Hurricane Ida tore through western Cuba on Friday and a Category 1 storm – and is expected to slam the US Gulf Coast as an even stronger cyclone Sunday, putting states from Louisiana to Florida on alert for fierce destruction.
At the 8:00 p.m. advisory from the National Hurricane Center, Ida was 90 miles (145 kilometers) southwest of Havana, Cuba, with maximum sustained winds of 80 mph (130 kph) with higher gusts. Ida’s present movement is to the northwest at 15 mph (24 kph).
The storm is expected to strengthen in the Gulf of Mexico ahead of a US landfall on Sunday evening. A general motion to the northwest is expected to continue until the storm reaches the northern Gulf Coast on Sunday.
Ida, which formed as a tropical storm in the Caribbean on Thursday, made landfall Friday afternoon on Cuba’s Isle of Youth, or Isla de la Juventud, the US National Hurricane Center said.
“Wind damage and storm surge will be life-threatening from Louisiana to the Florida Gulf Coast. Residents should also prepare for long-duration power outages,” CNN meteorologist Chad Myers said Friday.
Storm advisories and alerts
Hurricane warnings are in effect from Cameron, Louisiana, to the Mississippi-Alabama state line, including the New Orleans metro area.
A storm surge watch is also in effect from the Texas-Louisiana state line to the Alabama-Florida state line, including Vermilion Bay, Lake Borgne, Lake Pontchartrain, Lake Maurepas, and Mobile Bay.

Storm surge amounts are expected to be as follows:
-Morgan City, Louisiana, to Ocean Springs, Mississippi, including Lake Borgne: 7 to 11 feet
-Rockefeller Wildlife Refuge, Louisiana, to Morgan City, Louisiana, including Vermilion Bay: 4 to 7 feet
-Ocean Springs, Mississippi, to the Mississippi-Alabama border: 4 to 7 feet
-Alabama coast including Mobile Bay: 3 to 5 feet
-Lake Pontchartrain: 4 to 6 feet
-Lake Maurepas: 3 to 5 feet
-Texas-Louisiana border to Rockefeller Wildlife Refuge, Louisiana: 2 to 4 feet
Needless to say, but Ida is expected to make landfall as a major hurricane on the 16th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina’s landfalls in southeast Louisiana and Mississippi on Aug. 29, 2005.
The NHC said “potentially devastating wind damage could occur where the core of Ida moves onshore” Sunday.
Downed trees, widespread power outages, and some structural damage are possible in the hurricane watch areas possibly as early as Saturday night and continuing into Sunday, including the New Orleans metro area.
