Evacuations took place Saturday across parts of the Gulf Coast as officials around the region urged residents to make final preparations and heed warnings ahead of the life-threatening impacts posed by Hurricane Ida, which AccuWeather forecasters expect will roar ashore Sunday.

Louisiana remained squarely in Ida's focus, AccuWeather forecasters said, and the strengthening storm was around 440 miles south-southeast of New Orleans, which was struck by major Hurricane Zeta last autumn.

Ida is set to become the first landfalling hurricane on United States soil in 2021, and AccuWeather forecasters warn Ida is set to slam into Louisiana as a very dangerous Category 4 major hurricane and unleash major impacts across the Gulf Coast and Southeast. AccuWeather forecasters, expecting extreme impacts for the Gulf Coast, have rated Ida a 4 on the AccuWeather RealImpact™ Scale for Hurricanes.