Tropical Storm Ida is making landfall this evening along the gulf coast.  The center of the storm is crossing right over Mobile, Al.  You can follow this link to track Ida with Satellite, Radar, Forecast Models, Discussion, etc.  The storm, which at one point a Category 2 Hurricane, has hit colder waters and is now been downgraded to a tropical storm with winds near 70 mph.  With how quiet the Hurricane season has been, I’m sure the national news networks and Weather Channel have been chomping at the bit to send out the troops into the storm with hopes of a gust of wind strong enough to knock over a reporter.  I don’t see that happening with this storm but the winds will be strong enough to cause minor damage and power outages.  The storm’s biggest threat will be the heavy rainfall as it is expected to stall across the Florida panhandle the next couple of days.  Flooding could become a major concern.

You can also keep tabs on this storm with a favorite blog of mine..

http://www.wunderground.com/blog/JeffMasters/show.html

I hope everyone is enjoying this beautiful weather we have been having.  I guess we’re making up for October.  It all evens out right?  Monday was the 3rd day in a row with a high temperature above 60 degrees.  The streak will likely end on Tuesday, but we’ll still be well above average.

Meteorologist Brian Niznansky

Posted under Tropics