Topline
Many residents fled Hurricane Ida's wrath over the Gulf of Mexico, and flooded the highways of southern Louisiana on Saturday morning.
Hurricane Ida is expected to intensify rapidly before making landfall in Louisiana on Sunday. NOAA
The Key Facts
Ida sustained maximum winds of 85 mph on Saturday morning. However, forecasters indicated that conditions favor the storm moving through a rapid intensification phase late in the day. Hurricane Ida is expected to transform into a Category 4 storm in 24 hours and will make landfall on the Louisiana coast late Sunday with sustained winds at least 130 mph. The storm surge will pose a greater threat than winds. Waters are expected to rise to 15 feet above the normal tide level in coastal southeastern Louisiana. This is a "extremely dangerous flood" according to the National Hurricane Center. This amount of water could cause flooding to some low-lying areas in south Louisiana. However, the huge levee system that protects New Orleans and its suburbs should withstand. Mayor LaToya Cantrell (D), stated Friday that there wasn't enough time to issue a mandatory evacuation across the entire city. However, she expressed concern about serious impacts and instead issued a voluntary evacuation order which covers almost all residents. Mandatory evacuations were already in place for New Orleans' portions that are not under levee protection. They also apply to many low-lying areas to the south, where more than 250,000 have been asked to evacuate.
Important Quote
The National Hurricane Center stated that "actions to protect life or property should be taken immediately in the warning zone." A hurricane warning is in effect from Intracoastal City in central Louisiana to the Louisiana-Mississippi border, and includes metropolitan New Orleans.
What to Watch
Saturday morning's dire warning from the New Orleans National Weather Service was issued by the office. It warned of "devastating and catastrophic" effects that could make areas uninhabitable for several weeks or months. Forecasters warned that even buildings with sturdy walls and roofs could collapse under the impact of Hurricane Irma. This would be exacerbated by the "greatly increased" damage from large airborne projectiles. In south Louisiana, power and communications disruptions are likely to be widespread.
Important Background
Ida became a tropical hurricane in the western Caribbean Sea on Thursday, before becoming a hurricane on Friday just before it crossed Cuba. The Gulf of Mexico is ripe to intensify explosively, thanks to its warm water temperatures, low wind shear, and lack of dry air. The storm is expected to move directly across an area with high oceanic heat content. This is an area where warm water temperatures reach deeper than the surface. After moving through pockets of high oceanic warmth content, many of the strongest storms of history, such as Hurricane Michael in 2018 or Hurricane Katrina 2005, intensified rapidly.
Surprising Fact
A Sunday's landfall would occur 16 years after Hurricane Katrina hit Louisiana on August 29, 2005.
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A major hurricane could hit the Gulf Coast in the coming days (Forbes).
