The latest forecast on Saturday had Ida as a Category 2 storm. The next forecast by the National Hurricane Center will be at 1 a.m. CT. Storms hit category 3 status when the sustained winds are at least 111 mph, and Category 4 storms begin at 130 mph. A Category 3 or 4 by sunrise is not out of the question as Ida roars toward the Louisiana and Mississippi coasts.
Several parishes in southeast Louisiana issued mandatory evacuations, but many who live in South Louisiana have already begun their own evacuations—something ignited by the shellshock of Katrina, and one menacing storm after another over the last fie years, 10 years, 16 years and last century. "One of the things we were told today by the National Weather Service during our unified command group meeting is that they are are extremely confident in the current track and the intensity as forecasted for Hurricane Ida. And you don't really hear them speaking very often about that level of confidence," Edwards said.
Ida formed as a tropical storm in the Caribbean Sea a few days ago and gained intensity as a Category 1 storm Friday as it moved over Cuba. By Saturday afternoon, as the storm was moving northwest of Cuba, the outer bands reached from Cuba to Lafayette, Louisiana, and all the way east to the Naples and Fort Meyers region of southwest Florida.
Scary...will it make Katrina look like a tropical storm
HurricaneIda Historically, this date, August 28th... + or - ~7 days, is a very bad time to be anywhere near the GulfCoast .
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