Hurricane Ida is slowly moving NW across inland SE Louisiana now. It made landfall shortly before noon today near Port Fourchon. It will now start to turn north and eventually northeast. As it moves ashore the wind field will spread out considerably, and Tropical Storm Force winds will overtake much of southern Mississippi and western Alabama. Hurricane Force conditions will consume most of southeastern Louisiana.
Current Observations
LOCATION…29.2N 90.3W
ABOUT 20 MI…30 KM W OF GRAND ISLE LOUISIANA
ABOUT 55 MI…90 KM SSW OF NEW ORLEANS LOUISIANA
PRESENT MOVEMENT…NW OR 320 DEGREES AT 13 MPH…20 KM/H
MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS…150 MPH…240 KM/H
MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE…930 MB…27.46 INCHES
MAX SUSTAINED WINDS 130 KT WITH GUSTS TO 160 KT.
WIND ….. DISTANCE FROM CENTER
64 KT……. 45NE 35SE 20SW 30NW.
50 KT……. 70NE 60SE 40SW 60NW.
34 KT…….130NE 110SE 80SW 110NW.
Brief Discussion
At 100 PM CDT (1800 UTC), the eye of Hurricane Ida was located by NWS Doppler radar near latitude 29.2 North, longitude 90.3 West. Ida is moving toward the northwest near 13 mph (20 km/h), and a slightly slower northwestward motion should continue through this evening. A turn toward the north should occur by Monday morning, followed by a slightly faster northeastward motion by Monday night and Tuesday. On the forecast track, the center of Ida will move farther inland over southeastern Louisiana this afternoon and tonight. Ida is then forecast to move well inland over portions of Louisiana and western Mississippi Monday and Monday night, and move across the Tennessee Valley on Tuesday.
Maximum sustained winds are near 150 mph (240 km/h) with higher gusts. Ida is an extremely dangerous category 4 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale. Rapid weakening is expected during the next day or so, however Ida is forecast to remain a hurricane through late tonight.
Hurricane-force winds extend outward up to 50 miles (85 km) from the center and tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 150 miles (240 km). A Florida Coastal Monitoring Observation Tower at South Lafourche Airport recently reported a sustained wind of 70 mph (113 km/h) and a wind gust of 102 mph (164 km/h). A sustained wind of 47 mph (60 km/h) and a gust of 63 mph (102 km/h) were recently reported at Lakefront Airport in New Orleans.
A NOAA National Ocean Service tide gauge in Shell Beach, Louisiana, recently reported a water level of 6.8 feet above mean higher high water, which is an approximation of inundation in that area.
The estimated minimum central pressure is 930 mb (27.46 inches).
Local Impacts
STORM SURGE: The combination of a dangerous storm surge and the tide will cause normally dry areas near the coast to be flooded by rising waters moving inland from the shoreline. The water could reach the following heights above ground somewhere in the indicated areas if the peak surge occurs at the time of high tide…
Port Fourchon, LA to Mouth of the Mississippi River…12-16 ft
Morgan City, LA to Port Fourchon, LA…8-12 ft
Mouth of the Mississippi River to Bay St. Louis, MS including Lake Borgne…8-12 ft
Bay St. Louis, MS to Ocean Springs, MS…5-8 ft
Burns Point, LA to Morgan City, LA…5-8 ft
Lake Pontchartrain…5-8 ft
Ocean Springs, MS to MS/AL border…4-7 ft
Lake Maurepas…4-6 ft
East of Intracoastal City, LA to Burns Point, LA including Vermilion Bay…3-5 ft
MS/AL border to AL/FL border including Mobile Bay…3-5 ft
Rockefeller Wildlife Refuge, LA to Intracoastal City, LA…1-3 ft
AL/FL border to Okaloosa/Walton County Line including Pensacola Bay…1-3 ft
Overtopping of local levees outside of the Hurricane and Storm Damage Risk Reduction System is possible where local inundation values may be higher than those shown above.
The deepest water will occur along the immediate coast near and to the east of the landfall location, where the surge will be accompanied by large and dangerous waves. Surge-related flooding depends on the relative timing of the surge and the tidal cycle, and can vary greatly over short distances. For information specific to your area, please see products issued by your local National Weather Service forecast office.
WIND: Catastrophic wind damage is likely near the core of Ida as it moves inland over southeastern Louisiana through this afternoon.
Hurricane conditions will spread farther inland within the Hurricane Warning area over southeastern Louisiana through tonight. Tropical storm conditions will also spread inland over portions of Louisiana and Mississippi tonight and Monday.
RAINFALL: Heavy rainfall from Ida will continue to impact the southeast Louisiana coast this morning, spreading northeast into the Lower Mississippi Valley later today into Monday. Total rainfall accumulations of 10 to 18 inches with isolated maximum amounts of 24 inches are possible across southeast Louisiana into far southern Mississippi through Monday. This is likely to result in life-threatening flash and urban flooding and significant riverine flooding impacts.
Coastal Alabama to the far western Florida panhandle: 5 to 10 inches with isolated maximum amounts of 15 inches, today through Tuesday morning. Central Mississippi: 4 to 8 inches with isolated maximum amounts of 12 inches, tonight through Monday night.
TORNADOES: Tornadoes will be most likely through Monday over southeast Louisiana, southern Mississippi, southwest Alabama, and the western Florida Panhandle. A few tornadoes are also possible farther north across much of Mississippi and Alabama on Monday.
SURF: Swells will affect the northern Gulf coast through early Monday. These swells are likely to cause life-threatening surf and rip current conditions. Please consult products from your local weather office.
