Squalls ahead of a rare late-season tropical storm that was crawling toward the Gulf Coast blew in heavy rain Monday as residents hunkered down mostly at home to ride out high winds and anticipated flooding.
Ida had slowed and weakened even more as it approached the coast. Winds were about 60 mph (95 kph) and the storm was about 95 miles (150 km) south-southwest of Mobile, moving only about five miles north in three hours. It was expected to make land early Tuesday before turning east.
Tropical storm warnings were out across Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida, where governors declared states of emergency.
Forecaster Todd Kimberlain of the National Hurricane Center says a hurricane warning has been issued for the Gulf Coast from Mississippi to Florida.
Mark Cooper, the director of Louisiana's Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness, says Governor Bobby Jindal has declared a state of emergency because of the approaching Hurricane Ida.
Forecaster Todd Kimberlain of the National Hurricane Center says Hurricane Ida is not expected to hit New Orleans, although he cautions that the storm could always change course.
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In Gulf Shores along the coast, some streets were flooded and the city was under a 10 p.m. curfew. Allen Hastings, general manager of The Original Oyster House, was closing even earlier. During Hurricane Ivan in 2004, the restaurant flooded despite being elevated about 6 feet.
But Hastings, like many along the Gulf Coast, didn't anticipate Ida to be as bad, and said it had been a quiet Atlantic tropical season until now.
"We're not complaining," he said as the restaurant's awnings whipped in the wind. "I don't think it's going to be bad, but we just have to see what tomorrow brings."
A low-pressure system that Hurricane Ida may have played a role in attracting had earlier triggered flooding and landslides in El Salvador that killed at least 130 people. Near New Orleans, a 70-year-old man was feared drowned when trying to help two fishermen whose boat had broken down in the Mississippi River, said Maj. John Marie, a Plaquemines Parish Sheriff's spokesman. A wave knocked him into the water.
Ida had been the third hurricane of this year's Atlantic season, which ends Dec. 1, but was the only one to threaten the U.S.
Rain will move well inland before the further-weakened storm comes ashore, said U.S. National Hurricane Center hurricane specialist Robbie Berg. Rainfall could be up to 8 inches in some areas, with most of the coast getting between 3 and 6 inches.
Still, few people evacuated or sought refuge along Alabama's coast. Officials said fewer than 70 people were in shelters that opened in Mobile and Baldwin counties, with a total population of 565,000.
The streets were quiet late Monday in downtown Mobile, about 40 miles northwest of Gulf Shores, with many stores and restaurants closing early. Stiff winds with gusts up to 50 mph and sheets of rain made driving hazardous, and many residents opted to stay off the roads, although few said they were leaving town.
Doris Moorman, who was managing the Red Cross shelter in Pascagoula, Miss., said she staffed a similar shelter last year during Hurricane Gustav that housed more than 500 people. She said she's concerned residents weren't taking the threat seriously, perhaps letting their Gustav experience lull them into a false sense of security.
"That doesn't necessarily mean it's going to be fine this time," she said.
Earlier, some residents did reflect that attitude.
"We can ride it out right here," said T.J. Covacevich, 50, who wore a "Hurricane Hunter" T-shirt as he tied down his powerboat in a Biloxi, Miss., harbor.
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