Ida Blows Ashore As Gulf Coast Rides Out Storm

JAY REEVES

GULF SHORES, Ala. (AP) — Tropical Storm Ida blew ashore with rain and gusty but weakening winds before dawn Tuesday as weather-hardened Gulf Coast residents rode out the rare late-season storm.

The U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami said Ida's center first touched land on Dauphin Island and was headed across Mobile Bay for the Alabama mainland, with top sustained winds slowing to about 45 mph (75 kph). Ida was moving northeast about 9 mph (15 kph) and expected to turn eastward to follow the Florida Panhandle.

Forecasters said the storm had already spread most of its heavy rain onshore along the Gulf Coast ahead of Ida's center. Tropical storm warnings were in effect across Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida, where governors declared states of emergency.

In Orange Beach, east of Mobile Bay near the Florida state line, hotel desk clerk Frank Worley said Ida was more like a thunderstorm than a hurricane as it slopped ashore overnight.

"It was a lot of waves and wind, but it wasn't very harsh," he said. "There's a few people driving up and down the roads, but no one on the beach."