WBRZ - Baton Rouge

12 PM Update:  Ida has now weakened back to a tropical storm.  It is currently located about 65 miles SSW of Puerto Cabezas, Nicaragua.  Winds are now sustained at 65 mph, and it has been stationary.  Additional weakening is expected throughout the day as it sits over land. 

Dave Nussbaum will have the latest information and track of Ida coming up on News 2 at Noon.

9 AM Update: Ida has moved inland around Tasbapauni, Nicaragua this morning.  It remains a weak hurricane with winds of 75 mph, but it will weaken as it continues to move to the NW near 6 mph over land.  See the image below for the latest forecast track which still places it in the Southern Gulf of Mexico by next Tuesday. 

Stay tuned to News 2 and WBRZ.com for tropical weather updates over the next few days.

Ida formed yesterday afternoon, and it is hurricane this morning.  Ida is located about 60 miles NNE of Bluefields, Nicaragua.  It is moving to the NW near 7 mph with sustained winds of 75 mph.  The pressure is 987 mb.  Ida will make landfall in Nicaragua today.  Once inland, Ida will weaken, and continue to track NW over Eastern Nicaragua and Honduras over the next few days.

The question still remains as to how strong Ida will be once it emerges into the NW Caribbean over the weekend.  It is very possible that the storm will totally dissipate over the rough terrain over Nicaragua and Honduras.  However, it could still have enough energy to survive the track over land, and then could restrengthen once it hits the NW Caribbean.  The official forecast track takes Ida across the eastern Yucatan Peninsula and then into the southern Gulf of Mexico by next Tuesday.  Some of the forecast models do track Ida into the Central Gulf by the middle of next week. 

Historically, a tropical system has not made a landfall in Louisiana dating back to 1851 in the month of November.  If a storm has entered into the Gulf and starts heading toward Louisiana, a cold front usually comes through around the same time.  This deflects the system to the north and east, or toward Florida. 

It looks like if Ida survives, and makes it into the Gulf of Mexico, another cold front will likely deflect it away from us according to the latest forecast models.  You can see their tracks here on the WBRZ Hurricane Center page.  Nonetheless, I will watch Ida closely to see what happens over the next week. 

Elsewhere. . .the rest of the tropics are quiet, and tropical cyclone formation is not expected through Friday.