. >> sreenivasan: the national hurricane center director, ken graham, joined us from miami shortly afteray for an update on the forecast and the preparations for ida on the gulf coast and beyond. ken, we're speaking saturday afternoon, where's the storm tracking? what is the area with the greatest amount of danger? >> yh, the greatest amount of danger in several different areas in these storms. it's always a right around that center. you start looking at the actual forecast, we are actually forecasting 140 mile per hour winds, a category four. so, you can see those winds right around the centein any one of those areas in that hurricane warning could see some of those winds. but it's so important, it's not just around that center. you have storm surge, you have rainfall well outside the center, and a lot of that is also life-threatening. >> senivasan: we had the mayor of new orleans saying that it was too late to try and make a full-scale evacuation of the city. what would your advice be to anyone that is in the storm's path right now? >> i think for those areas, when you're outside the l

you want to bring in ken graham, and i want to give you the opportunity to ask the pressing questions you have. take it away, bill, and give ken, you know, your best question, what you want to hear. >> hi, ken. first oaf, thanks to all the hard work for you and everyone at the hurricane center. it's such valuable information. we're so much better with it. my question to you, is with the heavy rain threat, some of the computer models stall it off near the catskills, others take the storm northward. what is your thinking with where the tropical depression will eventually go. >> and i want to do thank you, too. thanks for getting the word out. but we have this down to miles an hour, so looking at this, we think about the core area of the rains, but i'm worried about this boundary. if you draw a line across this area, going across long island, you know, pretty close to the city, back over the catskills, that hasn't moved. that whole area, that boundary, that's a focus on northern new jersey. so you latest forecast we have, it has to slow down to make the turn. when it does, some of those

ken graham thank so much over there at noaa with the latest. rev. >>> joining me now, the former new orleans mayor, president of the national urban league. thank you, mark, for being with us. >> thank you, reverend. >> i know that obviously you still have family there in new orleans, and you were there just a day or so ago for a funeral of one of our former trusted aides, which is why you weren't at the voter rights march. you were represented ably, though. what can you tell us about what is going on in terms of the people in new orleans, the reaction, this being anniversary of hurricane katrina, it must have special memories, haunting memories to be within the range, even if they are not getting the direct hit of this hurricane. >> reverend, thank you for having me. ask people to keep the people of the gulf coast, louisiana, mississippi, and alabama in their thoughts and prayers. hurricane ida is a wicked monster storm that could carry out a great deal of damage. right now, in new orleans, and the region, many people who could -- this was the

. >>> joining me right now, ken graham, the director of the national hurricane center. ken, we have seen each other too often lately, but i am glad to have you here. what is the very late west ida? has it gotten to be as bad as you anticipated now that it has made made landfall? better than anticipated? right on the line? or worse than you anticipated? >> i think, alex, it's one of these situations that we have made landfall -- the readings we got, at 150-mile-per-hour winds. it is going to take time to see what happened in those areas. but with that kind of wind there is catastrophic damage around grand isle, port fourchon. it is not over, though, it's just starting. >> what are your concerns about what happens next? i know we will have power outages. that comes with the territory. when you weigh the ravages of flooding versus the wind, what do you focus on first? >> you look back in history and look at hurricanes in the past. 90% of fatalities in these tropical systems comes from the water. we are going to have wind, hurricane-force winds, baton rouge, metropolitan nor

ken graham, the director of the national hurricane center in miami, joins me now.understand this. if ida slows down enough before landfall, what are the chances ida could become a category 5 hurricane? >> well, pamela, i think at this stage just looking at the latest data from the aircraft, we've got aircraft out right now and i was listening to the conversation back behind me. i think the biggest story is it looks like the wind field is expanding. it's not just about this intensification and getting to la larger, but this is a significant wind field. when you think about forecasting a category 4 storm, 135 miles an hour, it's just a large area of folks that can get these hurricane-force winds. that's going to be the big story. new orleans metro area, the north shore, any one of these areas could get hurricane-force winds. that's prolonged power outages, roofs off houses, trees down. just a significant, large, dangerous impact. >> how much is new orleans in the dangerous zone with this storm? >> looking at this latest forecast, if you think about this wind field, p

ken graham, thank you so much for being with us. really appreciate your insight there. >> thank you. >> mike? mike: people across louisiana are feeling the high winds and drenching rains of hurricane ida, we'll check in with steve bender in lafayette, next. the journey is why they ride. when the road is all you need, there is no destination. uh, i-i'm actually just going to get an iced coffee. well, she may have a destination this one time, but usually -- no, i-i usually have a destination. yeah, but most of the time, her destination is freedom. nope, just the coffee shop. announcer: no matter why you ride, progressive has you covered with protection starting at $79 a year. voiceover: 'cause she's a biker... please don't follow me in. finding new routes to reach your customers, and new ways for them to reach you... is what business is all about. it's what the united states postal service has always been about. so as your business changes, we're changing with it. with e-commerce that runs at the speed of now. next day and two-day shi

