National Hurricane Center: ‘Hurricane Ida could make landfall as one of the strongest storms on record to ever hit Louisiana’

Published by BBNTEAM at August 29, 2021

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Posted: Sunday, August 29, 2021. 12:31 pm CST.

By Benjamin Flowers: The United States National Hurricane Center (NHC) says that Hurricane Ida is nearing landfall in southeast Louisiana as a powerful Category 4 storm, and could tie for the strongest storm to ever hit Louisiana if it continues its current path.

As of 10:00 a.m. Central Standard Time (CST) Ida had winds of 150 miles per hour. The storm is expected to bring life-threatening storm surge, catastrophic winds, and dangerous rainfall flooding.

“If Ida makes landfall with 150-mph winds, then it would tie as the strongest hurricane landfall on record in Louisiana based on maximum sustained winds. The other two hurricanes to make landfall in the state with winds that high are Laura from a year ago and an 1856 hurricane,” the NHC said.

The NHC noted that weather authorities have issued an extreme wind warning for far southeast Louisiana until at least 1:30 p.m. CDT. This means winds of 115 to 150 mph are possible in this area.

Ida is centered just south of Grand Isle, Louisiana, and is moving to the northwest at nearly 13 mph. Landfall in southeast Louisiana should occur in the next few hours.

Areas in the northern Gulf Coast have already begun to experience bands of heavy rain and damaging wind gusts are ahead of Ida’s landfall.

One elevated weather station recorded gusts of up to 120 mph Wind gusts over along the far southeast coast of Louisiana. Storm surge has reportedly pushed water levels 5 to 6 feet above normal in some parts of Louisiana, and Waveland, Mississippi.