Hurricane Ike Heads for Gulf Coast

The Gulf Coast is bracing for Hurricane Ida in, compared to recent years, what has felt like a slow storm season for those along America's south and eastern coastlines. The season used to end on Halloween, according to the Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory, but has gradually been stretched to encompass June 1 to Nov. 30. More on Ida from CNN:

"Hurricane Ida moved into the southern Gulf of Mexico on Sunday, prompting a declaration of emergency in Louisiana and a hurricane watch for parts of the U.S. Gulf Coast.

The storm regained hurricane intensity overnight, becoming a Category 2 hurricane, but forecasters said it is expected to weaken as it moves north. Ida drenched Nicaragua after making landfall last week as a Category 1 hurricane, then weakened to a tropical storm before intensifying.

In El Salvador, at least 91 people died in flooding and mudslides, according to the government, but a low-pressure system out of the Pacific -- not Hurricane Ida -- triggered the disaster, forecaster Robby Berg of the National Hurricane Center said Sunday.

The U.S. watch -- meaning hurricane conditions are possible within 36 hours -- extends from Grand Isle, Louisiana, eastward to Mexico Beach, Florida, forecasters said. It does not include the city of New Orleans, Louisiana, the hurricane center said."

Look back on when the Gulf Coast braced for Hurricane Gustav and Hurricane Ike' last year.

Learn about the world's worst hurricanes here.