Ida nearly doubled the wind requirement in 24 hours.Īt 11:55 AM CDT Sunday, August 29 th Ida made landfall as an extremely dangerous category 4 hurricane near Port Fourchon, Louisiana. In total from 7am CDT Saturday to 8am CDT Sunday Ida went from 85mph to 150mph – an increase of 65mph. The definition of rapid intensification is when a tropical system increases its sustained winds of at least 35mph or greater in less than 24 hours. Ida spent the next three days on a whirlwind strengthening cycle known as ‘rapid intensification’. On Thursday, August 26th, Tropical Depression Nine strengthened to become Tropical Storm Ida after Air Force Reserve Hurricane Hunters found maximum sustained winds of at least 40mph. Ida was one of the most well-forecast storms in recent memory. For starters, the National Hurricane Center forecast track, called the cone of uncertainty, remained within 50 miles (80km) of the actual landfall location in the three days before the storm hit. That is quite impressive since the average track error at 72 hours lead-time is 96 miles (154km).Ĭatastrophic flooding was also forecast days in advance for both the Gulf Coast where Ida made landfall as well as the Northeast region of the US, which underwent record flooding on Wednesday 1st and Thursday 2nd September 2021. “For me, the most compelling aspect of Ida was its rapid intensification up to landfall,” said Scott Braun, a scientist who specializes in hurricanes at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center. Hurricane Ida ripped across more than 1,500 miles (2,400km) in the United States, setting numerous records and leaving a trail of destruction. Ida was most destructive while both entering and exiting the US. The storm is already responsible for taking dozens of lives, and that number will likely rise.
Image credit: Hurricane Ida captured by astronaut Thomas Pesquet on the International Space Station
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