MIAMI — Ida was downgraded to a tropical storm on Thursday after slamming into Nicaragua as a category one hurricane, the US National Hurricane Center said.
"The government of Nicaragua has replaced the hurricane warning with a tropical storm warning," the experts said, predicting Ida would weaken further as it moved across eastern Nicaragua and eastern Honduras in the coming days.
Ida churned onto Nicaragua earlier Thursday, unleashing strong winds and heavy rain across the eastern coast of the Central American country and forcing thousands of people out of their homes into temporary shelters.
Hurricane IDA was formed on Wednesday in the far southwest of the Caribbean Sea, about 60 miles (97 kilometers) north-northeast of Bluefields, Nicaragua. With wind speed of 70 miles per hour may convert into a hurricane of lower intensity but for the time National Commission of Emergencies has issued a yellow warning for the Pacific Coast, North Zone, Caribbean and Guanacaste as the Hurricane IDA is approaching the Atlantic coast of Nicaragua. The storm may enter into the Gulf of Mexico within the coming three days.
The storm which is expected to hit the inland over Nicaragua later today will weaken substantially into a tropical depression over land. The CNE expecting the areas under direct influence of the storm would be Cobano, Jicaral, Paquera in Central Pacific and the Canton de Montes de Oro in Puntarenas. Regions known as Huetar Norte: Upala, Guatuso, Los Chiles y San Carlos in the northern zone and Siquirres, Matina, Guacimo y Pococi in the Caribbean would face a potential threat whereas rest of the country will be under a green warning which means lots of rains in the country. National Weather Service said that rains could be continued till Friday. All departments meant for the disaster management are on alert to coop with any kind of emergency.
National Hurricane Center iterated that they did not think that system could pose any threat to Florida as the Hurricane IDA will make landfall in Nicaragua on early Thursday. It is the ninth named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season.
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.
With rainfall amounts expected to reach 25" or more in Nicaragua and Honduras, Hurricane Ida could be the deadliest storm of the season. Flash flooding and landslides are likely in the rough terrain. The small, but intense storm is also expected to push a 3-4 foot storm surge ashore.
The early morning satellite shows the storm close to the coast. Maximum sustained winds reached 75 mph overnight, hurricane force.
Hurricane Ida is moving slowly and will spend the next 48 hours over Central America. The storm should be much weaker when it re-enters the western Caribbean Sea early Saturday morning. The water in this area is still very warm and there's a strong possibility the circulation will intensify... if it makes it there. Beyond the next 24 hours, there is no consensus among the forecast models. So the future track and intensity are highly uncertain.
