MIAMI — Hurricane Ida is intensifying and expected to be an “extremely dangerous” Category 4 storm when it hits the U.S. coast, forecasters said Saturday.
South Florida could see thunderstorms but shouldn’t feel the worst of the rainy outskirts of the powerful storm as it moves through the Gulf. Marine conditions in the Florida Keys, rough in the morning hours, should start to improve through Saturday from the east to the west as Hurricane Ida moves farther away from the Keys into the central Gulf of Mexico, according to the National Weather Service in Miami.
Forecasters are also monitoring two other disturbances in the Atlantic, one of which became a tropical depression about 800 miles east of the Leeward Islands in the 11 a.m. Saturday advisory.
Here’s what to know:
Hurricane Ida forecast to be a Cat 4 before US landfall
Ida hit Category 2 hurricane status white it continued to intensify over the Gulf of Mexico around 2 p.m. Saturday. A growing Ida had 100 mph maximum sustained winds, which extended 30 miles from the center, and tropical-storm-force winds that extended 125 miles from the center.
The system was moving northwest at 16 mph. Ida was about 290 miles south-southeast of the mouth of the Mississippi River and 380 miles southeast of Houma, Louisiana.
Earlier Saturday, feeder bands were still soaking the western region of Cuba, but had decreased in coverage and intensity, according to Cuba’s Institute of Meteorology. Ida is still forecast to dump an additional 2 to 4 inches of rain with isolated maximum amounts of 6 inches across western Cuba, the hurricane center said.
In a Saturday morning advisory, Cuba’s Institute of Meteorology said that a weather station had recorded maximum sustained winds of 80 miles per hour. The storm was about 155 miles north of Cabo de San Antonio, Pinar del Rio, the agency reported.
On the forecast track, the center of Ida will move over the southeastern and central Gulf of Mexico through Saturday night. Ida is then expected to make landfall along the coast of Louisiana within the hurricane warning area on Sunday, and then move inland over portions of Louisiana and western Mississippi later on Monday.
Forecasts shows Ida becoming an “extremely dangerous” Category 4 hurricane before reaching the coast. After landfall, rapid weakening is expected due to land interaction, drier air, and an increase in shear.
Morgan City, Louisiana, to the mouth of the Mississippi River, could see storm surge of 10 to 15 feet at highest, which could overwhelm local levees. The hurricane center said Ida could bring 8 to 16 inches to the Gulf Coast, with some spots seeing up to 20 inches.
Storm models suggest Ida’s wind field could grow larger, affecting even more of the coast. Tornadoes are possible Sunday through early Monday across southeast Louisiana and southern Mississippi, according to the center.
After landfall, Ida is expected to weaken as it moves through the lower Mississippi and Tennessee River valleys.
Watches and warnings
In the 11 a.m. advisory a tropical storm warning was extended eastward along the northern Gulf coast to the Alabama and Florida border.
The hurricane watch along the coast of Mississippi from the mouth of the Pearl River to the Mississippi and Alabama border was discontinued. The hurricane watch along the coast of Louisiana west of Intracoastal City was also discontinued. The storm surge watch from Sabine Pass to Rockefeller Wildlife Refuge, Louisiana, was discontinued, too.
A storm surge warning is in effect for:
— East of Rockefeller Wildlife Refuge Louisiana to the Mississippi and Alabama border.
— Vermilion Bay, Lake Borgne, Lake Pontchartrain and Lake Maurepas.
A hurricane warning is in effect for:
— Intracoastal City Louisiana to the mouth of the Pearl River.
— Lake Pontchartrain, Lake Maurepas, and Metropolitan New Orleans.
A storm surge watch is in effect for:
— Mobile Bay.
A hurricane watch is in effect for:
— Cameron Louisiana to west of Intracoastal City Louisiana.
A tropical storm warning is in effect for:
— Cameron Louisiana to west of Intracoastal City Louisiana.
— Mouth of the Pearl River to the Mississippi and Alabama border.
— Eastward along the northern Gulf coast to the Alabama and Florida border.
A tropical storm watch is in effect for:
— Mississippi and Alabama border to the Alabama and Florida border.
Tropical Depression 10, disturbance
As Ida continues toward the Gulf of Mexico and the northern U.S. Gulf Coast, forecasters are also monitoring two disturbances in the Atlantic with one becoming a tropical depression Saturday.
The pair pose no threat to land at the moment.
One of the disturbances was producing showers and thunderstorms in the central Atlantic on Saturday, according to the hurricane center.
Although environmental conditions remain only marginally conducive for further development, only a slight increase in organization would result in the formation of a tropical depression later Saturday or Saturday night.
In a couple of days, the system is forecast to be absorbed by a frontal system.
It had a 80% of formation in the next 48 hours or next five days, as of the 2 p.m. Saturday update.
Then there is the new Tropical Depression 10.
It’s expected to move north before picking up its pace and heading northeast Sunday, away from the United States. As of the 11 a.m. Saturday update, Tropical Depression 10 had winds at 35 mph and was about 800 miles east of the Leeward Islands. Ten was moving north-northwest at 8 mph and expected to remain over the open Atlantic well to the east of the Lesser Antilles.
Ten is forecast to become a tropical storm some time Saturday.
The next storm names on the list are Julian and Kate.
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