Ida Becomes Tropical Storm as it Passes Through Mississippi

By Teddy Grant Published: August 30, 2021

Ida Becomes Tropical Storm as it Passes Through Mississippi

This GOES-16 East GeoColor satellite image taken Thursday, Aug. 26, 2021, at 10:20 p.m. EDT, and provided by NOAA, shows Tropical Storm Ida in the Caribbean Sea. Tropical Storm Ida formed in the Caribbean on Thursday and forecasters said its track was aimed at the U.S. Gulf Coast, prompting Louisiana's governor to declare a state of emergency and forecasters to announce a hurricane watch for New Orleans. (NOAA via AP)

Hurricane Ida downgraded to a tropical storm on Monday after leaving over a million Louisiana and Mississippi residents without power, according to reports.

Winds from the storm slowed down to 65 mph over Mississippi after battering Louisiana with winds up to 150 mph.

The storm was blamed for at least one death after someone was hit by a falling tree near Baton Rouge, according to the Associated Press.

On Sunday, all of New Orleans lost power because of “catastrophic transmission damage,” said utility company Entergy Louisiana.

“One-hundred percent of the grid is smashed, hundreds of telephone poles snapped, trees hit power lines and just ripped them out,” Emergency Manager Director Joe Valiente told NPR.

Ida struck the country as a Category 4 storm, one of the strongest storms ever to hit mainland U.S.