Ida was downgraded to a tropical storm Monday morning after making landfall along the Gulf Coast as a catastrophic Category 4 hurricane.
Tropical Storm Ida will weaken to a tropical depression on Monday afternoon before bringing rain to North Carolina midweek, according to WRAL meteorologist Elizabeth Gardner, « That’s good news for wind damage, but it will still bring flooding rains to many states, » said Gardner, adding that storm surge on the coast of Alabama and on Florida’s panhandle will be between 2 and 5 feet Monday. As Ida moves away from Louisiana, parts of southern Mississippi and Alabama will see between 10 to 18 inches of rain with storm totals up to 24 inches. « As the storm moves into northern Alabama, Mississippi and Tennessee, amounts will taper down to 3 to 6 inches Tuesday and Wednesday, » Gardner said. « This includes the part of Tennessee where 20 people died during Fred’s remnants.
