Hurricane Ida

AnnieA said:
Thank you, ((( @Kaila ))). We'll have a few casualties due to downed trees, power lines and human error with generators and chainsaws ...but nothing like the people on the coast. Extended power outages are expected which won't be fun in Mississippi in August, but again, it's hard to complain knowing what people to the south of us are facing. The main concern throughout the entire area impacted are our already overburdened hospitals.
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Please stay safe Annie!
 

The eye wall appears to be approaching land near Port Fourchon, but I can't find wind there, and it looks like the water gauging station may be down. Water is rising fast at near by Grand Isle, but still not extremely high. Most worrisome in what I am seeing is the water level at Shell Beach, near the MRGO and Lake Borgne, the backdoor to New Orleans, the surge is at about 6 ft and rising fast. Not so high at New Orleans, yet.

Forecast is now for 150 mph and at this point that should not change. 150 mph is only a little below category 5 status, the next few hours will tell us what it really is. Maximum wind and category are only one way to measure a hurricane's power and damage potential. Size leading up to and path at landfall are also of importance. In Louisiana most damage comes from the storm surge.

Fingers crossed! In a few hours it will all be over.
 
Alligatorob said:
The eye wall appears to be approaching land near Port Fourchon, but I can't find wind there, and it looks like the water gauging station may be down. Water is rising fast at near by Grand Isle, but still not extremely high. Most worrisome in what I am seeing is the water level at Shell Beach, near the MRGO and Lake Borgne, the backdoor to New Orleans, the surge is at about 6 ft and rising fast. Not so high at New Orleans, yet.

Forecast is now for 150 mph and at this point that should not change. 150 mph is only a little below category 5 status, the next few hours will tell us what it really is. Maximum wind and category are only one way to measure a hurricane's power and damage potential. Size leading up to and path at landfall are also of importance. In Louisiana most damage comes from the storm surge.

Fingers crossed! In a few hours it will all be over.
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Grand Isle sits at water level on a good day.... that area is so low.
 
Kaila said:
they slow down considerably, once they are moving over land, instead of over the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico.
And, also, they will slow down more, when they encounter hillier terrain, which there is not any, near the shore that this one is coming onto, unfortunately (it's all low and flat thereabouts)
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Two different meanings of speed here, the speed of the wind, and the speed of movement of the storm. Kaila is right the wind speed decreases over land, fairly rapidly sometimes. And mountainous terrain slows the wind even more. Most of the time wind drops below hurricane strength a few miles inland.

The movement of the storm, the storm's center is a different thing and moving ashore doesn't do much to slow that. A slower storm usually means more rain and flooding, a faster one usually maintains hurricane force winds further inland. Either way extensive damage is possible inland, but the greatest devastation is usually on the coast. That is where you get the highest winds and storm surge.

Most damage and fatalities in hurricanes are flooding related, some from the surge, some from rain.
 
Alligatorob said:
Anne, where are you located? From your post it sounds like Mississippi. Hope this thing doesn't do you too much damage.
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Yes. Mississippi. We're being told ...as of now, but these things change... to expect the eye to move within 20 miles of us tomorrow as a Cat 2.

RadishRose said:
Please stay safe Annie!
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Bonnie said:
Exactly .... after it passes, IF you still have power, check in please @AnnieA
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Thank you, @RadishRose and @Bonnie! We're being told power could be out for a week or more and I certainly hope the power company is wrong about that! I doubt we'll lose cell service, so can stay online that way. We're all ready with solar generators charged, jerry cans full of gas for the big generator, solar lights charged (love these Luci lights!) grocery run completed. And we have lots of fans, both USB rechargeable and regular battery power. The town well has a generator and we can also use the gas generator for my dad's ag well pump if need be.

My RV van generator picked the absolute wrong time to go out. :confused: The van house batteries charge via roof solar panels and by driving, but the house batteries aren't powerful enough to run the AC.
 
AnnieA said:
Yes. Mississippi. We're being told ...as of now, but these things change... to expect the eye to move within 20 miles of us tomorrow as a Cat 2.
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Hang on! Hope it passes you quickly and relatively uneventfully.
AnnieA said:
The van house batteries charge via roof solar panels and by driving, but the house batteries aren't powerful enough to run the AC.
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I remember the lack of AC as the most uncomfortable effect... Hope your power doesn't go out, or not for long anyway. You sound pretty prepared.
 
It continues to move to the north, eye passing Port Fourchon and looks to be headed to Montegut next. The good thing is I have not been able to find and weather station reporting hurricane force wind, of course I could be missing something or stations in the worst of it could be down. Right now Montegut appears to be in the eye wall, but only reporting winds in the 60 mph range. Hopefully this is an indication of weakening, but its too soon to really know.

Water keeps rising at Shell Beach, almost a 7 foot surge now and still going up. Water not going up much at NO, yet...
 
It looks like the winds hit 148MPH when it first hit Grand Isle, but will die down as the hurricane begins to go over land, but there will probably be very high amounts of rainfall, perhaps 10+ inches in some areas. Thousands will be without power....maybe for days/weeks, Another concern will be those living in Tennessee, and the storm moves over that State. They had major flooding a few days ago, and this storm could hit them again.
 
Don M. said:
It looks like the winds hit 148MPH when it first hit Grand Isle
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Where did you see that? It is certainly possible - consistent with reports of higher elevation winds from the hurricane hunters.

However the station I track on Grand Isle (https://tidesandcurrents.noaa.gov/stationhome.html?id=8761724 ) doesn't show anything that strong. Water level there is still rising, surge is up to about 6 ft, much of the island must be underwater.

Montegut is now reporting 75 mph gusts, just into hurricane force range.
 
Alligatorob said:
Where did you see that? It is certainly possible - consistent with reports of higher elevation winds from the hurricane hunters.

I'm watching the Weather Channel, in another tab, as I type. That 148MPH report came from the gauge at the Grand Island Sheriffs department, according to reports in the past few minutes on the WC. Now, they are reporting winds in the 45 to 75 MPH range in New Orleans. They just also said that thousands are already without power, and many who have evacuated may come back to no power for days/weeks.
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I just came in from doing some yard work....cooling down before I take a shower....will be watching this storm on the Weather Channel.
 
Kaila said:
This one could definitely be huge. :(

The Gulf water is warm, now, and those predicted landfall areas are so low and vulnerable. There also is not much time left, for this storm to make any major unexpected changes in course.:confused:

I hope that people who wanted to get to another location, have managed to do so.
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i can't imagine living someplace like that. the added worry all the time would be too much. not to mention the stress of having to evacuate.
 
I don't live there either, but I had important, close family members who lived there for years, and it's true, it's stressful and a worry.
Worse for some than others, depending on how much or little resources , and how many or few options they have.
 
RadishRose said:
There's a few police officers on Grand Isle. one of them said the wind gauge broke at 148 mph.
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Yep, that is a common problem. The weather station I was tracking in Montegut has gone offline. Makes it hard to know what the highest winds really are.
AnnieA said:
Live cams of storm chaser idiots driving through the area.
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Too many of those folks, I understand the attraction but they often get in the way of emergency services.

Water is still rising... up about 3 feet at New Orleans. That shouldn't be a problem, but it ain't over.
 
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