Ida weakens to a depression, heads east to Fla. (353 hits)
DAUPHIN ISLAND, Ala. – Tropical Storm Ida sloshed ashore with rain and gusty winds Tuesday before weakening to a depression, leaving weather-hardened Gulf Coast residents largely unscathed. The U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami said Ida's center first touched land on Dauphin Island before heading across Mobile Bay toward the Alabama mainland...
Ida started moving across the Gulf as the third hurricane of this year's quiet Atlantic tropical season, which ends Dec. 1. Rain and some flooding were the biggest threats. Forecasters said up to 8 inches could fall in some areas, with most of the coast getting between 3 and 6 inches.
Earlier in the week, a low-pressure system that the hurricane may have played a role in attracting had 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 on Monday, said Maj. John Marie, a Plaquemines Parish Sheriff's spokesman.
