Hurricane Ida made landfall in Port Fourchon, Louisiana, on Sunday afternoon, with maximum sustained winds of 150 mph, just shy of Category 5 intensity. It's one of the strongest hurricanes to hit the state in recorded history.
The latest: As of 6 p.m. ET, the storm was still an "extremely dangerous" Category 4 hurricane, located about 40 miles southwest of New Orleans, and moving northwest at 10 mph, the National Hurricane Service said.
- Widespread power outages have been reported across southern Louisiana, with at least one energy provider warning outages could persist for weeks.
- Emergency medical services have been suspended in New Orleans due to dangerous winds, New Orleans EMS tweeted. New Orleans Lakefront Airport recorded a wind gust to 82 mph close to 4 p.m. ET.
The big picture: Ida intensified at an astonishing rate early Sunday, leaping from a 105 mph Category 2 storm at 11 p.m. ET Saturday to the cusp of Category 5 intensity as it spun closer to the southeastern coast of Louisiana Sunday morning.
#Ida is not weakening. This is not what you want to see. You can even see the individual mesovortices inside the eye. #mswx #lawx https://t.co/QEy7jPRPi2
— NWS New Orleans (@NWSNewOrleans) August 29, 2021
Threat level: Ida has been bringing a peak storm surge (water inundation above normally dry ground) of from 12 to 16 feet to south coastal Louisiana, between Port Fourchon and the mouth of the Mississippi River. ...
- The National Hurricane Center called the surge "extremely life-threatening," particularly