With Hurricane Ida barreling toward New Orleans this weekend, the Saints moved up their preseason game against the Arizona Cardinals.
The team announced Friday that the kickoff time for Saturday's preseason finale has moved from 8 p.m. ET to 1 p.m. ET (Noon CT). The club said the decision came following consultation and agreement with City of New Orleans officials, the National Weather Service, Homeland Security and the NFL.
The National Hurricane Center said Friday that Tropical Storm Ida strengthened into a hurricane as it made its way toward Cuba. The initial expectation was that this would occur by the time it reached the Gulf of Mexico on Saturday.
Ida continues to strengthen as it heads through the Caribbean Sea and toward the Louisianan area. As a result, a hurricane watch is in effect for the New Orleans metro area and stretching toward the Mississippi-Alabama state line, per The Weather Channel.
Current projections have Ida making landfall on Sunday.
The Saints moving up the game should give fans and the team time to get out of the area before Ida hits.
It is not clear as of yet if the Saints will evacuate due to the storm.
