Low-lying areas on Coast could flood

E-Mail

Print Reprint or license

Text Size:

tool goes here

Tides may rise 3 to 4 feet above normal

By ANITA LEE

calee@sunherald.com

GULFPORT — Low-lying areas on the Coast could flood as strong high pressure over the southeastern states and much lower pressures over the southern Gulf increase easterly and onshore flow through Tuesday, according to the National Weather Service.

Tides are expected to rise as high as 3 to 4 feet above normal at times through Tuesday morning, especially along east-facing shores in Hancock County and south Louisiana. The NWS advises that access roads into tidal marshes, marinas and other low-lying areas could become impassable for lengthy periods.

The NWS has issued a flood watch that could become a flood warning for the Coast.

Complicating the weather picture is Tropical Storm Ida, which was packing 70 mph winds Saturday night.

The National Hurricane Center projected that Ida would become a hurricane by today.

Ida is expected to move through the Yucatan Channel and into the Gulf of Mexico by tonight, according to the National Hurricane Center. Winds are expected to weaken in the Gulf.

Ida’s winds are expected to push more water towards shore Monday into Tuesday morning, adding to the potential for coastal flooding.

A strong cold front should ease flooding late Tuesday into Wednesday, the National Weather Service says.

Once in the Gulf, Ida’s path remains uncertain.

“Everybody’s watching it,” Rupert Lacy, director of the Harrison County Emergency Management Agency, said Saturday night. “Emergency managers along the Coast today have been in telephone conferences, looking and discussing it. We just need to encourage everybody not to let their guard down. Hurricane season is not over yet and we could have a tropical system come and visit us.”

Retired Air Force meteorologist Rocco Calaci, who has been tracking the storm, wrote in an e-mail alert he sent out Satruday night: “One thing I enjoy about meteorology is that you can never know what Mother Nature will do. I believe everyone from Gulfport to Gainesville, Fla., needs to pay attention to this storm. A slight change in the upper level flow and Ida could be trouble for a wider range of area.”