From catastrophic storm surge to hours of destructive winds to torrential rainfall that's still to come, Hurricane Ida is expected to cause major financial damage across multiple states.
With Ida continuing to lose strength as it pushes farther inland, live storm coverage is ending. Thank you for following the storm with AccuWeather and be sure to visit AccuWeather.com, watch the AccuWeather TV Network and check the AccuWeather mobile app for continuing forecasts and coverage of Ida's impacts, which are expected to last through late week.
Louisiana Lt. Gov. Billy Nungesser and Gov. John Bel Edwards are visiting some of the most directly impacted areas of their state on Tuesday and Nungesser said that he was prepared to see the official death toll rise in the state. "Knowing that so many people stayed behind in places like Grand Isle and Lafitte, where flood waters have devastated those areas, we expect there will be more people found that have passed," he said on NBC's TODAY show. "Too many people always ride these storms out and take their lives into their hands."
Speaking with PBS on Monday, Nungesser added that he was worried by the frantic, late-night escapes from floodwaters on Sunday.
"Last night, when everyone went to bed, there were frantic calls to evacuate people from the Jesuit Bend area as water rushed up Highway 23, where they were flood-fighting. Those efforts failed," he said. "Luckily, it didn't get into all of those homes. But people were frantically leaving their homes in the middle of the night."
This week’s flooding from Ida threatens Johnstown, Pennsylvania, which has suffered three major floods throughout history. The first, on May 31, 1889, killed over 2,200 people and caused millions of dollars in damage. Six to 10 inches of rain from a low pressure system fell across central Pennsylvania and, combined with poor dam maintenance, led to a complete collapse. A 60-foot wall of water rushed downhill at 40 mph and wiped out much of the town.
On March 17, 1936, a late winter storm caused massive melting of snow along with 6 inches of heavy rain, again flooding the town. Many evacuated but 25 people were killed. Johnstown was hit again by severe flooding on July 20, 1977, when an overnight, lightning-filled storm (known to meteorologists as a Mesoscale Convective Complex) doused the area with nearly a foot of rain, causing several dams to fail. Eighty-five people were killed.
Correction: This post misstated the year of one of the previous Johnstown floods. It occurred on May 31, 1889. Not 1989.
The floodgates have been closed in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, as residents and officials prepare ahead of Ida’s arrival. The floodgates along South River Street are the first level of protection to hold back water from the Susquehanna River if water levels get high enough. “Well we are always prepared and unfortunately we have had a lot of experience with either river flooding or flash flooding in Luzerne County, unfortunately, so a lot of the preparations are already made,” said Lucy Morgan, director of emergency management for Luzerne County, according to WBRE. While the river is expected to rise due to inches of rain falling across the region, it is unlikely that it will be a historic event for the Wilkes-Barre area on par with Hurricane Agnes in 1972 or Tropical Storm Lee in 2011. The Susquehanna River in Wilkes-Barre is predicted to crest on Friday just shy of 7 feet, according to NOAA. During Tropical Storm Lee, this gauge reached a record-setting 42.66 feet, topping the previous record of 40.91 feet set during Agnes.
New Orleans Saints head coach Sean Payton said Tuesday that the team may not be able to practice at home or play a home game for up to a month due to the aftermath of Hurricane Ida, Nola.com reported. Power outages throughout Louisiana topped 1 million customers and all of New Orleans was still offline on Tuesday. The Saints are set to kick off the season against the Green Bay Packers -- which was scheduled to be played at the Superdome on Sept. 12 -- and then take on the Carolina Panthers, New England Patriots, and New York Giants. "We're not looking past that," Payton said discussing the logistical nightmare the organization is grappling with. The Saints fled to Texas and have been practicing at AT&T Stadium, the home of NFC rivals the Dallas Cowboys. Photos showed the Saints getting ready for practice in a circle around the fabled Cowboys star at the center of the field on Monday, an unusual sight to be sure.
New Orleans Saints head coach Sean Payton, center, stands on the field as his team stretches as they prepare for an NFL football workout in Arlington, Texas, Monday, Aug. 30, 2021. Displaced by Hurricane Ida, the Saints went back to work Monday about 500 miles away in the home of another NFL team. (AP Photo/Michael Ainsworth)
A washed-out section of Highway 26 in Lucedale, Mississippi, claimed the lives of two travelers and injured 10 others on Monday night. AccuWeather National Reporter Bill Wadell reported from the scene of the tragedy on Tuesday morning, capturing drone footage in the daylight that showed not just the depth of the gaping hole left in the highway, but also the vehicle debris that remains embedded in the ground. From the footage, stray car parts and multiple wheels can be seen in the missing section of roadway.
