Hurricane Ida Strengthens To Cat 2 Storm In Southern Gulf Of Mexico; Portions Of 4 States Under Watch

November 8, 2009 7:13 p.m. EST

Miami, FL (AHN) - Ida has strengthened to a Category 2 hurricane and entered the southern Gulf of Mexico Sunday, leading officials to extend the hurricane watch in effect for the northern Gulf Coast from Grand Isle, Louisiana to Mexico Beach, Florida, National Hurricane Center officials said.

An earlier hurricane watch only extended as far east as the Mississippi-Alabama border, but Ida was in the Yucatan Peninsula as a Cat 1 hurricane at that time. New Orleans, Louisiana was not listed in either of the hurricane watches.

Hurricane Ida is moving north-northwest at speeds of 12 miles per hour. Ida is making water in the Gulf of Mexico choppy, which has affected fishing crews as far east as Madeira Beach, Florida in the Tampa Bay area, with many crews returning to dock early as the weather worsens, according to televised reports.

Ida was located about 140 miles west-northwest of the western tip of Cuba and about 445 miles south-southeast of the mouth of the Mississippi River at 6 p.m. Sunday, according to an advisory from the National Hurricane Center.

Mexico has discontinued all watches and warnings, however,  a tropical storm warning remains in effect for the Cuban Province of Pinar Del Rio, while a tropical storm watch remains in effect for the Isle of Youth.

Hurricane Ida is the ninth named storm of the Atlantic Ocean hurricane season, which ends Nov. 30.