Tropical Storm Ida is now begining to move offshore and possibly redevelop as it gets offshore away from Nicaragua and Honduras. There have been reports of 6-10 inches and tropical storm force winds over those countries where Ida made landfall. Ida is now beginning to reform as it moves into the open waters of the Caribbean. Where Ida heads next is a mystery for meteorologists. Ida could veer more NE as the trough of low pressure that initially began its norhtward movement may beat Ida to the Gulf of Mexico. In that case, Ida would get ripped apart in the Gulf with high wind shear of 20-30 knots and an approaching cold front. Ida could accelerate NE and make it to the Gulf coast states as a weak-moderate tropical storm. Alternately, Ida could stall and the front will rip Ida apart in combination with the high wind shear in the Gulf. Then there is the possibility of Ida stalling in the Caribbean trying to avoid the cold front dropping SE. Model output spreads are tremendous after 5 days. Therefore, it is premature to arrive at any conclusions at this point in time.
Stay tuned…