Trooper Cal Robertson of the Mississippi Highway Patrol told CNN that the seven vehicles involved in the accident went into the hole, which measures roughly 50 feet long and 20 feet deep. "I've never seen anything in my 23 years in law enforcement like this," he told CNN.
A washed-out section of Highway 26 in Lucedale, Mississippi, claimed the lives of two travelers and injured 10 others on Monday night. AccuWeather National Reporter Bill Wadell reported from the scene of the tragedy on Tuesday morning, capturing drone footage in the daylight that showed not just the depth of the gaping hole left in the highway, but also the vehicle debris that remains embedded in the ground. From the footage, stray car parts and multiple wheels can be seen in the missing section of roadway.
A 1,200-mile stretch from Louisiana to Massachusetts will face potentially significant flood dangers this week from Ida this week. As the system moves northeastward and dumps heavy rain on the mid-Atlantic and Northeast, precipitation will fall on saturated grounds that are already soaked from an extremely wet August. In the Northeast, major cities such as New York City, Boston and Washington D.C. have seen more than double their average August rainfall this year.
In Pennsylvania, the danger for thunderstorms, which could include tornadoes, will arrive on Wednesday and may spell trouble for the Conemaugh and Juniata rivers in the state. River gauge forecasts from the National Weather Service show that both rivers could reach major flooding stage this week.
"AccuWeather forecasters urge people to avoid camping along small streams and to avoid attempting to drive through flooded roadways," AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Alex Sosnowski said. "It could be a life-saving move to find alternative routes and avoid areas prone to flooding at times of heavy rain, such as underpasses and low-lying roads along small streams. In hilly terrain, there is also the potential for road washouts, mudslides and rock slides."
A man in Slidell, Louisiana, is missing after all alligator attacked him on Monday, and some believe Hurricane Ida may be at fault. The 71-year-old man was reportedly in his flooded shed on Monday afternoon, when an alligator took the man’s arm.
When his wife scrambled to take a boat to find assistance, due to cell service being knocked out, the man disappeared under the floodwaters and hasn’t been seen since. According to CBS News, the couple’s property is near Lake Pontchartrain and the shed is under the house, which is raised and surrounded by a marsh and wildlife refuge. WWL reported that officials from St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office said that deputies found blood at the scene, but six hours of searching proved fruitless. It was also reported that large gators are common in the area due to local residents who feed them.
As residents and responders in Louisiana and Mississippi begin the long road to recovery from Ida, Mother Nature will be offering no sort of assistance in the short term. AccuWeather meteorologists say sweltering conditions will roast the Southeast this week, with RealFeel® Temperatures hovering at or around 100 degrees Fahrenheit on Tuesday in the Louisiana areas of Houma and New Orleans, where Ida made some of its biggest messes. Come Wednesday, that RealFeel Temperature® will likely top 100 F in New Orleans and get warmer in Houma as well.
Over 1 million residents are still without power in the Bayou State, making for potentially hazardous conditions in handling the warmth without air conditioning. For tips on how to stay cool without A/C, click here.
After the devastation that Hurricane Ida brought to the Gulf Coast, many people are displaced, without power and without resources. Here are a few places to donate to and provide help:
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The Red Cross: The Red Cross provides shelters, meals and water, emergency supplies and more.
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Salvation Army: The organization uses donations to provide food, drinks, shelter, support and other emergency services.
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Feed the Second Line: An non-profit organization with a focus on supporting the culture bearers of New Orleans, Feed the Second Line provides groceries and other essentials as well as creates job opportunities within the city.
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Relief Gang: The Houston-based Relief Gang, founded after Hurricane Harvey, stretches across state lines to provide help to other areas impacted by hurricanes.
Photos emerged early Tuesday morning showing the condition of collapsed Highway 26 in George County, Mississippi, where two lives were claimed late Monday. According to George County Emergency Management Director John Glass, seven vehicles had to be pulled from the collapsed roadway, while 10 injuries were reported. Heavy rain from Ida reduced drivers’ visibility, officials said, preventing them from knowing they were driving into the washed-out highway. Glass added that the road was still actively washing out on Tuesday morning, WLOX reported.
Images from the Mississippi Highway Patrol show the depth of the washed-out highway and the scope of the accident, which required the use of a crane to pull cars from the wreckage.
Emergency responders stand in the washed-out highway in Mississippi where seven cars were involved in a late Monday accident, resulting in two deaths and 10 injuries. (Facebook/MHP Troop K)
Rescue efforts required the use of a crane on Tuesday morning to pull vehicles and debris from the washed-out highway. (Facebook/MHP Troop K)
Officials in Jackson, Mississippi, are urging residents to avoid flooded areas as Ida trudges through the state. “We’re still concerned about the potential of flooding in flood-prone areas, in low lying areas,” Mayor Chokwe Lumumba told AccuWeather National Reporter Emmy Victor. “We want to make certain that residents don’t walk, swim or ride, in standing water. They may not be aware of what the present dangers may be within that water or the depth of that water.” Victor reported that at least a dozen water rescues are hard at work in the city as Ida continues to dump flooding rains over the city. Lumumba told Victor that it wasn’t just the rain that was causing problems, however, but also the winds as Jackson sees its share of downed trees and power outages.
