Almost 800 rescued in St. John the Baptist Parish after Hurricane Ida

Hurricane force winds and catastrophic storm surge are moving onto the southern Louisiana coast.

Ida is a major Category 4 hurricane with winds of 150 mph, but it has the possibility to strengthen even more in the next hour as it churns along the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico.

At 11 a.m., the storm was about 85 miles south of New Orleans, moving northwest at 13 mph.

Wind gusts of 121 mph have already been reported in southern Louisiana, while storm surge of 5.6 feet was recorded in Shell Beach, Louisiana.

Ida is expected to make landfall in the next few hours.

-ABC News’ Dan Manzo

Wind gusts of 121 mph have been reported as the eye of Hurricane Ida edges toward land.

Ida is now 40 miles south-southwest of Grand Isle, Louisiana, moving northwest at 14 mph.

An extreme wind warning remains in effect for parts of Louisiana, where winds up to 150 mph are expected.

-ABC News’ Dan Manzo

Winds up to 150 mph are now moving onto Louisiana’s coast.

Hurricane Ida is now 50 miles south-southeast of Grand Isle, Louisiana, moving northwest at 15 mph.  

An extreme wind warning has been issued for parts of southern Louisiana, including Houma, Louisiana, about 60 miles southwest of New Orleans.  

Winds are currently gusting to 120 mph on the edge of the state, and rainfall rates of 3 inches per hour or more are now moving into Louisiana.

Widespread destructive winds of 115 mph to 150 mph with "swaths of tornado-like damage" will be spread across St. Bernard Parish, St. Charles Parish, Terrebonne Parish, Lafourche Parish, Jefferson Parish and Plaquemines Parish, according to the National Weather Service.

Residents who did not evacuate are advised to take cover in a reinforced interior room away from windows or under a table or other sturdy piece of furniture with blankets and mattresses covering their face and body.

-ABC News’ Dan Manzo

With 155 mph winds expected at landfall, Ida is now forecast to surpass Hurricane Laura in 2020, and Last Island Hurricane in 1856 -- which broke state records. Simply put, Ida may become the strongest hurricane by wind speed to hit Louisiana.