Hurricane Ida continues to show signs of strengthening on Saturday afternoon as it sets its sights on the southeast and south central Louisiana coast. This is currently a category 2 storm with 100 mile per hour winds. So far only slight changes have been made to the NHC forecast track, and overall the landfall point is very similar to the past few days. The main change is the track inland is a little west, which means better news for the immediate New Orleans area. There’s the chance it could still shift further east, though.
Overall impacts still look to be the same, and worst on the western side of our area. Storm surge will be dangerous outside the levee system, and you should leave those areas.
Rainfall projections are also highest on the western side of our area near the center. Keep in mind that bands to the east can also have locally heavy rainfall amounts within them and are more difficult to predict. We will also be in an area favorable for tornadoes as Ida moves inland.
Wind gust potential looks significant near the center of Ida. Areas like Terrebonne parish over to Morgan City could see gusts well above 100. It would be a good idea to get out of those areas to be safe. The metro New Orleans areas will see gusts in the 70s and potentially 80s, so expect widespread loss of power around the area.
At the end of the day this will be a big issue for many people in southeast and south central Louisiana. However it does look like the city of New Orleans itself avoids a direct hit, and Baton Rouge may actually end up with more damage.
Please be safe and have plenty of supplies if you are staying during the storm. This will be a dangerous situation for many. Plan to not be able to leave the house through the day Sunday and Sunday night, and likely Monday as well. Many areas will be in for a very long clean up process near the center of this storm.