Ochsner Health, which operates over a dozen hospitals that were hit by Ida, evacuated 165 patients on Monday, The Associated Press reported. The patients were transferred to other hospitals and medical centers in the state that were spared by Ida as it roared ashore in southeastern Louisiana as a devastating Category 4 hurricane. “We know that we’re in for several days, maybe a couple of weeks of this situation,” Warner Thomas, President and CEO of Ochsner Health said. Prior to Ida’s landfall, Louisiana hospitals were inundated with coronavirus patients amid a new wave fueled by the delta variant. Around 2,400 people were hospitalized due to COVID-19, the AP reported.
As Ida continues to track across the southeastern United States on Tuesday, flooding rainfall will still be the most widespread impact from the tropical entity. However, AccuWeather forecasters say other forms of adverse weather are still in play to the east of Ida's track. From Tuesday through Tuesday night, a swath of the U.S. from the Florida Panhandle to the southern Appalachians will be at risk for severe thunderstorms. In addition to heavy rain, locally damaging wind gusts can occur across portions of Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, the Carolinas and Virginia, with an AccuWeather Local StormMax™ of 70 mph.
AccuWeather forecasters say isolated tornadoes cannot be ruled out. On Monday, nine tornado reports were submitted to the Storm Prediction Center (SPC) but none were confirmed as of early Tuesday morning. In one report, one person was injured after an eighteen wheeler was flipped over in a parking lot in Saraland, Alabama.
With rainfall from Ida winding down across the hardest-hit portions of southeastern Louisiana and southern Mississippi, more double-digit rainfall totals have been confirmed. Ida dropped more than 10 inches of rain in the past 48 hours over portions of Louisiana and Mississippi, leading to life-threatening flash flooding for some. The area surrounding Lake Pontchartrain appears to have been right in the bulls-eye for Ida's most potent downpours. At least two stations in the area have reported more than a foot of rainfall since early Sunday. One of the two stations, near New Orleans, actually received a mind-boggling foot and a half of rainfall in under 48 hours.
A partial highway collapse has left two people dead and at least 10 injured following heavy rainfall from Ida. A portion of Highway 26 in Lucedale, Mississippi, crumbled late Monday night, taking seven vehicles with along with it. Three of the 10 people injured are in critical condition. Images from the scene show that the ground supporting the roadway had given way, wiping out a large portion of the paved road above in the process.
While speaking to local media outlet WLOX, the Emergency Manager for George County, John Glass, said the incident occurred around 10 p.m. CDT Monday. Glass also warned that the road was still actively washing out and encouraged motorists to stay off the roads whenever possible.
AccuWeather forecasters say much of southern Mississippi has received upwards of six inches of rainfall as a result of Ida. Rainfall of this amount can be enough to saturate soil and loosen the ground, allowing for washouts to happen more often.
Tulane University, located in New Orleans, has announced that its campus will be closed until early October due to the destruction wrought by Ida. Classes at the university have been canceled through Sept. 12, and all remaining students on campus are set to be evacuated beginning Tuesday morning. Students will be evacuated by bus to Houston, Texas, and are required to only bring a maximum of two pieces of luggage and their valuables.
In a release distributed on Monday, the university stated: "Due to catastrophic transmission damage to the city power grid, all of Orleans Parish is currently without power. Other pieces of critical infrastructure, including services associated with Sewerage & Water Board and the supply chain and critical labor for the region, may be impacted for several weeks. Like all in the region, Tulane experienced a range of damage that requires repair."
Classes will resume online on Sept. 13, and students will only be allowed to back to campus at the conclusion of fall break on Oct. 11.
While the center of Ida is located over central Mississippi, heavy rain continues to fall to the east and north of the storm's center. AccuWeather forecasters say heavy rainfall will target portions of northern Mississippi and Alabama overnight and into Tuesday morning. A general 1-3 inches of rain has already fallen in these areas, with more on the way. Although the heaviest of Ida's rainfall has eased up for portions of far southern Mississippi and Alabama, flash flood warnings are still in effect for these areas overnight.