we're joined by ken graham, director of the national hurricane center. mr.ent. it's a catastrophic event. it doesn't happen very often. that's why even urging everybody to be prepared before, during, and after this storm. it's going to leave a mark, so to speak. 150 miles per hour winds and we have hurricane force winds stretching out 50 to 52 miles out from that center. so it's not just the center, it's a large swath of those winds that will cause so much damage and it's a catastrophic life threatening event, for sure. >> those are the winds and storm surge is also an issue. >> it really is. we see the water come up in places like bay wave in mississippi about this location. we're seeing spikes in that water. the storm surge is starting to come in before the actual storm gets there. these values, jonathan, 12 to 16 feet of storm surge is staggering. that's the highest we'll see right where that center of that storm is and just to the right. those winds stretching out 50 miles per hour will push to the bay of st. louis and mississippi. but over to the mouth

and we want to bring in now ken graham, the director of the national hurricane center in miami. u? >> yeah, it's, you know, a long night. really watching this. that rapid intensification that we have been talking about happened and the hurricane hunters out there now near 150-mile-per-hour winds. so i look at that radar and it shows just how catastrophic this is going to be. it's a life-threatening situation. you look at this, the center here with those winds, but it's not just the winds. it's the rainfall forecast is life-threatening, the storm surge is life-threatening. all the hazards associated with this hurricane are life-threatening. so catastrophic event underway. >> talk about that because we talk about the storm surge and people, there are people who stayed who have real faith in the walls that are around them in the flood walls and in the levees and the pumping systems. but that doesn't necessarily help rain, correct? when we're talking about in excess of 15 inches of rain, what would you say to those people that stayed? >> yeah, you got to be in a safe place because yo

we'll bring in ken graham from the national hurricane center. e landfalls, ken. this is the southwest edge of the hurricane, best place to be. it's the northwest eastern part going newport, rhode island, connecticut, massachusetts. take us through it. >> absolutely, krit. you're right. you're asking at a perfect time. breaking news. we lad the air force out there and the air force is indicating we've had landfall in the last ten minutes near westerly rhode island. we're seeing down to 12-mile-an-hour movement. the latest forecast tracks the center across connecticut with time, and then we're going to make that turn, very slowly make that turn back to the east, and that won't occur until overnight tonight into monday. in the meantime, tropical rain, heavy amounts of rain and wherever those rain bands set up like you were mentioning, that's where you'll have that flood problem, but still get incredible rainfall. it won't take much wind to knock down trees and create power outages, so still some impact yet to come. >> all right. we're going to be wa

ken graham, thank you. >>> stilln ahead, hurricane hei has its eye on new england triggering mandatory evacuations in new haven. >> coastal towns littered with boats.re some worry this time around it could be weeks. we'll take a look at how these communities are preparing. was that your great-grandmother, keeping the family together? was that your grandfather, paving the way for change. did they brave mother nature... and walk away stronger? did they face the unknown, with resolve...and triumph. ♪♪ there's strength in every family story. learn more about yours. at ancestry. at usaa, we've been called too exclusive. because we were created for officers. but as we've evolved with the military, we've grown to serve all who've honorably served. no matter their rank, or when they were in. a marine just out of basic, or a petty officer from '73. and even his kids. and their kids. usaa is made for all who've honorably served and their families. are we still exclusive? absolutely. and that's exactly why you should join. i am robert strickler. i've been involved ine? communications in the media

let's bring in ken graham. glad to have you here. it appears some are breathing a sigh of relief. they avoided the worst. is that true or should people still be on the look out? >> we made land full but that doesn't diminish the threat. you start seeing some of this made landfall around this location. the storms will slow down. the storm will slow down tonight. we're down to 12 miles an hour. we expect it to make the slow turn back towards the east. look what happens. it's not the core rains around the center. you start looking south of new york city and long island. it's staying over the same area. we have to watch that with time. as we get slower and slower, this pivots into areas where we don't need additional rainfall. >> when you talk about power outages, that's a big concern. is it the flooding that's a big deal. how much can you equate flooding with power outages? >> that's a little bit of both. what happens is we've had fray. we had several rounds of this heavy rain. the soil so saturated. now we're talking another two inch, four inches. the soil is saturated. it takes les

we want to get right now to ken graham, director at the national hurricane center to talk about where the storm is going. we know it made landfall. i believe the track is barreling toward houma, it looks like baton rouge may be in its sights. what more can you tell you? >> absolutely. you maybe such a good point. just because we made landfall doesn't mean we're doing with it yet. >> with time, it will continue to move inland. so overnight baton rouge could see the hurricane-force winds. just because you're not on the coast doesn't mean you won't get some of these serious impacts. >> so we have covered the winds here. let's talk about the rainfall. this morning you were really concerned about the forecast, anywhere from 12 to 20 inches, which is truly mind-boggling. are your mod els showing the sae numbers? they do. as the storm moves to the north, what happens is you see the same areas, these rain bands. this is a hurricane, the whole rotation is fast, but notice, no east-west movement. all of that goes over the same area over a long period of time. look how it presents north were. lo

