a Tropical Storm Ida. to strengthen A major hurricane expected to reach Louisiana on Sunday evening – after 16 years Hurricane Katrina Hit the state as a devastating Category 3 hurricane.
Ida, which made its way through the Cayman Islands on Friday, is forecast to become a hurricane at major hurricane strength — Category 3 or higher — over or near the southeastern Gulf of Mexico when it heads toward the northern Gulf Coast on Sunday. Goes, According to the National Hurricane Center.
The center said a storm warning would be issued in the region later on Friday. A Hurricane Watch had already been issued for parts of the Alabama and Louisiana coasts. Forecasters said Ida poses a significant threat to New Orleans, which could take a particularly bad hit.
“Maximum sustained winds have increased to 60 mph with high gusts, and are expected to strengthen rapidly during the next few days,” the center said. The storm is expected to move away from the Cayman Islands and the Isle of Youth and western Cuba, then toward the southeast and central Gulf of Mexico before hitting the Gulf Coast.
A hurricane warning was in effect for the Isle of Youth and Cuba’s Pinar del Río and Artemisa provinces on Friday.
Coastal Mississippi and Alabama from southeast Louisiana could receive up to 16 inches of rain, with some areas receiving 20 inches of rain as of Monday morning.
And “the combination of a dangerous storm surge and tides would flood normally dry areas near the coast, which would be flooded by water rising inland from the shoreline,” according to the center.
From Morgan City, Louisiana, to Ocean Springs, Mississippi, water can rise up to 11 feet.
“The deepest water will be near the adjacent coast and east of the landfall location, where large and dangerous waves will rise,” the National Weather Service said.
On the east side of New Orleans on Lake Bourgne should expect 7 to 11 feet. The city’s floodplain walls will be tested against buoyancy, while its water pumps will be tasked with draining rain.
The Weather Service said overtopping of local dams was “possible”.
Governor John Bel Edwards issued a state of emergency on Thursday.
“Unfortunately, all of Louisiana’s coastline is currently in the forecast cone of Tropical Storm Ida, which is strengthening and could approach a major hurricane in Louisiana as Gulf conditions adapt to rapid intensification,” edwards said.
“The people of Louisiana have been tested time and again, and while it is my hope and prayer that this storm will not bring destruction to our state, we must be prepared to bear the brunt of the severe weather,” he said. “By Saturday evening, everyone should be in the place they intend to ride out the storm.”
Louisiana Comic Con, scheduled for August 28 and 29 in Lafayette, was canceled due to the impending storm.
“While canceling an event is always a difficult decision, the impending season is a concern for a number of reasons,” said Greg Hanks, one of the company’s owners. “We don’t want to brush off the warnings being issued and certainly don’t want anyone to be trapped and unable to make it home.”
The mayor of the Louisiana city of Grand Isle on a narrow barrier island in the bay called for a voluntary evacuation late Thursday before Ida and said a mandatory evacuation would take effect Friday.
“Ida certainly has the potential to get much worse,” said Brian McNoldy, a hurricane researcher at the University of Miami.
Ida joins a list of named storms—Irma, Ike, Ivan—which were some of the more historically damaging storms. This is because storms named “I” usually occur during peak hurricane season when atmospheric elements favor strong tropical cyclones and steering patterns favor landfall. Eleven “I” names have been retired, Most of any other alphabet letter on record.
Katherine Prosive And The Associated Press has contributed.