In this radar image taken late Monday night, August 30, 2021, Tropical Depression Ida can be seen unleashing heavy rainfall across portions of Mississippi and Alabama. (AccuWeather)
Following a multi-hour outage, 911 emergency services were fully restored for the City of New Orleans Monday afternoon. The outage lasted just under 12 hours, during which time some of the worst impacts from Ida pummeled the area. While 911 communications are back up and running, the Orleans Parish Communications District (OPCD) says that some trying to call for assistance may still experience network difficulties. The OPCD urges anyone who attempts to reach out for help but cannot connect to 911 to call out to 504-671-3600 instead.
After airlines cancelled all flights at the Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport in New Orleans on Monday, another full day of cancellations were announced Monday evening. All incoming and outgoing flights have been cancelled for Tuesday, with nearly 200 cancellations already reported for Wednesday, according to the airport. After an initial damage assessment, the airport found that there had been no significant damage to terminal facilities, the runways or taxiways, but there would need to be repairs to jet bridges. A loss of water pressure was also impacting parts of the airport operations such as air conditioning and functioning restrooms. The airport had also lost commercial power and was operating on emergency generator power. Crews were already on the scene to clear debris on airport roadways and repairing perimeter fence damage.
Those who evacuated from the path of Hurricane Ida should wait until they received the all clear from their local officials before returning to their homes, Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards said Monday. “It’s pretty clear that if you have evacuated, now is not the time to return unless and until your parish informs you that it is okay to do so,” Edwards said. “Businesses aren’t open, stores aren’t open, schools aren’t open, and quite frankly we need to put as little demand on our water systems and on our electric grid as possible.”
President Joe Biden spoke Monday afternoon at the White House during a virtual briefing and pledged full government resources as the long recovery from the damages brought by Hurricane Ida begins in earnest. “We’re there to help you get back on your feet,” Biden told Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards and Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves, according to CNBC. Louisiana and Mississippi have been hardest hit thus far by Ida, which as of late Monday afternoon had been downgraded to a tropical depression. Biden said it was critical to coordinate federal, state and local governments to ensure recovery efforts are smooth and effective. He added that 5,000 members of the National Guard have been activated to assist with recovery.
He said the federal government had marshaled more the 25,000 electrical crews from 30 states to help get the power back on, CNBC reported. More than 1 million customers in Louisiana were without power late Monday afternoon, and in Mississippi, that number was close to 100,000. "People in Louisiana and Mississippi are resilient, but it is in moments like these that we can see the power of government to meet the needs of people and respond to people, if government is prepared to respond. That is our job.” Watch a highlight from Biden's remarks below.
A rolling stone gathers no moss, and umbrellas in the Northeast haven’t gathered any dust due to frequent rounds of rain and storms in the past month. Over the past 30 days, rainfall has been more than 200% of normal, including Pittsburgh and New York City. With tropical downpours from Ida on the way, residents should brace for widespread flooding issues. "Many areas along the path of Ida from the central Appalachians as well as parts of the mid-Atlantic and southern New England are likely to have rounds of rain over a 12- to 18-hour period, but intense rainfall can last six to eight hours," AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Dan Pydynowski said. The rain is expected to arrive late Tuesday night into Wednesday morning as Ida tracks over the region.
Homes are flooded in the aftermath of Hurricane Ida, Monday, Aug. 30, 2021, in Jean Lafitte, La. The weather died down shortly before dawn. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
Ida made landfall in Port Fourchon, Louisiana, on Sunday afternoon as a Category 4 storm, and as communities begin to pick up the pieces, AccuWeather has made a preliminary estimate on the economic damage dealt by the storm. AccuWeather Founder and CEO Dr. Joel N. Myers estimated the total damage and economic loss resulting from Hurricane Ida will be between $70 billion and $80 billion.
“As AccuWeather accurately predicted, significant wind damage, destructive storm surge and inland flooding, as well as mass power outages, occurred in southeastern Louisiana, and unfortunately those power outages may last for a week or longer causing a near complete shutdown of New Orleans, among other cities and towns,” said Myers. “Power outages will exacerbate extreme discomfort caused by the heat and humidity and lead to the development of mold in the impacted areas, which can cause serious health and safety issues due to the combination of standing water and a lack of air conditioning. Oil production and refining along the Gulf Coast will certainly be impacted.”
The scope of the economic loss goes beyond businesses along the Gulf Coast that shuttered in anticipation for Ida. “As a key port city in the Mississippi River, New Orleans will experience significant delays. This will affect the supply chain and impact the entire U.S. economy in various ways as New Orleans is a major conduit of commerce,” said Myers. This estimate also includes the serious risk for flooding through the end of the week as Ida tracks across the Tennessee Valley, mid-Atlantic and Northeast.
