August 29 - August 30
Hurricane Ida began as Tropical Depression Nine of the 2021 Atlantic Hurricane Season. She first took shape in the Caribbean Sea on August 26th, then made her way North towards Cuba. Her status as a tropical depression was not long lived, as she quickly strengthened into a tropical storm, with wind speeds of 40 mph. Just before making landfall in Cuba the following day, Ida strengthened into a Category 1 hurricane with sustained winds of 80 mph. After passing over the Northwestern tip of Cuba, Ida continues to strengthen, becoming a Category 2 in the afternoon of August 28th, while moving towards the gulf coast of the US. By this point, Ida's winds had reached 100 mph and there was nothing but warm waters between her and the Louisiana Coastline.
Path taken by Ida from August 26th through September 1st
"The Weather Channel"
In the early hours of the morning on August 29th, Ida strengthened into a Category 3 hurricane, making her a Major Hurricane. As the sun came up, her sustained winds rose to 115 mph and the pressure inside the storm began to plummet. This rapid drop in pressure is indicative of a rapid intensification of a storm, and this time was no different. Over the course of 24 hours, from the afternoon of the 28th to the afternoon of the 29th, the pressure dropped from 985 millibars to 929 millibars. For reference, a "Bomb Cyclone" occurs when a storm systems drops 24 millibars in 24 hours. Ida dropped 56 millibars in 24 hours. At 12:55 pm EST, with wind speeds of 150 mph, Ida made landfall 100 miles South of New Orleans in Port Fourchon, Louisiana, 16 years to the day since Hurricane Katrina made landfall.
Ida's Track with Tropical Watches & Warnings and Wind Field
When it comes to hurricanes, radar products don't come into play until the system approaches land. Satellite imagery and flying aircrafts equipped with various instruments are the main ways that data is gathered from the storm while it's over the ocean. Below is satellite imagery of Ida from August 27th through August 30th.
Although this is a radar analysis of the tornadoes that Ida's remnants eventually produced, we added some radar images of when she made landfall as well.