Cat 4 Hurricane Ida Hits the Gulf

New Orleans in 2021 is a different city than it was back in 2005 when Hurricane Katrina hit. The levee system is three times the capacity than what was in place 16 years ago.

Hurricane Ida hit as a Cat 4 storm, but quickly slowed down to ‘only’ a Cat 2 storm, which still holds winds of 110 mph.

The National Weather Service also issued this warning: A threat for a few tornadoes will continue today (8/30) as the tropical system #Ida begins to curve to the east. Portions of southeast Louisiana, southern Mississippi, southern Alabama.

One difference between Ida and Katrina comes in the size: Katrina brought storm surge of 15 to 19 feet in eastern New Orleans, St. Bernard Parish, and Plaquemines Parish.

In the case of Ida, we are expecting storm surge of 12-16 feet to some areas of southeast Louisiana, the NHC says. And near New Orleans it’s expected to be even lower: 8-12 feet outside New Orleans and 5-8 feet along Lake Pontchartrain. This was due to the smaller wind field for Ida, only 50 miles, versus 90 miles for Katrina.

All of New Orleans’ 1 million customers are without power, as Ida moves through the state as a Category 1 storm.

This is not to minimize the power of the storm: Ida did reverse the flow of the Mississippi River, which is very rare.

Again, the backlash and damage done by Katrina brought a heightened amount of responsiveness for this storm.

More than 4,900 guardsmen from the Louisiana National Guard were activated across 14 parishes. They mobilized 195 high-water vehicles, 73 boats and 34 helicopters to assist Louisiana residents.

A small army of 21 urban search-and-rescue teams from about 15 states are ready to search once the storm calms.

Still, it won’t be until the wind and rain pass that the full extent of the impact will be able to be measured, which could be up to 20 to 24 inches of water.