Louisiana Gov. Jon Bel Edwards held a press conference on Monday afternoon to provide an update on the rescue efforts in the wake of Ida. So far, the National Guard has rescued nearly 200 people across Orleans, Jefferson and St. John the Baptist parishes, according to Associated Press reporter Melinda Deslatte. Although the rain has subsided in southeastern Louisiana, some communities are still underwater. Rescue crews were also working amid AccuWeather RealFeel® Temperatures around 90 F on Monday afternoon.
The Louisiana National Guard drives down a flooded street in St. John the Baptist Parish on Aug. 30, 2021. (Image/ Louisiana National Guard)
Joanne Najdala had a memorable trip to New Orleans, but likely not for the reasons she envisioned. Najdala had flown into the Big Easy to celebrate a friend's birthday, but was unable to get a flight out of town in time before Ida roared ashore on Sunday.
"I honestly didn’t think the winds would be this bad," Najdala told AccuWeather National Reporter Bill Wadell on Sunday. "I didn’t think that everything would be closed this bad. I thought there would at least be some places that would be open so we could get some more food."
New Orleans resident Martha Wiggins has seen her fair share of storms to hit the city over the past 12 years she's called the Big Easy home. Wiggins told Wadell that she left her home in the Treme neighborhood of the city for a hotel room in downtown New Orleans.
"People took this one serious," Wiggins told Wadell. "Unfortunately, I think for a lot of people it comes down to financially ... evacuating is expensive and not everybody has the ability to do it." "These storms come out of nowhere, and most of us are not prepared financially for this, even if it is hurricane season," Wiggins said.
At 4 p.m. CDT Monday, the National Hurricane Center downgraded Ida from a tropical storm to a tropical depression as maximum sustained winds fell to 35 mph. The center of Ida was about 20 miles north-northwest of Jackson, Mississippi, as the system advanced toward the Tennessee Valley. Despite being downgraded, AccuWeather meteorologists warn that it could cause major flooding as tropical downpours drench the mid-Atlantic and Northeast through Thursday. The center of Ida could even track directly over Baltimore or Philadelphia before it moves over the Atlantic Ocean and potentially Atlantic Canada.
By Monday afternoon, the northern edges of Ida, which was a tropical storm, were sending rainfall into southwestern Tennessee. AccuWeather forecasters have warned that as much as 4-8 inches of rain could come down in central Tennessee, particularly near Humphreys County where an estimated 17 inches of rain fell on Aug. 21, leading to nearly two dozen fatalities and widespread destruction. Officials from the state’s Emergency Management Agency are warning that the system could trigger immense flooding in the state, including the same areas that are still reeling from last week’s tragic flooding. Rain from Ida was falling as far west as eastern Arkansas and, to the east, was coming down in the Atlanta metro area, AccuWeather's national radar showed.
A radar image showing Ida, which had weakened to tropical storm force, moving farther inland on Monday, Aug. 30, 2021.
The NFL regular season kicks off on the second weekend of September, but the location of one team’s home opener is up in the air. The New Orleans Saints are scheduled to host the Green Bay Packers on Sunday, Sept. 12, but that could change depending on how long it takes for New Orleans to recover from Ida. “We don’t know relative on Week One in the Superdome,” Saints coach Sean Payton said, according to Pro Football Talk. “We’ll have a Plan B. There’s a lot of things from a priority standpoint that are more important to our city.” The team has already been displaced by Ida with the Saints currently setting up shop over 500 miles away at AT&T Stadium, home to the Dallas Cowboys, The Associated Press said. According to Jeff Duncan of The Times-Picayune, the Superdome did not suffer any major structural damage from Ida. Stadium staff conducted a walkthrough Monday morning and only found one leaking window.
In 2005, the Saints were forced to play a home game at Giants Stadium after Hurricane Katrina due to damage from the historic storm.
Russel L. Honoré, the former commander of Joint Task Force for Hurricane Katrina, explained to CNN's Kate Bolduan today the two important steps that need to happen next for Louisiana. The first thing, he said, is to get the roads open because those currently without utilities will want to evacuate.
"You can't sustain families where there's no drinking water and or toilets flushed, because you don't have electricity, and you do not have comms. If you do not have communications you can't coordinate, if you can't coordinate, you can't collaborate, and you can't get the stuff where you need it," Honoré explained. Once the roads are open, the next key tactic will be the government getting gasoline to those areas. "You've got to get gas to Louisiana so people can do the search and rescues, the hospitals can stay open, and they can get the critical infrastructure open that pumps drinking water, and pumps out sewage," Honoré said.
Honoré also appeared on MSNBC, and lauded improvements in logistics and infrastructure since Hurricane Katrina 16 years ago to the day, but warned that the power outages at gas stations and pharmacies during Hurricane Ida still "set us back 100 years."
