Here’s when the first Hurricane Ida winds could reach South Mississippi
All preparations for Hurricane Ida should be completed as quickly as possible, officials said Saturday, as the storm is expected to rapidly intensify and bring tropical storm conditions to South Mississippi starting late Saturday.
In its 7 a.m. update, the National Hurricane Center said its forecast for Ida had changed little overnight. Ida is forecast to make landfall as a Category 4 storm in Louisiana on Sunday, bringing the greatest storm surge and heavy rains to Louisiana and South Mississippi by Sunday evening into Monday morning.
Maximum winds had reached 85 miles per hour. The storm weakened little after moving over Cuba.
“Rapid strengthening is forecast during the next 24 to 36 hours and Ida is expected to be an extremely dangerous major hurricane when it approaches the northern Gulf Coast on Sunday,” the center wrote.
A warning indicates conditions are expected within the given area, while a watch indicates they are possible. The following watches and warnings remain in effect for South Mississippi.
- Storm surge warning: East of Rockefeller Wildlife Refuge Louisiana to the Mississippi/Alabama border
Hurricane warning: Intracoastal City Louisiana to the mouth of the Pearl River (at the Louisiana-Mississippi state line)
Hurricane watch: Mouth of the Pearl River to the Mississippi/Alabama border
Tropical storm warning: Mouth of the Pearl River to the Mississippi/Alabama border
Tropical storm watch: Mississippi/Alabama border to the Alabama/Florida border
Ida will arrive on the 16th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina.
Evacuation concerns
NWS New Orleans said that people evacuating from south Louisiana and Mississippi should remember that the storm’s path after landfall will take it northeast, putting essentially all of Mississippi at risk of heavy rain.
Hancock County officials issued a mandatory evacuation order on Friday afternoon for low-lying areas. The county’s Kiln Shelter at Kiln 18320 Highway 43, Kiln, opens at 10 a.m. on Monday. Pets are not allowed. For more information, call the Hancock Emergency Management Agency at 228-255-0942.
While the worst impacts will occur across southern and southeastern Louisiana and Southern Mississippi, impacts will be felt well away from the storm’s center and further inland as the storm continues north.
One New Orleans weather channel created a map titled “Where to Evacuate?” Almost all of Mississippi was covered by a swathe of red and the label “AVOID THIS AREA.”
Dangerous rip currents are also a threat in the Gulf as Ida approaches, NWS Jackson emphasized in a Twitter post.
“PLEASE stay out of the water this weekend!” the agency wrote.