ken graham is joining us, of course, director of the national hurricane center. ken, where is it now? how fast is it moving? where is it going to hit? >> we've got aircraft in there now with the hurricane hunters. i'm listening to the conferences. 150 miles per hour winds. right now looks like we're about 50 miles south-southeast of grand isle, louisiana. getting closer and closer to the coastline. already seeing some of those impacts with some of the high ones reaching the mouth of the mississippi river. but alex, look at these rain bands. anywhere in these areas on that right front quadrant, you can get tornadoes in these areas. tornadoes possible from looking at alabama, panhandle and the mississippi coast and the north shore lake pontchartrain. >> so winds are a big concern. but it's the flooding that will be the initial prime arie concern. we saw al roker a short while ago, ken. i mean, he had water at the beginning of our report with him kind of around his ankles and got to his knees. this thing is coming in fast and furious with the flood surge. >> it reall

i'm joined by the director of the national hurricane center ken graham.cerns about meso vortexes. forgive me if i'm saying that wrong. are there characteristics of that eye wall making this storm particularly vicious? >> you said it exactly correct. from a meteorological perspective, i'm seeing those meso vortexes. this is a healthy hurricane, even though we're continuing to move on land. places like houma could still see wind gusts of 130 miles an hour. k kennar at the airport you're still getting hurricane force wind gusts and look how far away you are from the center. >> what advice do you have for those folks in the path of the storm? people may be tempted to go outside. this is moving so slowly, people have to resist those temptations at this point? >> i was thinking about the words to use at this time. we can't let our guard down just because we made landfall. we're just starting with this. that's going to bring some of these winds close to baton rouge up to hammond. you have outer rain bands and eye wall bands that are going to produce horrible dam

joining me, from the national hurricane center, ken graham. it's been keeping you very busy.ggest area of concern right now. what are you pinpointing? >> we're watching real close the intensification of this hurricane, looking at the satellite, starting to get the earliest indications of an eye right there. hurricane hunters have been helping us pinpoint where this is going. we still forecast a major hurricane, category 4, 140 mile per hour winds at landfall. this is dangerous. this is just a life-threatening situation when it comes to the wind, the rain and the storm surge and i just really am urging everybody, if the local officials are saying to get out of some of these areas, you've got to do it, because the winds are going to arrive tomorrow. you've got to wrap it up today. >> do we have a timeline, sir, as to when we think landfall will happen? and if you can pinpoint it -- i know we've been focusing on new orleans given what happened 16 years ago tomorrow with katrina, the levies were rebuilt. god willing they hold. how much in danger is new orleans specifically? >> sp

joining us now is nhc director ken graham. thank you for joining us. it's busy right now.he next hour? what's the most important message for you to get out there right now? >> yeah. the big message, you can hear discussion back behind me coming up at that update, typing it up, in about 20 minutes. winds 150 miles an hour. we've been talking about this for days and how this was going to rapidly intensify and we have two aircraft in there, the noaa hurricane hunters and the air force in there now, so the winds have increased. the takeaway here it's not just the center point, just the large swath of winds, catastrophic damaging winds, associated with this storm. those hurricane-force winds, it's not just the center point. they extend out 35 miles from the center. the tropical storm force winds, 120, 135 mileser from the center. all hazards and damaging winds, life-threatening rainfall and life threatening when you look at the storm surge as well. catastrophic, dangerous storm and situation. >> we were talking with one of your hurricane hunters within the past hour there. we k

let's turn to ken graham. what can you tell us about where this storm is currently and the areas we expect it to hit next? >> hey, alicia. we're watching the storm staying strong. we still have 130-mile-per-hour winds. so you have a situation where moving, we expected a slight slowdown with time, and that's what's happened. as a result, there's still a lot of energy. there's still some swampy areas here where you can still gain some of that energy. you have houma, pourt fourchon. those areas took such a direct hit, and this is continuing. this is a problem because you still have a strong storm moving north, and donaldsonville, baton rouge, we could still see hurricane force winds including higher gusts in these areas. we have a ways to go. >> when you say there is nowhere close to being over, can you give us a sense of what it is you're watching for, like, is this something you expect to evolve over the next few hours, over the next 12 hours? what is it you're looking for? >> yeah, it's going to take some time

our champion, ken jennings, is within a couple hundred thousand of that. but graham from breaking that record. they wanna start winning money. let's see what happens. good luck. jeopardy! round starts us off with the one daily double in one of these categories. first off, we have... we'll give you the kids. you identify the pres. next we have... and... "i-c-k" in quotation marks. ken, you're the champ. you go first. presidents by kids for $200, alex. - ken. - who is john adams? - right. - presidents for $400.