Even though Ida will be a tropical rainstorm by the time it reaches the mid-Atlantic and Northeast later this week, it will have the potential to cause widespread and potentially severe impacts. A "tremendous" amount of rain is forecast for portions of the central Appalachians to the mid-Atlantic and New England, with the potential for life-threatening and damaging flooding, AccuWeather forecasters say. "A band of 4-8 inches of rain is forecast from northern West Virginia and southwestern Pennsylvania to northern New Jersey, the Hudson Valley of New York state and portions of southern and central New England," AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Alex Sosnowski said, adding that areas farther to the Southeast could receive 2 to 4 inches.
Severe weather is also forecast for the mid-Atlantic region Wednesday, and there could even be some tornadoes as a result. This includes Raleigh, North Carolina; Richmond, Virginia and Columbia, South Carolina.
Hurricane Ida's wind gusts were impressive across Louisiana, with a ship captain clocking a gust of 172 mph in Port Fourchon, where Ida made landfall. Specialized weather sensors deployed by WeatherFlow recorded a gust of 138 mph at Dulac and 122 mph near the Galliano airport. A water plant in Grand Isle clocked 136 mph, while 128 mph gusts were observed at a NOAA station in Southwest Pass. A dredge on Bottle Bayou saw 119 mph, while two oil rigs near the coast measured 112 and 119 mph. The Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport experienced wind gusts up to 90 mph despite being far from where Ida crashed ashore.
Speaking with MSNBC anchor Stephanie Ruhle a day after his state was hit by one of the strongest hurricanes to ever make landfall on the U.S. mainland, Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards issued a grim warning about what to expect. "We have one confirmed death, but I don't want to mislead anyone," Edwards said. "Robust search and rescue is happening right now and I fully expect that that death count will go up considerably throughout the day." Rescues have been underway in parts of Louisiana for a day now -- even as Hurricane Ida was hitting. Dramatic footage captured on camera showed a woman being rescued on Sunday from high floodwaters on Interstate 10 in New Orleans.
Not everyone in New Orleans evacuated the city ahead of Hurricane Ida, but those that elected to evacuate are being told to keep their distance. “If you have evacuated out of #NOLA, we request that you DO NOT RETURN until further notice,” the city’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness said on Monday. “There is widespread debris, power remains out, and emergency services are working to respond to those still in the city.” The agency was unable to give an estimate of when people will be allowed to return, but said that they will provide an update when it is safe for residents to come home.
Over 1 million customers in Louisiana were without power on Monday afternoon, one day after Ida made landfall twice in the state and retained hurricane status on land for hours. The majority of outages are in the southeastern portion of the state. According to a new update released by Entergy, the state’s largest electric provider, some customers in the hardest-hit areas of Louisiana could be without power for weeks due to major transmission lines being out of service due to Ida. About 216 substations, 207 transmission lines, and more than 2,000 miles of transmission lines were out of service. One electrical tower that was destroyed reportedly withstood the impacts of Katrina 16 years ago.
Traffic diverts around downed power lines Monday, Aug. 30, 2021, in Metairie, La. A fearsome Hurricane Ida has left scores of coastal Louisiana residents trapped by floodwaters and pleading to be rescued while making a shambles of the electrical grid across a wide swath of the state in the sweltering, late-summer heat. One of the most powerful hurricanes ever to hit the U.S. mainland has now weakened into a tropical storm as it pushes inland over Mississippi with torrential rain and shrieking winds. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)
Hurricane Ida has dropped over 9 inches of rain in Louisiana and southern Mississippi and Alabama, causing widespread flooding. One USGS gauge on the Amite River near Maurepas, Louisiana, rose to its second-highest crest on record. That gauge is west of New Orleans and north of LaPlace, where water rescues were reported overnight. Over 30 other gauges in the area were experiencing or expected to experience moderate to major flooding, with two forecast to crest within feet of all-time records Monday afternoon and evening: the Tchefuncte River near Covington, Louisiana, and the Bogue Falaya River near Covington, Louisiana.
Just as Hurricane Ida was bearing down on the Louisiana coastline, the state's hospitals were packed with COVID-19 patients, The Associated Press reported. As of Sunday, according to the AP, nearly 2,500 patients were being treated for the coronavirus in hospitals throughout the state. Gov. John Bel Edwards admitted in an AP interview that Louisiana was in a "very dangerous place with our hospitals." He added, "I hate to say it this way, but we have a lot of people on ventilators today and they don’t work without electricity." And that was before Ida knocked out power to the entire city of New Orleans late Sunday night. Before that happened, however, some of the state's largest hospitals had already gone into emergency lockdown. More than 1 million customers were without power on Monday morning in Louisiana.
