Tropical Storm Ida nears Gulf Coast


Squalls ahead of a rare late-season tropical storm blew in heavy rain late Monday to parts of the Gulf Coast where residents hunkered down at home and in shelters anticipating high winds and flooding.

Ida had slowed as it approached the coast, and moved to about 100 miles south-southwest of Mobile late Monday. It was expected to make land early today before turning east. Tropical storm warnings were posted for Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida, where governors declared states of emergency.

Ida had been the third hurricane of this year's Atlantic season, which ends Dec. 1, but weakened with maximum sustained winds near 65 mph. Rainfall could be up to 8 inches in some areas, with most of the coast getting between 3 and 6 inches.

Nancy Box, 68, of Gulf Shores, said she hoped the storm fizzled but did not want to chance riding it out in her elevated townhouse on the beach. "The last time there was a storm, they came over the berm, and I don't swim."

Residents elsewhere in the Southeast braced for heavy rain. In north Georgia, which saw historic flooding in September, forecasters said up to 4 more inches could soak the already-saturated ground.


There were no mandatory evacuations, but authorities in coastal areas encouraged people near the water or in mobile homes to seek shelter. Many schools closed, and several cruise ships were delayed as the Coast Guard closed Gulf Coast ports.

In Louisiana and Mississippi, officials were concerned about hundreds still living in federally issued trailers and mobile homes after hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005.

Some storm-hardened residents of Bayou La Batre, Ala., who had survived Katrina rolled their eyes at the mention of Ida.

Bayou Shirt Co. owner Rick McClendon says he and other residents refuse to scramble.

"We're not panicking. After you go through Katrina, it's got to be a big storm to panic. And this isn't," he said.