Potentially Catastrophic Hurricane Ida Threatens Louisiana

For the past few days, meteorologists have been projecting that a tropical storm, named Ida, would form and pass from the northwest Caribbean Sea and through the western end of Cuba while achieving hurricane status.  Once it entered the Gulf of Mexico, the consensus opinion was that it would rapidly intensify from being in the warm Gulf waters while avoiding any substantial wind shear...and eventually hit the coast of eastern Louisiana as a Category 4 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 130-140 mph.  This makes the heavily populated New Orleans-Baton Rouge region of the state a bulls-eye target, presenting the greatest threat to the area since Katrina in 2005 swept through, causing levee breaks and sending New Orleans...situated under sea level...into a catastrophic state of flooding and causing many deaths and much suffering.  I'm writing this a little past 8 pm EDT, and this hour's advisory has the storm temporarily holding at a Category 2 level with 105 max. sustained winds and the barometric pressure...an indicator of a hurricane's true intensity...dropping from 976 to 969 millibars: much intensification expected in the next few hours.  The eye of Ida is expected to make landfall tomorrow morning, but tropical force winds and heavy rainfall will be making their way inland during the night...the one saving grace in all of this is that the storm is traveling along its course relatively rapid.  Louisiana isn't the only area seriously affected: virtually the entire state of Mississippi is threatened by flash flooding, and western Tennessee and Kentucky are also on severe weather alert.  The Weather Channel...I love these guys...have their meteorologist personalities stationed in place, reporting live from various targeted locales in the area: my television is locked on it (until I go to sleep later, that is).   My prayers are with the many people of these region for their lives, health and property in the hours and days to come...

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The next day: Ida made landfall early in the afternoon, with maximum sustained winds of 150 mph.  Unfortunately, this extremely intense hurricane has slowed down with its forward motion, at this writing to 10 mph...bad news for the residents of the area concerned about both high winds and flooding...