CAT. 4 HURRICANE IDA MAKES LANDFALL NEAR GRAND ISLE, LOUISIANA… The center of the eye of Hurricane Ida has officially made landfall as of Noon near Port Fourchon, Louisiana, about 15 miles southwest of Grand Isle. While this is the technical landfall point for this large hurricane, the storm will continue to be over the warm waters of the southeastern Louisiana bayous over the next several hours, thus weakening may not happen at a rapid pace initially. Hurricane force winds are expected to begin soon in the New Orleans metro area.
MORE TORNADO WARNINGS LIKELY AT TIMES INTO THIS EVENING… Just to “keep it real” with you, we have a LONG way to go with Hurricane Ida. Impacts are just getting started across our local area in south Alabama and northwest Florida. We’ve already had multiple tornado warnings earlier this morning. More tornado warnings are LIKELY over the next several hours and into the overnight hours. A Tornado Watch continues until 7PM (and will likely be extended and expanded after that!) for all parts of Mobile, Baldwin, Washington, Escambia (AL), Okaloosa, Santa Rosa, and Escambia (FL) counties. We strongly encourage everyone to have a way to get urgent warnings today into tonight and tomorrow. This is a long duration tornado risk that will not be ending anytime soon. Join me on Facebook Live and in the RedZone Weather app for uninterrupted live coverage when warnings are required locally.
FLASH FLOODING IN PENSACOLA & MOLINO… Multiple Flash Flood Warning polygons continue for parts of Escambia County, FL and far eastern Baldwin County, Alabama near Gateswood. Pensacola, Ensley, Cantonment, Beulah, Muscogee, Molino, Barrineau Park, and Walnut Hill are now involved in a Flash Flood Warning until later tonight. Please don’t get out and drive unless you absolutely have to in these areas. Avoid water-covered roadways, please!
OVERALL DETERIORATION OF WEATHER EXPECTED LOCALLY… Our local weather pattern will become increasingly nasty in the hours ahead. Tornadoes, heavy rain, flash flooding, gusty (30-50 mph) winds near the Alabama beaches and breezy conditions near the northwest Florida beaches and farther inland are expected. If you missed our detailed analysis of what you can expect in your specific hometown due to Hurricane Ida, please visit this link to find out: https://www.facebook.com/rzweather/posts/1964816160343380
NOON POSITION UPDATE FOR HURRICANE IDA… The center of Hurricane Ida is located near Grand Isle, Louisiana. Hurricane force winds are happening across much of southeastern Louisiana, with tropical storm force winds happening near the Mississippi coast, and tropical storm force wind gusts near the Alabama beaches. Maximum sustained winds remain near 150 mph. Minimum central pressure is near 933 millibars. Ida was strengthening right up to the point of landfall.
EXTREME WIND WARNING CONTINUES FOR SOUTHEAST LOUISIANA… The National Weather Service has many warnings and watches in their toolbox to issue to help folks avoid weather hazards. The rarest of the rare, an Extreme Wind Warning, continues for much of southeastern Louisiana this afternoon, due to winds well in excess of 115 mph happening in that are. The Extreme Wind Warning has only ever been issued a handful of times, most recently being last year during Hurricane Laura.
APP ALERTS… If you haven’t already downloaded the RedZone Weather app, now is a great time to do that. redzoneweather.com/app is the link to the free download. Once you have the RZW app installed on your iOS or Android device, be sure to visit the Alerts tab to turn on the specific notifications you’d like to receive. All notifications are handcrafted by me. No automation and we promise not to bug you!
I will have more long form updates posted throughout the day and into the night both on Facebook and in the RedZone Weather app. Plenty more shorter form updates, including videos from southeast Louisiana, are being posted in the app regularly. Have a good Sunday afternoon. Please stay safe!
