Tropical Storm Ida forms, could strike Louisiana as Category 2 hurricane

Tropical Storm Ida is expected to make landfall on the Louisiana coast at Grand Isle as a strong Category 2 hurricane Sunday afternoon, pushing the Gulf of Mexico into coastal areas and dropping extremely heavy rain far inland. The storm will then head north and northeast towards Baton Rouge and Monroe.

It's the most serious weather threat to Louisiana of the 2021 Atlantic Basin hurricane season, after a record-breaking 2020 that saw four named storms - including Category 4 Hurricane Laura - strike the state. It's predicted landfall would bring it ashore on the 16th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, the costliest storm in U.S. history.

https://www.nola.com/news/hurricane/article_0dd9a3d8-06a3-11ec-8b3e-ef7a2e559634.html

Tropical Storm Ida is forecast to arrive at New Orleans, LA about noon--2pm Sunday (local time), at hurricane strength.

The cone of probability is relatively narrow, though landfall locations could still vary considerably. Intensity is likely to be high given high Gulf sea temps.

Louisiana is also seaing an all-time peak Covid infection rate.

US National Hurricane Center:
https://www.nhc.noaa.gov/refresh/graphics_at4+shtml/234304.shtml?cone#contents

Ida looks to be slow-moving and will remain over or upstream of New Orleans for 18--48 hours, with rain intensities of an inch an hour (25.4 mm/hr), which could be over 18--36 in (500 -- 1000mm) of rain.

Nullschool Arrival Forecast at noon CST, with 968 hPa, winds are hard to say (Nullschool's forecasts run low, stated is 70 mph, could exceed 110 mph), and 97mm/3hr rain (3.83 in/3hr). I also don't get storn surge, though the eye looks as if it may pass very slightly west of NoLa, which means that the storm surge on the east of the city will be amplified.

This could be a major storm.

There does not appear to be any other Atlantic tropical storm threat at this time.

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