Ida Strengthens to a Category 2 Storm With 100 mph Winds

Nov. 8, 2009— -- Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal has declared a state of emergency Sunday due to Hurricane Ida.

The declaration is a precautionary measure that will free up resources for emergency situations. The National Guard and other state agencies are on high alert.

Stretches of southeast Louisiana outside of levee protection are the main concern. Forecasters say those areas could experience flooding.

Officials in Florida, Mississippi and Alabama are keeping a close eye on the storm's track, though no other emergency declarations have been made.

Hurricane Ida has strengthened to a Category 2 storm with winds of up to 100 mph. The National Hurricane Center has issued a hurricane watch for southeastern Louisiana that stretches to the Florida Panhandle. It does not include the city of New Orleans, the hurricane center said. The watch means hurricane conditions are possible in the next 36 hours.

According to the center, Ida is going to continue strengthening today, but it's expected to weaken as it moves north. The center of Ida is 100 miles northeast of Cozumel, Mexico.

Ida is on track to move into the Gulf of Mexico this afternoon and be near the northern gulf coast by Tuesday.

Ida's wind and rain ripped through palm trees in Cancun, while fishermen tied their boats down to prevent them from getting swept out to sea. While the wind and rain intensified, restaurants and nightclubs near the ocean started covering their windows with plywood.

In El Salvador, the Interior Minister Humberto Centeno reported 91 people were dead and another 60 are missing following deadly floods and mudslides.

The flooding was caused by three days of heavy rains that, according to hurricane experts, may be indirectly linked to Ida.

Dave Roberts, a Navy hurricane specialist at the hurricane center, told The Associated Press Ida's presence in the Caribbean may have played a role in drawing the Pacific low pressure system toward El Salvador, causing those rains.