Some good news is that hospitals are better equipped for hurricane disasters than they were 16 years ago when Katrina struck. Dr. Jeff Elder, medical director for emergency management at LCMC Health, told the AP that changes were made in the wake of the Katrina disaster, including in many cases keeping backup generators in raised positions to stay above the floodwaters. Hospitals also took some preemptive measures, including transferring some patients to other facilities. For more on the preparation effort, watch the video below.
"Ida continues to weaken, but the damage is done across eastern Louisiana," AccuWeather Chief Broadcast Meteorologist Bernie Rayno said on the latest episode of AccuWeather's Weather Insider podcast. The big story remains the storm's rain, Rayno noted as Ida tracked farther inland. The rain will actually intensify later this week across parts of Pennsylvania, Virginia and New England thanks to a piece of energy in the atmosphere. Listen to Rayno's forecast below.
Hurricane Ida was unfortunately as advertised, Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards said in a message shared to Twitter Monday morning. Edwards said, for the most part, all of the levees "performed extremely well, especially the federal levees." But the hurricane's inundating rain, powerful storm surge and punishing winds all had devastating impacts across southeastern Louisiana.
"Virtually no one has electricity in this part of our state right now. We have water systems that are out. We have tremendous damage to homes and to businesses," the governor said. He also noted that many individuals are awaiting rescue since their homes are currently not inhabitable due to floodwaters, but added that help is on the way as rescuers in a fleet of high-water vehicles make their way around the storm-battered region.
Hurricane Ida made landfall shortly before noon local time on Sunday, but for a brief period of time, it wasn't the only named system in the Atlantic basin. Tropical Storm Julian formed in the open Atlantic about an hour ahead of Ida's catastrophic landfall in Louisiana. Julian formed about 1,100 miles west of the Azores and 865 miles south-southeast of Cape Race, New Foundland. While Ida has been a named storm since Thursday, Aug. 26, Julian couldn't even last one full day as a tropical system. The National Hurricane Center said the storm became an extra-tropical storm late Sunday.
The path of short-lived Tropical Storm Julian.
In the wake of Julian's brief lifespan, another named storm formed over the open waters of the Atlantic Monday morning. Tropical Depression 10 strengthened into Tropical Storm Kate about 750 miles east-northeast of the Leeward Islands around 9:30 a.m. Monday. The weak storm is not expected to be a threat to land.
Damage assessments began at first light throughout southeastern Louisiana as Ida tracked farther north.
Jefferson Parish President Cynthia Lee Sheng called for a mandatory curfew for the entire parish on Monday morning that is slated to remain in effect until 6 a.m. on Tuesday. "All residents should stay off the roads as there are many hazards." officials said. Scott Walker, the council chairman for the parish, asked residents to limit the use of water due to extremely low water pressure.
Emergency management and law enforcement officials in New Orleans urged residents to remain sheltered in place as the city's massive power outage persisted. "Now is not the time to leave your home," the New Orleans Police Department said. "There is no power. Trees, limbs, and lines are down everywhere. It is not safe to leave your home right now. Please remain sheltered in place.
Elsewhere, the Lafourche Parish Sheriff's Office said Ida caused "catastrophic" damage throughout the parish. "Deputies have been deployed in full force today responding to emergencies, searching for those who need help, and helping clear roads," the sheriff's office said. A parish-wide curfew remains in effect there as well. "We understand evacuees are anxious to return to survey damage and assist others. Today is not that day. Parish officials will be making an announcement about reentry in the near future."
Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards was one of many officials Monday morning urging residents to remain in their homes. The governor said more than 1,600 personnel had been distributed to conduct search and rescue operations.
Roads were flooded and roofs were torn off buildings in New Orleans on Sunday, Aug. 29, after Hurricane Ida made landfall in Louisiana as a Category 4 hurricane. And that was all before the entire city lost power Sunday night and a flash flood emergency was declared. Ida also caused flooding and coastal impacts in Mississippi and continued to impact both states Monday morning.
Ida isn’t just a worry for the Gulf Coast. Farther north in Tennessee, officials from the state’s Emergency Management Agency are warning that the system could trigger immense flooding in the state, including the same areas that are still reeling from last week’s tragic flooding. As the central portions of the state have hardly begun addressing the devastation wrought by the immense flooding of Trace Creek in Waverley, Tennessee, the still-potent Ida is forecast to impact the west and middle portions of the state on Monday evening.
"It absolutely is a big blip on our radar. we're watching it, we're preparing for it. It's not going to change our plans here for Middle Tennessee, but we want everyone to be prepared," FEMA Spokesperson Darrell Habisch said on Saturday. "Listen to your local emergency managers, listen to your mayors and the county and find out exactly what's coming."
