The National Hurricane Center says the center of Ida is headed for the Alabama Gulf Coast and an early morning landfall.
As of 6:00pm, Ida was still packing winds just shy of hurricane strength.
"Maximum sustained winds are near 70 mph... with higher gusts. Weakening is expected this evening as Ida moves over cooler waters prior to making landfall," the Hurricane Center said in an advisory.
As for impact on Southeast Louisiana, WWL TV Chief Meteorologist Carl Arredondo said it would be a mix of rain, wind and surge.
"The heaviest rain threat will be around coastal Mississippi, parts of St. Tammany, St. Bernard and Plaquemines Parish," Arredondo said. "The further west you go, the rain threat not as high. We may be seeing one to two inches of rainfall from Slidell and Plaquemines Parish on eastward. From the City of New Orleans - westward - we may be seeing one inch or so or less, if that much at all."
Arredondo says the winds will also be the strongest near the coast. He says the most pressing concern is storm surge in low lying and coastal areas that could be seeing tides five feet or more above normal... putting some roads under water.
Some low-lying areas in St. Tammany, St. Bernard and Plaquemines Parishes all saw water creeping over roads Monday evening.
The only evacuations called were voluntary for lower Plaquemines and anyone in an RV or camper in Grand Isle.
Ida is prompting several flight cancellations at the usually busy New Orleans airport. An American Airlines spokeswoman says the carrier and regional American Eagle have canceled late Monday arrivals from Dallas, Miami, Chicago and St. Louis.
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