Tropical Storm Ida (once a hurricane) heading to the Gulf of Mexico. Where next?

Tropical Storm Ida became a hurricane earlier today before making landfall on eastern Nicaragua. The storm made landfall with winds of 75mph, has caused structural damage to buildings and is dropping between 15 and 20 inches of rain on parts of the country as it passes over. It will pass over Nicaragua and Honduras before making it’s way back into the Caribbean briefly. From there it is currently projected to pass close to the Mexican coast and head into the Gulf of Mexico.

Forecasts at the moment suggest it will have weakened to a tropical depression by that time but once it emerges into the Gulf and passes over warmer waters it will have the potential to regain tropical storm status. Where it heads from there is anyones guess, but current projections make it worth watching Ida’s progress as it could head for the U.S coastline. You can see the 5 day projected path from the National Hurricane Centre below.

It’s doubtful that Ida would regain hurricane status in her journey but this should serve as a reminder that no matter how benign the hurricane season or how late in the season it is storms can be unpredictable and are worth monitoring closely.