A local storm report issued by the National Weather Service (NWS) office in New Orleans has demonstrated just how powerful Hurricane Ida was after making landfall in Louisiana. Instrumentation onboard a ship docked in Port Fourchon, Louisiana, recorded maximum sustained winds of 149 mph and a wind gust of 172 mph shortly after noon, local time, Sunday. Ida made its first of two landfalls in Louisiana at 11:55 a.m. CDT Sunday in Port Fourchon as a Category 4 hurricane. On the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale, a Category 4 hurricane has sustained winds of 130-156 mph. Therefore, this ground-truth observation proved that Ida was a dangerously strong Category 4 hurricane at landfall.
Over 1 million Louisiana customers, including all of New Orleans, remain without power early Monday morning. The number of outages in the neighboring state of Mississippi has begun climbing as well, topping 100,000 as of 4:15 a.m. CDT, as the now tropical storm begins to work its way through the Southeast.
The storm is located about 95 miles south-southwest of Jackson, Missippi, and is moving north at 8 mph as of the latest advisory from the NHC.
As of 4 a.m. CDT Monday, Ida has lost some wind intensity and is now designated as a tropical storm, according to the National Hurricane Center (NHC). After making landfall just before noon CDT Sunday, Ida spent about 16 hours over land before it shed its hurricane designation. This means that hurricane-force winds pummeled southeastern Louisiana for long portions of Sunday and Sunday night. Regardless of the change in designation from a hurricane to a tropical storm, dangerous impacts will persist along the path of Ida including flash flooding, dangerous storm surge and damaging winds.
More than a dozen fires were active in Kenner, Louisiana, early Monday morning and firefighters were unable to spring into action. Because of Ida, area firefighters have encountered two main setbacks: lack of water pressure and unsafe conditions. According to a statement released by city officials, "the department has very low water pressure because of the numerous breaks in the parish’s water system due to downed trees." A lack of water pressure means firefighters do not have access to the volume of water necessary to make hoses viable instruments in the fight against fires. Strong winds, downed trees and powerlines across the city continue to hinder the travel of first responders. According to Kenner's fire chief Terence Morris, wind gusts over 35 mph make it unsafe for crews to operate aerial trucks while wind gusts of 50 mph make it unsafe to use pump trucks. Just after 3 a.m. CDT, wind gusts upwards of 37 mph were still being reported at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport.
The Emergency Communications Center for the City of New Orleans tweeted early Monday morning that its 911 system was "experiencing technical difficulties." As Ida continues to ravage the area, officials urged those in the area experiencing an emergency to "go to your nearest fire station or approach your nearest officer."
Sunday evening while reporting on location in New Orleans, AccuWeather's Bill Wadell reported that Hurricane Ida had, "sent debris flying all over downtown New Orleans" with "trees toppled over [and] windows shattered."
All flights from several major airlines flying out of Jackson-Medgar Wiley Evers International Airport have been canceled for Monday, August 30. All Southwest Airlines, American Airlines and United Airlines outbound flights have been canceled on Monday due to the anticipated impacts from Ida.
AccuWeather forecasters say the center of Ida is forecast to pass just west of Jackson, Mississippi, Monday afternoon into Monday evening. Ida will still be able to produce torrential rainfall, damaging wind gusts and even isolated tornadoes as it continues its journey inland Monday.
Another rare flash flood emergency was issued Sunday evening as torrential downpours continued across southeastern Louisiana. This flash flood emergency included Jean Lafitte and Lafitte, Louisiana, where Hurricane Ida has caused major issues. According to the mayor of Jean Lafitte Tim Kerner Jr., a bridge collapsed following floodwaters overtopping a levee in the city. Due to the dangerous conditions, emergency workers are reportedly unable to conduct rescues.
According to Kerner, "Rescue boats will be here as soon as the weather permits. However, we are putting together a small team to rescue those who are in immediate and/or imminent danger."
As of just after midnight CDT Monday, Ida is now a Category 1 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale, according to the National Hurricane Center (NHC). Hurricane conditions continue to spread farther inland as Ida crawls over Louisiana. Despite the status change, Ida continues to produce life-threatening impacts for portions of the Gulf coast.
According to PowerOutage.us, just over 1 million customers are without power in Louisiana just after midnight Monday morning. According to PowerOutage.us, the power status of over 2.2 million customers is tracked across the state, meaning nearly 45% of Louisiana is without power. Nearly 100% of customers in the parishes of far southeastern Louisiana are without power. In Orleans Parish alone, 177,538 customers are without power.
In a tragic turn of events, the first fatality due to Hurricane Ida was confirmed Sunday night. According to the Louisiana Department of Health, a 60-year-old man was killed in Ascension Parish on Sunday after a tree struck his home. Trees down in other parts of the Parish also caused the closure of over 20 miles of Interstate 10 on Sunday evening.
