This is what it’s like to be a meteorologist from Louisiana and cover Ida

By Jennifer Gray, CNN

Each time I see a storm rapidly intensify in the Gulf of Mexico, my stomach churns.

I’m Jennifer Gray and I’ve been a meteorologist for 18 years and it doesn’t get any easier to watch.

Louisiana is my home.

My family, close friends and a lifetime of memories flood my mind each time this happens. Covering storms is serious business for me. I’m hoping to communicate clearly, with the proper urgency the storm warrants, and no matter where the storm hits, I’m constantly thinking about the families impacted.

Like the one million people who have lost power or those first responders who are struggling to reach the hardest-hit areas

But when the storm is bearing down on your family, your childhood friends, the home in New Orleans where I visited my grandmother growing up, it tugs on my heart even more.

The moment I get off the air, I’m answering texts from friends who are asking me what they should do. I’m facetiming with my best friend from college who is worried about a particular tree falling on her home.

But I’m telling them the exact same thing I’m telling the viewers. There’s no top-secret insider baseball when it comes to hurricanes.

There’s one forecast, a million possibilities and staying safe is the top priority.

On the ground in Houma

As many of you know who have been keeping up with us this weekend, my colleague Derek Van Dam experienced it this weekend. He rode out Ida in the town of Houma, where the majority of the residents evacuated. He was their eyes on the ground.

People watching from hotel rooms miles away were able to see what their town was experiencing — seeing what they will be returning to.

“Nearly every building in downtown Houma has suffered some sort of damage,” CNN meteorologist Derek Van Dam sends me in a text from the field.

“Complicating the issue for residents is the lack of power and cellular networks. It’s devastating to see people who are trying to get in touch with family or friends and aren’t able to. They just want to know everyone is OK.”

Derek goes on to tell me that the storm has taken a toll on him and his crew. They know this is important work, being the eyes on the ground for so many residents who are evacuated. “The sun is out and it’s heating up fast. It’s going to be a difficult recovery effort without any options to cool off.”

The reality is that power could be out for weeks. Trying to clean up and rebuild in the hot Louisiana sun is going to only make for more challenges in the days ahead.

Here is some of the latest from the ground in other parts of Louisiana

• New Orleans residents should be prepared to be in the dark for “weeks,” city councilman says.
• “We’ve just been through a horrendous night,” Louisiana’s St. Tammany Parish president says.
• New Orleans resident says neighbor saved her house from a falling tree.
• These neighbors in New Orleans sheltered in place during the storm. Here’s what they said it was like.

Human-caused climate change made Ida worse

Ida is another real-life example of how climate change is worsening the impacts from hurricanes. “Fueled by warmer than normal Gulf of Mexico waters, Ida made it back-to-back years the state has dealt with 150mph, high-end hurricanes,” said CNN meteorologist Brandon Miller.

This is something no state has ever experienced before.

“Scientists have noted several ways that hurricanes are changing, and their impacts are getting worse, thanks to human-caused climate change. Hurricane Ida checks all the boxes,” Miller said.

• Stronger: More storms are reaching major strength (category 3-5).
• Slower: Storms are moving slower, especially after landfall.
• Wetter: Storms are producing more rainfall, and extreme rainfall rates.
• Higher seas = higher surge: Sea level rise has raised the water levels along the coastline, making storm surge even higher.

The winds with hurricane Ida were remarkable

Remarkable in a sense that it was so wild to see winds stay as strong as they did for so long. Ida remained a major storm for NINE hours after making landfall.

Most of the time these wind gauges break before we can get readings above 130-140 mph.

Yesterday, a ship at Port Fourchon clocked a wind speed of 149 mph, with a gust of 172 mph.

Other wind reports we received:

• New Orleans International Airport: 90 mph gust
• Raceland, LA: 99 mph gust
• Galliano, LA: 98 mph gust
• near Dulac, LA: 89 mph wind, with gust of 138 mph

Where will Ida go from here?

Ida is still on the move and still has the potential to cause damage and major flooding as it continues its journey northward. Ida should weaken to a tropical depression today, and head through Tennessee tomorrow and off the mid-Atlantic coast by Thursday.

The National Hurricane Center is expecting Ida to pick up some forward speed today.

Ida still carries winds of 45 mph, with higher gusts, so as the storm churns to the north, there will be the strong possibility of more power outages. Along with this will be downed trees and power lines throughout more of Louisiana and Mississippi.

Ida will likely produce two to four inches of rain across much of the Tennessee River Valley and mid-Atlantic, with isolated amounts up to six inches.

Flash flooding will be the main threat with Ida as 50 million people are currently in flash flood watches stretching from the Gulf Coast to the Northeast.

Tornadoes are also possible today for Mississippi, Alabama and the Florida Panhandle. As the storm moves north, the threat for tornadoes will shift north as well.

Middle Tennessee is clawing its way out of devastation from recent flooding. Now it sits right in Ida’s crosshairs

The NHC forecasts for Hurricane Ida were accurate, CNN analysis shows

Our team of meteorologists analyzed every official forecast for Hurricane Ida from the National Hurricane Center. Our results show that the center’s forecasts for the storm were significantly better than average.

All forecasts showed the storm making a landfall in south-central to southeastern Louisiana from the beginning.

Forecast tracks for the storm began Thursday morning, more than 72 hours in advance of the eventual landfall of the storm.

A total of 14 forecasts tracks were put out by the NHC between Thursday and Sunday morning. All of them showed landfall less than 50 miles from the actual landfall location of Port Fourchon, Louisiana.

The first track issued showed the greatest error in distance, showing landfall about 45 miles west of Port Fourchon.

The average track error from the NHC at 72-hours lead-time is 96 miles, meaning the forecast showed less than half of the average error for a three-day tropical cyclone forecast.

The 48-hour forecast was also nearly half the average error, showing a landfall roughly 35 miles from Port Fourchon (the average error at 48 hours is 65 miles).

The-CNN-Wire
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