PENSACOLA, Fla. (AP) - Ida is no longer a hurricane, but it's still a serious storm and some people along the Gulf Coast aren't taking chances.
Many schools are closed and some communities have opened shelters for people who live near the water or in mobile homes.
Military bases in the Florida Panhandle sent nonessential personnel home early and moved aircraft inland. Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding told most employees at three shipyards in Mississippi and Louisiana to stay home.
Forecasters say the tropical storm could bring high winds, up to eight inches of rain and flooding as it moves ashore early tomorrow.
The governors of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida have declared states of emergency.
WHNT NEWS 19 will have live reports from Gulf Shores starting Monday at 5 p.m.
The owner of a general store on Dauphin Island, south of Mobile, Ala., says "nobody has gotten into panic mode," but people are buying bread and candles.
By early afternoon Ida was centered about 115 miles south-southeast of the mouth of the Mississippi River and about 220 miles south-southwest of Pensacola. It had top winds of about 70 mph.
Many schools are closed and some communities have opened shelters for people who live near the water or in mobile homes.
Military bases in the Florida Panhandle sent nonessential personnel home early and moved aircraft inland. Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding told most employees at three shipyards in Mississippi and Louisiana to stay home.
Forecasters say the tropical storm could bring high winds, up to eight inches of rain and flooding as it moves ashore early tomorrow.
The governors of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida have declared states of emergency.
WHNT NEWS 19 will have live reports from Gulf Shores starting Monday at 5 p.m.
The owner of a general store on Dauphin Island, south of Mobile, Ala., says "nobody has gotten into panic mode," but people are buying bread and candles.
By early afternoon Ida was centered about 115 miles south-southeast of the mouth of the Mississippi River and about 220 miles south-southwest of Pensacola. It had top winds of about 70 mph.
