Tropical Storm Ida: Weekend Hurricane Threat Forecast For Gulf Coast; Track; Status

Tropical Storm Ida, the ninth named storm of the 2021 Atlantic hurricane season, formed in the Caribbean Sea late Thursday and has been forecast to threaten the northern part of the U.S. Gulf Coast during the weekend.

While weather experts believe it is too early to forecast the impact of Ida, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) said flooding rainfall, winds with the force of a hurricane, and a potentially life-threatening storm surge are possible in parts of Louisiana, Alabama, and Mississippi throughout Sunday and Monday, The Weather Channel reported.

The Gulf of Mexico has not experienced a storm in recent weeks, and with very warm sea temperatures ranging from 86 degrees in deeper waters to 90 degrees near the Louisiana coast, forecasters are starting to get concerned.

Currently, Tropical Storm Ida is centered just over 100 miles southeast of Grand Cayman in the western Caribbean Sea. Before moving into Louisiana, Ida is expected to bring heavy rainfall and potential flooding with landslides in Jamaica, western Cuba, the Mexican Yucatan Peninsula, and Cayman Islands.

Several forecast models have predicted that Ida will make landfall somewhere near western Louisiana over the weekend, CBS reported. If the predictions prove to be true, Louisiana could see hurricane levels as was experienced during last year’s record-breaking hurricane season that included Hurricane Delta and Hurricane Laura.

Latest Status of Tropical Storm Ida

• Located about 105 km or 65 miles southeast of the Grand Cayman
• Maximum sustained winds of 40 mph or 65 km per hour
• Present movement: northwest or 320 degrees at 12 mph or 19 km per hour

Current Track

• Moving through the Gulf of Mexico
• Steady strength as it moves from the Caribbean into the Gulf
• Expected to reach the coastal areas of Louisiana over the weekend
• The current path appears to stay east of the ArkLaTex (tri-state region including Southern U.S. states of Arkansas, Louisiana, and Texas)

Tropical Storm Warnings

• Cayman Islands
• Western Cuba, including Artemisa, Pinar del Rio, Matanzas, and the Isle of Youth

Hurricane Watch

• Cameron, Louisiana
• Mississippi/Alabama border
• Lake Pontchartrain
• Lake Maurepas
• Metropolitan New Orleans

Storm Surge Watch

• Vermilion Bay
• Lake Borgne
• Mobile Bay

Tropical Storm Watch

• Mississippi/Alabama border to the Alabama/Florida border

Tropical Storm Ida has been forecast to strengthen as it passes through the Cayman Islands and moves across western Cuba Friday.