I’m bucking government guidance with this statement: Evacuating to the north-east is a horrible idea.  North-west evacuation is far superior.  The reason is two-fold:

1. The NE quadrant of all storms are the most intense. Evacuating to Mississippi is putting you in the most dangerous part of the storm.
2. The storm must obey the laws of physics and recurve to the N and then the NE. Evacuating to Mississippi is like running a race. You have to evacuate several multiples farther to the NE than any other direction. East, you are in threatening deadly storm-surge. North-west and west are the rules of thumb for evacuation.

Unlike some gov’t leaders on the local channels earlier today, in my humble opinion based on a torrid amount of bad decisions, NW and W are the ways to evacuate safely and efficiently.

Just now, Gov. Bel Edwards, (D-La), and associates released in a press release that they are expecting Ida to be a strong Category 4 (140 mph, gusts to 170 mph) on landfall. The storm is expecting to have a “Life Altering” impact as it is considerably stronger than 2020 Laura. Take precautions. Additionally, he echoed the statement of many a meteorological professional that where you are mid-day tomorrow is where you shelter in place. v

If you are left without power, turn your phone on for the first 15 minutes of every even hour that you are awake. This will extend your life. Send and receive SMS texts – old-fashioned texts as this is a separate and more resilient network. Additionally, you can send a text and someone can receive it hours later as switches come to life between you and the target. Turn off WiFi and Bluetooth as those are worthless battery drains in a powerless situation. Share this information with your family.

God Bless,

Jay C. “Jazzy J” Theriot