Ida to strike on the 16th anniversary of Katrina

Hurricane Ida is still gathering strength as it approaches the Louisiana coast, now an extremely dangerous Category 4 storm that is approaching Category 5 level with winds at 145 miles per hour. Extremely life-threatening storm surge inundation of 9 feet or greater is imminent somewhere within the area from Burns Point, Louisiana to Ocean Springs, Mississippi.

HURRICANE IDA LOCAL IMPACTS (Sunday morning update): Hurricane Ida is now an extremely dangerous category 4 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 145 mph. Tropical Storm Warnings have been posted for much of our area in central and south MS and northeast LA. (1/5) pic.twitter.com/PUEghBsNST

— NWS Jackson MS (@NWSJacksonMS) August 29, 2021

Hurricane-force winds are expected along the Louisiana coast, including the New Orleans metro area. Sixteen years ago today, Hurricane Katrina devastated the region and killed an estimated 1,800 people.

Katrina was a Category 5 storm in the Gulf, but weakened to a Category 3 before it hit New Orleans. Ida is a Category 4 and is expected to strengthen before it hits New Orleans. Additionally, Vicksburg is on the east side of the eye – the worst side. We should expect major impacts in our area on Monday. The eye will pass over Vicksburg on Monday at around 1 p.m., but tropical storm force winds will begin to spread into our area by Sunday evening.

Check back at 11 a.m., when we will bring you the latest updates from the National Weather Service and Warren County Emergency Management.