After making landfall around 12:55 p.m. EDT near Port Fourchon LA, with estimated maximum wind speeds of 150 mph and a minimum pressure around 930 mb, hurricane Ida has not weakened as much as expected. Sustained wind speeds are still around 115 mph at 9:00 p.m. EDT. Ida's forward motion has slowed to about 9 mph, which means more misery for those in its ferocious path.
Property damage, flash floods and power outages are widespread. NOLA and Orleans parish have suffered total loss of power.
Ida is forecast to weaken, speed up and turn northeastward and recurve over the eastern United States as it enters the mid-latitude westerlies, where it will dump copious amounts of rain.
Not weakening :(
Wind history —
Time (EDT) |
Max Sustained Winds |
Central Pressure |
MOvement |
Tue 05:00 a.m. |
30 mph |
998 mb |
12 mph |
Mon 05:00 p.m. |
35 mph |
999 mb |
9 mph |
Mon 11:00 a.m. |
40 mph |
996 mb |
9 mph |
Mon 08:00 a.m. |
45 mph |
993 mb |
8 mph |
Mon 05:00 a.m. |
60 mph |
990 mb |
8 mph |
Sun 11:59 p.m. |
95 mph |
960 mb |
9 mph |
Sun 11:00 p.m. |
105 mph |
953 mb |
9 mph |
Sun 10:00 p.m. |
110 mph |
950 mb |
9 mph |
Sun 9:00 p.m. |
115 mph |
947 mb |
9 mph |
Sun 7:00 p.m. |
120 mph |
944 mb |
10 mph |
Sun 5:00 p.m. |
130 mph |
938 mb |
10 mph |
Sun 1:00 p.m. |
150 mph |
930 mb |
13 mph |
The darned hurricane still looks “impressive” on radar —
Probable cause of Ida’s continuing strength — the warm waters in the Bayou, aka the Brown Effect.
New Orleans is still “under the gun” -
High wind gusts all over the place, including NOLA International airport.
Reports of a levee overflowing -
Scenes of flooding are pouring in —
Power outages are widespread already —
Orleans parish and New Orleans suffer total loss of power.
Ida is not sparing hospitals either —
Damage to infrastructure is a major concern, whose effects will ripple through the entire U.S. economy —
From yaleclimateconnections.org/… -
Ida is predicted to track over one of the most critical industrial areas in the U.S.: the industrial corridor between Baton Rouge and New Orleans. Not only is the region home to dozens of key petrochemical sites, and crisscrossed by important pipelines, it also has three of the fifteen largest ports in America: the largest bulk cargo port in the world, the Port of South Louisiana, which lies along a 54-mile stretch of the Mississippi River; the nation’s largest export grain port, the Port of New Orleans; and the Port of Greater Baton Rouge, the nation’s 10th-largest port. These three ports handle 55-70% of all U.S. grain exports to the world, supplied by barges moving downriver.
Going upriver, Mississippi River barges transport petrochemicals, fertilizers, and raw materials essential for the functioning of U.S. industry and agriculture, making the Mississippi River the lifeblood of the American economy. If the ports of the Mississippi River are closed for an extended period of time, the entire U.S. economy suffers, with impacts to the global economy and world food supplies; world food prices, vulnerable to extreme weather shocks, in May of 2021 hit their highest levels since 2011.
Let’s pray this ends soon -
Thank God or rather the people of the country that we have competent people at the helm, ready to provide assistance rather than throw paper towels or blame the local people or government.
FEMA is ready with personnel, supplies, generators, trucks, ...
And let’s keep reminding people that Climate Change plays a big role in the increased ferocity of these storms and the other weather disasters we have seen in recent years. Things will only get worse unless we take drastic measures to reduce greenhouses in the atmosphere.
Let’s pray for our brothers and sisters in Louisiana and let’s help out in any way we can. It’s going to be a night from hell for many; we can thank our lucky stars it’s not us.
Please post more info as the situation develops … and let’s keep the comments helpful, not scornful. Stay classy.
Additional links and resources
- NOAA One-stop event page for #Ida — www.noaa.gov/…
- NHC — www.nhc.noaa.gov
- LA Power outage map — poweroutage.us/…
- MS road closures www.mdottraffic.com/…
- MS Power outage map — poweroutage.us/…
- www.fema.gov
- Real-time aircraft reconnaissance data and lots of other technical info — www.tropicaltidbits.com/…
- How climate change is making hurricanes more dangerous — yaleclimateconnections.org/…
- Hurricane Ida intensifies overnight, as predicted, to near Cat 5. Makes landfall. — www.dailykos.com/...