According to Doppler radar, Tropical Storm Ida made a first landfall at Dauphin Island, Alabama at 5:40am. Then Ida moved across Mobile Bay making a second landfall near Bon Secaur, Alabama which is along the eastern shore of Mobile Bay just north of Gulf Shores. Winds at Dauphin Island were near 50mph with higher gusts, the second landfall showed winds between 40-45 mph. Ida is now considered extra-tropical, so it is no longer a tropical system. Tropical systems have a warm core, and generate heat energy on their own. Now that Ida has run out of water, it will transition to a cold core low pressure area. Winds have decreased to 35mph.
Looking at preliminary data, it looks like Ida produced some storm surge. Tide levels generally ran about 2-4 feet above predicted tides. Shell Beach in St. Bernard Parish ran about 5 feet, Waveland and Pascagoula, Mississippi about 4 feet, Dauphin Island to Destin ran about 3 feet. Tropical Storm force winds were recorded from Grand Isle eastward to Tallahassee. Gust to hurricane force were recorded on offshore rigs. Rainfall totals in the warning area were in the 3-6 inch range. As the remnants of Ida drag across the Florida panhandle and lower Alabama, an additional 2-4 inch rainfall is possible over the next two days.
Ida stole most of the moisture that was poised to hit Acadiana yesterday. This was the moisture associated with a disturbance that sat in the Bay of Campeche most of last week. Yesterday rainfall totals were mostly light across Acadiana. A few areas near Morgan City picked up as much as 1/2 inch while the rest of Acadiana saw about a trace of rainfall. The Lafayette Regional Airport had an empty rain bucket yesterday.
Sunny skies and breezy weather is expected today with highs in the mid 70s. Winds will lighten up tomorrow, with slightly cooler weather by Thursday. Friday will be partly cloudy, and temperatures will approach 80 by Saturday. A few showers will roll in for Sunday and Monday with cooler weather expected by the middle of next week!
StormTeam3 Meteorologist Dave Baker
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