Watching Ida...

. . .Tropical Storm Warnings along Coast & Lakes. . .
. . .Hurricane Watch along Coast & Lakes. . .

Hurricane Ida:  Ida's current location is 235 miles south, southeast of the mouth of the Mississippi River. Ida is expected to continue weakening over the next 24 hours. A Tropical Storm Warning and a Hurricane Watch remains in effect for the Gulf Coast from Grande Isle, LA to Pascagoula, MS.

A Tropical Storm Warning means that tropical storm conditions are expected somewhere within the warning area within 24 hours.  A Hurricane Watch means that hurricane conditions are possible within the watch area within 24 hours for this storm.

Ida continues to weaken as it tracks north-northwest at 16 mph through the Gulf of Mexico. A turn to the north with an increase in forward speed is expected during the next 24 hours.  This will be followed by a turn toward the northeast on Tuesday where it will make landfall around the Alabama/Florida border according to the latest model information. 

Data from the Hurricane Hunters shows that Ida's maximum sustained winds have fallen to 80 mph making it a very weak hurricane.

Keep it tuned to WBRZ Channel 2, Cable Channel 18 and WBRZ.com for the latest on Hurricane Ida.

Short Term:  The reason why Ida is missing Louisiana is because an area of low pressure will be moving toward us from the Texas Coast, and a weak cold front moving by to the north of Louisiana.  This low will also spread scattered showers over Baton Rouge.  We are seeing some showers already this morning with temperatures in the mid 60s.

The showers will become more numerous this afternoon with cloudy skies.  Some of the rain could become heavy, and a few rainfall totals could be around 1 to 2 inches.  It will also be a little breezy with the low moving toward Louisiana and Hurricane Ida nearby.  Winds will be around 10 to 20 mph at times.  It will be a mild day with highs around 70.

The skies will remain cloudy tonight with isolated showers.  It will be windy as the low and Ida move east of us with wind speeds around 15 to 25 mph.  Low temperatures will be in the upper 50s.

Week Ahead:  An area of high pressure will build in behind the cold front, and this will make for some very nice weather for the rest of the week!  Partly cloudy skies are expected on Tuesday as the low/Ida move to the east, and the skies gradually clear out.  Highs will be in the 70s.

Sunny skies are expected Wednesday through Friday with chilly lows in the 40s and mild highs in the 70s.  More humid weather returns with southerly winds on Saturday.  This will make it partly cloudy on both Saturday and Sunday, but we could see a stray shower on Sunday.  Highs will be in the mid to upper 70s and lows in the 50s.

Tropical Update:  See above for the latest information on Hurricane Ida.  Elsewhere. . .the tropics are quiet, and tropical cyclone formation is not expected through Wednesday.