
Some Ochsner Locations to Close Sunday and Monday for Hurricane Ida
August 28, 2021
10pm Update: Ida shifts slightly east, still a Cat 2 storm
August 28, 2021With the 7pm update, no major change to Ida’s forecast. Wind speeds are at 105mph, making Ida a category 2. Right now Ida is located about 285 miles southeast of Houma. According to hurricane hunters, Ida continues to track on the east side of model guidance. This places the eye over Terrebonne parish. At this time, both parishes have activated their curfew that will remain in place until further notice.
At 700 PM CDT (0000 UTC), the eye of Hurricane Ida was located near latitude 26.6 North, longitude 87.5 West. Ida is moving toward the northwest near 16 mph (26 km/h), and this general motion should continue through late Sunday or early Monday, followed by a slower northward motion on Monday. A northeastward turn is forecast by Monday night. On the forecast track, the center of Ida will continue moving across the central and northern Gulf of Mexico tonight and early Sunday, and make landfall along the coast of Louisiana within the hurricane warning area Sunday afternoon or evening. Ida is then forecast to move well inland over portions of Louisiana and western Mississippi on Monday and Monday night.
Data from the NOAA Hurricane Hunter aircraft indicate that maximum sustained winds are near 105 mph (165 km/h) with higher gusts. Rapid strengthening is forecast during the next 12 to 24 hours and Ida is expected to be an extremely dangerous major hurricane when it makes landfall along the Louisiana coast on Sunday. Rapid weakening is expected after landfall.
Hurricane-force winds extend outward up to 30 miles (45 km) from the center and tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 125 miles (205 km). The estimated minimum central pressure based on data from the NOAA Hurricane Hunters is 969 mb (28.61 inches).