From Ken Kaye's Storm Center:
Hurricane Ida struck the central Nicaragua coast this morning and continued aiming north toward Honduras, Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula and possibly the Gulf of Mexico.
At 10 a.m. today, the system was 75 miles north of Bluefields, Nicaragua, crawling northwest at 6 mph with sustained winds of 75 mph.
Because it is over land, forecasters expect Ida to weaken to a depression over the next three days.
Under the long range forecast, Ida would regain tropical storm strength, move into the Gulf by Tuesday morning and generally aim toward Louisiana. That prediction, however, remains far from certain.
While Florida residents should monitor the system, for now only the Lower Keys are in the cone of uncertainty.
Of immediate concern, Ida is roughing up Central America with howling winds, torrential rains and battering waves. Of some consolation, it’s a compact storm, as its hurricane force winds extend only 15 miles from its center.
Ida strengthened into the third hurricane of the Atlantic season early this morning.
