Hurricane Ida: Third Of Atlantic Season

Ida strengthened early Thursday just offshore of Nicaragua to a hurricane, becoming only the third hurricane of the 2009 Atlantic Hurricane Season. Ida is the ninth named storm of the season. Early this morning, maximum sustained winds are at 75 mph, and Category One Hurricane Ida is expected to move inland over eastern Nicaragua today, weakening to a Tropical Storm while it dumps up to two feet of rain. In fact, it's not the wind that is the biggest threat from Ida, it's the heavy rain, which can produce mudslides and flash floods. The remnants of Ida are expected to pass offshore again Sunday just southeast of the Yucatan Peninsula, and there is a possibility that conditions may favor redevelopment of Ida into a Tropical Storm as it continues to track toward the Gulf of Mexico. But at this time, the threat to the United States from Ida appears low.