Photo: NOAA
IDA is now a MAJOR Category 4 Hurricane with sustained winds of 140 mph. The storm is expected to reach the Louisiana coast Sunday afternoon.
Local officials are preparing for a MAJOR DISASTER in the affected area. Forecasters are extremely concerned about the potential to intensify as it passes over the extremely warm waters that are along the immediate coastline. The core of the storm could pass directly over Houma and Baton Rouge, and very close to New Orleans, Morgan City, and Lafayette.
The Gulf Coast is now under a hurricane warning that stretches from Louisiana’s central coast to the Mississippi state line. Storm surge is expected in Mobile Bay.
IDA is predicted to hit New Orleans on the 16th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina and threatens additional population centers along the Gulf Coast and hundreds of miles inland.
SUMMARY OF WATCHES AND WARNINGS IN EFFECT:
A Storm Surge Warning is in effect for...
* East of Rockefeller Wildlife Refuge Louisiana to the Alabama/Florida border
* Vermilion Bay, Lake Borgne, Lake Pontchartrain, Lake Maurepas, and Mobile Bay
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 Tropical Storm Warning is in effect for...
* Cameron Louisiana to west of Intracoastal City Louisiana
* Mouth of the Pearl River to the Alabama/Florida border