Just before 12 PM on Sunday, Hurricane Ida made landfall as a strong Category 4 storm, with maximum sustained winds at 150 miles per hour. That matches Hurricane Laura and the 1856 hurricane known as the “Last Island” as strongest wind speeds ever recorded in Louisiana. In Grand Isle which is just northeast of Port Fourchon, winds are blowing in excess of 100 miles per hour.
Hurricane Ida rapidly increased its strength, going from a Category 2 storm on Saturday night to a Category 4 hurricane Sunday morning.
The 10 AM forecast from the National Hurricane Center says Ida is moving northwest at 13 miles per hour.
After landfall, Ida is expected to take a more northerly route passed Houma and Thibodaux and just to the east of Baton Rouge, while maintaining hurricane status. The center of Ida is expected to be a tropical storm near Natchez, Mississippi on Monday morning.
The National Hurricane Center is concerned about the storm surge potential of this storm. A storm surge of 12 to 16 feet is expected between Port Fourchon and the mouth of the Mississippi River. An 8 to 12 feet storm surge between Morgan City and Port Fourchon and the mouth of the Mississippi River and Bay St. Louis.
Catastrophic wind damage is likely near the core of the storm when it makes landfall. Total rainfall accumulations of 10 to 18 inches with isolated maximum amounts of 24 inches is possible in southeast Louisiana.
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