Looking back at Hurricane Ida as the 2022 hurricane season begins

NEW ORLEANS (WVUE) - After multiple Louisiana hurricanes in 2020 and Zeta hitting in late October, we hoped there would be a break, but it wasn’t to be.

Once again, in 2021, we were in the crosshairs while the COVID-19 pandemic raged on.

It happened again on August 29. Another southeast Louisiana hurricane. Incredibly, Hurricane Ida struck on the same date as Isaac in 2012 and Katrina in 2005.

Ida made history as it crossed the coast at Port Fourchon as a category four storm with winds sustained at 150 mph. Those winds tie it with Hurricane Laura in 2020 and The Last Island Hurricane of 1856 as the strongest Louisiana hurricane on record.

For the bayou and river parishes, it was the worst storm since Hurricane Betsy in 1965.

Ida’s strengthening was historic. In its final 24 hours over the Gulf, its winds increased 65 mph. That ties Ida for the biggest intensification burst prior to landfall.

Ida was a long hurricane with severe winds blowing for almost 12 hours across the region. This led to a nearly complete power failure with over one million people left in the dark. A critical transmission line across the Mississippi River was toppled, further complicating the ability to restore power to the New Orleans area.

Many of us were without power for two weeks.

The excessive summer heat created dangerous conditions after the storm from a lack of air conditioning to carbon monoxide poisoning from generators.

Ida’s storm surge was devastating for those without levee protection. St. John the Baptist Parish saw one of its highest storm surges on record. Homes in and around Laplace were inundated with flood water. Grand Isle was rendered uninhabitable with water and waves damaging or destroying almost every structure on the island.

Incredible video shows massive storm surge flooding Frenier Landing in LaPlace

GoPro video from the Hurricane Track team obtained by Fox 8 shows Hurricane Ida’s incredible storm surge pushing into Frenier Landing in LaPlace on Aug. 29.

Incomplete Test: Hurricane Ida was not the ultimate challenge for the area’s levee system

The National Hurricane Center warns Ida was not the ultimate test of the new levee system protecting parts of the area.

It’s hard to imagine that Louisiana might endure another hurricane season like the past two years but unfortunately, anything is possible.

You could say the law of averages is on our side, but there are no guarantees.

We as a people are tired and exhausted after two years of continuous hurricane threats and hits - not to mention a global pandemic.

All the signs are indicating another busy Atlantic hurricane season, but there have been many busy seasons that did not involve the northern Gulf Coast. That being said, a major hurricane strike continues to be the greatest existential threat to our region.

The Fox 8 Weather Authority Team is ready for whatever is thrown our way this year.

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