Dr. Jeff Masters' WunderBlog

Ida takes aim at the U.S. Gulf Coast

Sun, 8 Nov 2009 23:17:00 GMT

Hurricane Ida burst into the Gulf of Mexico as a Category 2 hurricane with 100 mph winds this afternoon, and is poised to deliver a solid blow to the U.S. Gulf Coast between Southeast Louisiana and the Florida Panhandle on Tuesday morning. Radar imagery out of Cancun reveals that Ida has retained its tight inner core this afternoon, with only limited rain bands affecting Mexico and western Cuba. Top winds at Cancun, Mexico today were only 15 mph, despite the fact th...
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Hurricane Ida churns into the Gulf of Mexico

Sun, 8 Nov 2009 15:21:00 GMT

Hurricane Ida is threading the gap between Cuba and Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula as a Category 1 hurricane, and now appears poised to bring a punishing combination of high tides and heavy rain Monday night and Tuesday morning to the U.S. Gulf Coast. Ida is a compact hurricane, and radar imagery out of Cancun (Figure 1) reveals a tight inner core, with only limited rain bands affecting Mexico and western Cuba as the storm shoots through the Yucatan Channel. Top winds ...
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Ida strengthens, could be a hurricane for the Yucatan

Sat, 7 Nov 2009 15:19:00 GMT

Tropical Storm Ida is slowly strengthening, as it heads north-northwest towards an encounter with Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula. Infrared satellite loops show that Ida's heavy thunderstorms are expanding in area, and the cloud tops are cooling, indicating that the updrafts in the storm are growing stronger and pushing higher into the atmosphere. Wind shear is a moderate 15 - 20 knots, and is forecast to remain moderate through Sunday night. SSTs are a warm 29°C, and t...
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Ida survives its Central American crossing

Fri, 6 Nov 2009 15:04:00 GMT

Hurricane Ida rumbled ashore over eastern Nicaragua yesterday morning as a Category 1 hurricane with 75 mph winds--the first November Atlantic hurricane to make landfall in an El Niño year since 1925. Now just a tropical depression, Ida has crossed over into Honduras, dumping heavy rains of 6 - 10 inches along the coast of Nicaragua and northeast Honduras, according to satellite estimates. The rains have pretty much ended over Nicaragua, thanks to the collapse of I...
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Hurricane Ida hits Nicaragua

Thu, 5 Nov 2009 15:31:00 GMT

Hurricane Ida intensified at one of the fastest rates on record, and plowed ashore this morning in central Nicaragua as a Category 1 hurricane with 75 mph winds. It took just 24 hours from when the first advisory was issued for Tropical Depression Eleven until Ida reached hurricane strength. Since reliable satellite measurements began in 1970, Hurricane Humberto holds the record for fastest intensification from first advisory issued to hurricane strength--18 hours. ...
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