Hurricane watches were in effect from southwestern Louisiana across the border into Mississippi on Friday as concern mounted about the potential for Tropical Storm Ida to strike Louisiana as a major hurricane on Sunday.
As of Friday morning, Tropical Storm Ida was located about 75 miles north-northwest of Grand Cayman Island, moving to the northwest at a speed of 15 mph, with maximum sustained winds of 60 mph (95 kph).
Ida is already showing signs of getting stronger, with tropical-storm-force winds extended outward up to 80 miles (130 km) from the center, up from 70 miles when the storm was named on Thursday.
Ida is expected to cross western Cuba on Friday as a tropical storm and could cause life-threatening flash floods there and in the Cayman Islands.
The latest forecast from AccuWeather meteorologists indicates that the storm will continue to increase in strength and take a path into the central Gulf of Mexico after crossing over western Cuba later today.
The NHC says rapid intensification will then occur and Ida could be at or near major hurricane strength – defined as Category 3 or greater – by the time it approaches the US Gulf Coast on Sunday.
How quickly the system ramps up may determine where it makes landfall along the U.S. Gulf Coast. Ida is forecast to make landfall on Sunday, 16 years to the day that Hurricane Katrina made landfall in Louisiana.
Residents and businesses from the Texas coast to Louisiana and the panhandles of Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida, as well as fishing and petroleum operations, to closely monitor the progress of the developing situation as there may be little time to prepare once the system forms, begins a definitive path and strengthens rapidly along the way.
Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards declared an emergency Thursday in anticipation of the storm, according to CNN.
“Unfortunately, all of Louisiana’s coastline is currently in the forecast cone” for the storm, Edwards said. “Now is the time for people to finalize their emergency game plan, which should take into account the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. “By Saturday evening, everyone should be in the location where they intend to ride out the storm,” he said.
