WBRZ - Baton Rouge

Ida is a tropical depression this morning as it sits on the Nicaragua/Honduras border.  Winds are sustained at 35 mph.  It is moving toward the North at 6 mph.  On this track, Ida will move over Honduras today, and emerge in the NW Caribbean by Saturday morning.  Then it will move to the NW toward Cancun, Mexico by early on Monday.  It is forecast to become a tropical storm once again with winds around 50 mph on Sunday. 

On Tuesday, Ida is forecast to be in the southern Gulf of Mexico as it tracks toward the northwest.  At the same time, that front will be moving across the Northern Gulf Coast states, and this will make Ida turn toward the Northeast on Wednesday as it moves into the Central Gulf. 

Please understand that there is great uncertainty with the track of Ida.  It will all depend on how strong Ida is once it emerges back into the Caribbean this weekend.  Plus, the track it will take once it is in the Gulf will also depend on the track of the low and front that will move through our area early next week.  Southeast Louisiana is in the forecast cone on Day 5, so it will be worth watching.  However, dating back to 1851 a storm has never made a landfall in Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi or Alabama in the month of November.  That would lead me to believe that Ida will not be a threat to Louisiana at this time, but I will still watch it closely.

Needless to say, keep it tuned to News 2 and WBRZ.com for the latest information on Ida today and over the weekend.  Click here to check out WBRZ's Hurricane Center page.