UPDATE: Hurricane Ida has made landfall on Grand Isle, Louisiana, packing sustained winds of 150 miles an hour, 7 miles an hour shy of Category 5 status, and howling wind gusts to 185 miles an hour. Mainland landfall is expected to just west of New Orleans, greatly impacting the cities of Houma, Chavin and Golden Meadows. Storm surges from 7 to 16 feet, dependent upon terrain are expected, and flooding is likely, forecasters say, up to 100 miles inland.
NEW ORLEANS – Hurricane Ida is poised to strike the hurricane-beleaguered New Orleans area on Sunday, 16 years to the date Hurricane Katrina slammed into the city, killing, all told, between just under 1,300 people to 1,833. Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards Saturday warned Ida could be even more dangerous, expected to be the worst hurricane the area has seen since the 1850’s. Saturday, some 600 miles of the Gulf Coast were under hurricane warnings, watches, and similar warnings of significant weather danger associated with this storm.
Ida is expected to come ashore near storm-weary New Orleans on Sunday, packing sustained winds from 140-160 miles an hour. The storm is currently packing sustained winds of 85 miles an hour; about 325 miles southeast of Houma, just 57 miles from New Orleans. Currently, Saturday early evening, Ida is is moving northwest at 16 miles an hour.