Ida was a tropical storm yesterday, but now it’s a hurricane. The storm is getting stronger. “This is bad news for part of the southern coast of the United States,” says meteorologist Brian Verhoeven of Poinradar.
Authorities have stated that Ida will become a “extremely severe” Category 4 hurricane, which can cause “life-threatening flooding” and “catastrophic wind damage.”
Noodtoestand in Louisiana
The governor of Louisiana, with New Orleans as the largest city, has already declared a state of emergency. All the inhabitants of the coast must have looked for a safe haven tonight at the latest. The governor fears Ida will become a strong hurricane because the conditions are right.
So does Brian Verhoeven of Buienradar. It is necessary for the sea water temperature to reach 27 degrees or more for a hurricane to form.
In the Gulf of Mexico between Cuba and New Orleans, the temperature is much higher, Verhoeven says: “The lowest is about 28 degrees. The further north you go (towards the US), the warmer the water. In the south on the US coast, The water temperature reaches about 31 degrees Celsius.”
There are other factors that are also useful for making Ida stronger and stronger. Hurricane Ida is now expected to become a Category 4 Hurricane, with winds of up to 225 kilometers per hour.
Hurricane Katrina was a Category 5, the highest category, 16 years ago. But the 1,833 deaths and more than $150 billion in losses were caused by floods, storm surge and torrential rain.
Ida could become more dangerous than expected
And herein lies the danger with Ida. Weather models take into account a gust of up to 4.5 metres. And with 300 to 400 mm of rain in a short time, which is an average that falls in the Netherlands in six months. But there is a scenario that assumes more than 1,000 mm of rain. There is also the possibility that Ida could unexpectedly become stronger than Class 4. Much is still uncertain, but it is clear that it can become dangerous.
