Hurricane Ida has been intensifying today-- and currently has winds sustained at 80mph...
This hurricane couldn't be timed an worse -- barreling towards the Louisiana coast, making landfall on the 16th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina.
Models have been in a fair amount of agreement on where this storm is headed over the next day or so. South central to southeastern Louisiana look to bare the brunt of the storm... and that intensity looks to be stronger than suggested yesterday...
A lot of the increase has to do with the fact that wind shear looks to be low as this system enters the Gulf of Mexico. The other part of the equation is the VERY warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico-- ranging from 85° - 90°. Hurricanes typically need temps to be around 82° for development-- but when it gets into the mid to upper 80s that's more than enough latent heat available for this storm to explode.... and that's exactly what's in the forecast--
The National Hurricane Center has bumped up the intensity at landfall to Category 4-- with winds around 140mph. Louisiana has had a rough go at it lately -- Ida will be the fourth hurricane to make landfall in the state since last August -- and will be Louisiana's third major hurricane landfall in that same time period.
#prayersforLA
#staytuned
