Al Roker and the TODAY team are in New Orleans covering Hurricane Ida, a potentially catastrophic Category 4 storm expected to make landfall in Louisiana this Sunday.
Ahead of reporting live from the coast of Lake Pontchartrain on Sunday TODAY, Al shared a clip on Instagram of his surroundings, including massive waves splashing on to him and the storm's winds, which have already reached a top sustained speed of 150 mph.
"It’s a wild morning here in #neworleans along #lakepontchartrain as we await #ida which will most likely be a #top5 strongest land falling US #hurricane," he captioned the video.
Al's fans were quick to send him well wishes, including former TODAY co-anchor Katie Couric, who commented, "Be safe out there Al!!!" on his post. TODAY's Hoda Kotb also shared her support by posting a behind-the-scenes shot of the beloved weatherman to her Instagram page. It showed him in knee-deep water in front of a dark sky.
"Be safe buddy xoxo," Hoda wrote.
In fact, so many people were so concerned about Al that he posted a follow-up video from his hotel room to show he's safe.
"For all those who were worried about me out on #lakepontchartrain a) I volunteered to do this. Part of the job. b) My crew and I were safe and we are back at our hotel and c) for those who think I’m too old to to be doing this, try and keep up," he captioned a clip of him removing his rain boots in his bathtub.
Related
In Sunday morning's segment, Al explained that Ida had already reached 150 mph winds. "It is a beast and just getting stronger," he told Sunday TODAY's Willie Geist. The National Hurricane Center has warned of "catastrophic wind damage" and "extremely life-threatening" storm surges, when a storm pushes a body of water to rise beyond the normal tide.
Ida is expected to make landfall late Sunday morning or early afternoon. If wind speeds reach 157 miles per hour, the storm will be considered a Category 5. Only four storms have made landfall in the continental U.S. as Category 5 hurricanes in the last century, according to NBC News.
On Monday, the storm is expected to move inland over Louisiana and Mississippi and weaken rapidly once it hits land. Tornadoes may appear on Sunday to Monday from southeast Louisiana to the western Florida panhandle.
On this day 16 years ago, Hurricane Katrina, a Category 5 hurricane, devastated New Orleans, causing billions in damage and widespread loss of life. In anticipation of Hurricane Ida's destruction. President Biden has deployed emergency resources from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to the area.
Related: