the northwest near 15 mph (24 km/h), and this general motion should continue through tonight and early Monday, followed by a slower northward motion on Monday afternoon. A northeastward turn is forecast by Monday night. On the forecast track, the center of Ida will continue moving across the north-central Gulf of Mexico this morning, and make landfall along the coast of southeastern Louisiana within the hurricane warning area this afternoon or evening. Ida is then forecast to move well inland over portions of Louisiana and western Mississippi on Monday and Monday night.

Satellite and Doppler radar data indicate that maximum sustained winds have increased to near 140 mph (220 km/h) with higher gusts. Ida is a category 4 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale. Some additional strengthening is forecast, and Ida is expected to be an extremely dangerous major hurricane when it makes landfall along the Louisiana coast this afternoon. Rapid weakening is expected after landfall.

Hurricane-force winds extend outward up to 40 miles (65 km) from the center and tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 140 miles (220 km). The estimated minimum central pressure is 946 mb (27.94 inches).