The making of Hurricane Ida

Video covering the development of Hurricane Ida from August 24-28 2021.

Hurricane Ida is an intensifying tropical cyclone that is currently impacting Western Cuba and threatening the Gulf Coast of the United States. The ninth named storm, and fourth hurricane of the 2021 Atlantic hurricane season, Ida originated from a tropical wave first monitored by the National Hurricane Center (NHC) on August 23, moving into the Caribbean Sea and developing into a tropical storm on August 26.

On August 23, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) first noted the potential for tropical cyclone development in the southwestern Caribbean Sea, related to a tropical wave that entered the eastern Caribbean Sea on the same day. By August 25, the NHC assessed a high likelihood of development as the wave moved westward through the Caribbean. On the next day, the system's convection, or thunderstorms, became more organized to the south of Jamaica. At 15:00 UTC on August 26, the NHC classified the system as Tropical Depression Nine about 115 mi (180 km) south-southwest of Negril, Jamaica. The classification was due to the organization of the convection and the circulation center. Upon its development, the depression was moving northwestward, steered by a ridge located over the western Atlantic Ocean. Favorable factors in the system's further development included warm waters of the northwestern Caribbean Sea, low wind shear, and a moist environment.

Late on August 26, a Hurricane Hunters flight indicated that the depression intensified into Tropical Storm Ida. Initially, the storm had an asymmetric structure, with its strongest winds and deepest convection located east of the center. This was due to some southwesterly wind shear, which gradually lessened. As Ida moved toward northwestern Cuba, its structure improved, with more outflow, increased rainbands, and the organization of the convection into a central dense overcast. It then rapidly intensified, with its winds increasing by 35 mph in just over 11 hours. Late on August 27, the NHC upgraded Ida to hurricane status, based on observations made by the Hurricane Hunters. Around the same time, the hurricane made landfall on Cuba's Isla de la Juventud. Ida later made a second landfall in Pinar del Río Cuba on 23:25 UTC the same day.

Video compiled of a series of images by the NOAA GOES-16 satellite. Downloaded from CIRA.

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