ORLANDO, Fla. – Ida grew into a category 1 hurricane Friday afternoon as it made landfall along Cuba’s Isle of Youth, the National Hurricane Center said. It is expected to become a major hurricane by Sunday night before making landfall along the U.S. Gulf Coast.
A U.S. Air Force Reserve hurricane hunter aircraft identified Ida’s maximum sustained winds had intensified from 45 mph to 75 mph Friday, said the National Hurricane Center. Ida is moving northwest at 15 mph and has tropical-storm-force winds reaching up to 90 miles from the center.
The ninth named storm of the season formed into a tropical storm Thursday evening as is about 30 miles east-southeast of the Isle of Youth, where the Cuban government has issued a Hurricane Warning, as well as the Pinar del Rio and Artemisa provinces, according to the NHC’s 2 p.m. update.
