Ida an ‘extremely dangerous’ Category 4 hurricane nearing Louisiana- NHC
Hurricane Ida strengthened into an "extremely dangerous" Category 4 storm and was "still intensifying," packing maximum sustained winds of 150 mph with higher gusts as it neared Louisiana on Sunday morning, August 29, 2021, the National Hurricane Center has said.
Ida is expected to hit southeastern Louisiana as a Category 4 storm later Sunday.
"Life-threatening storm surge, potentially catastrophic wind damage, and flooding" from its heavy rains "will impact" parts of the northern Gulf Coast, starting Sunday morning, the NHC said.
Ida was 75 miles south-southeast of Grand Isle, Louisiana, and 60 miles south-southwest of the Mississippi River's mouth at 7:00 am Sunday, exactly 16 years on from Hurricane Katrina devastating Louisiana and Mississippi.
After hitting Cuba Friday night, the hurricane paused its intensification for a time, but resumed its alarming trends Saturday morning.
Motorists sit in traffic on I-10 West while evacuating ahead of Hurricane Ida in Metairie, Louisiana, on Saturday.
