Live updates: Hurricane Ida still bringing rain to Coast; Flash flood warning into Tuesday
Flash flood warning
Now a tropical depression, Ida could bring more rain to the Coast into Tuesday.
Just before 9:30 p.m., the weather service issued a Flash Flood Warning for Gulfport, Pascagoula and Gautier.
“Through Tuesday morning across portions of southeast Louisiana into far southern Mississippi, Ida will produce additional rainfall totals of 2 to 4 inches with localized higher amounts possible,” the National Hurricane Center said at 10 p.m. “Storm total rainfall accumulations of 10 to 18 inches with isolated maximum amounts of 24 inches is expected.”
Governor holds press conference
Gov. Tate Reeves held a news conference on Facebook Live at 5 p.m.
He detailed the state’s response efforts, and warned Mississippi residents that Ida could bring severe weather overnight.
It’s easy to think that the hurricane is past, he said, but tornadoes and heavy rains could flow out of Ida’s lower feeder bands.
Mississippi Emergency Management Agency Executive Director Stephen McCraney also asked residents who want to help those in Louisiana to please make a plan and make sure what’s being offered is what’s needed before it creates extra worker for disaster response teams.
“We’re one of the most giving states... please be organized,” he said.
Schools announce reopenings
Schools across the Coast are starting to announce reopenings for Tuesday.
See our full list of school closures and openings here.
CTA bus schedule resumes
All regularly scheduled CTA services will run as scheduled on Tuesday, with the exception of the Beachcomber Highway 90 route, which will resume when road conditions improve.
“We anticipate resuming the BeachComber route on Wednesday,” CTA said.
Hancock County curfew ends
Hancock County said at 12:15 p.m. its curfew is ended immediately.
Drivers are allowed back onto the roads, but proceed with caution.
High water rescues in Jackson County
More rain and major flooding Monday has led to ongoing water rescues in Jackson County, Emergency Services Director Earl Etheridge said Monday afternoon.
Some areas have received an additional 6 inches of rain in the west and central region of Jackson County, while cities like Moss Point and Pascagoula have seen up to 10 more inches of rain. That additional rain along with storm surge prompting flooding that left some people trapped in their homes.
By 12:21 p.m., water rescues were underway in Jackson County for people trapped in their homes due to rising water.
First responders from Jackson Count and Moss Point had three high-water rescue trucks in service to remove those trapped in the rising water, Etheridge said.
The major flooding centered around Rose Drive, Eastwood and Peyton streets and around Hospital Road. Other roads are impassable.
A flash flood warning remains in effect in Jackson County until 4 p.m.
Flooding continues in Jackson County
South Mississippi law enforcement officials are urging residents to stay off the roads due to flooding Monday.
In Jackson County, Pascagoula police are warning motorists to stay off the roads due to flash flooding that’s making it hard for even first responders to maneuver through the city streets.
“Almost every street in taking on water,” Pascagoula police said “For your safety, we are asking everyone to please STAY OFF THE ROADS! We have roads collecting water that do not normally flood.”
In Harrison County, over 300 roads are closed because of flooding.
Tornado warnings continue
A tornado warning is issued for eastern Jackson County until 11:45 a.m. A severe thunderstorm capable of producing a tornado was located over Moss Point, moving northeast at 35 mph.
It is expected at Escatawpa around 11:25 a.m., Helena around 11:30, Big Point and Wade around 11:40 and Hurley around 11:45.
Curfew lifting
The curfew in Harrison County will be lifted at noon, according to the county Emergency Management Agency and Gulfport mayor’s office.
Shelters in Harrison County closed at noon.
Residents should continue to be careful and watch for road hazards such as debris, downed power lines, broken gas lines and water on the road, and not drive through standing water.
Mississippi Department of Transportation has closed portions of U.S. 90 until it is safer to drive.
Damage report from Picayune
Nearly 60% of Pearl River County residents were without power as of 10 a.m. Monday, said the county’s emergency management director Danny Manley.
Manley urged people to stay off the roads to avoid downed tree limbs and other debris, though no official curfew is in effect.
“The Department of Transportation, county volunteer firefighters, sheriff’s deputies, everybody’s been working hard to clear the roadways and still be really careful,” he said.
Manley said four swift water boat teams are on the ground in Pearl River County and getting ready for rescue operations as the potential for creek flooding rises. No rescue operations have taken place so far.
Structural damage in the county was mostly minimal, he said.
Storm update
Tropical Storm Ida is 40 miles southwest of Jackson and has increased forward speed slightly to 9 mph from 8 mph at 6 a.m. A tropical storm warning and storm surge warning remain in place for southern Mississippi.
The National Hurricane Center reports maximum sustained winds are near 40 mph with higher gusts and Ida is expected to become a tropical depression this afternoon.
Ida will continue to turn northeast Monday morning and is forecast to produce and additional 4 to 8 inches of rain across Coastal Mississippi.
A few tornadoes are still possible through Monday night across southeast Mississippi, the NHC said.
Travel remains dangerous
Officials in South Mississippi are asking residents to stay off the roads because of flooding, heavy rain and dangerous conditions. Many streets remain flooded and closed.
Storm debris is reported on Mississippi 603 past I-10. Lanes are closed in both directions. Mississippi Department of Transportation reports traffic could be impacted for 3 1/2 hours.
Power lines are down on the road on Mississippi 604 at Mississippi 607 in Hancock County. Lanes are blocked in both directions and MDOT anticipates it will take 2 hours before the road reopens.
Pascagoula police are among the law enforcement agencies urging motorists to stay off the roads due to flash flooding Monday, with first responders even reporting trouble maneuvering their way through the city.
“Almost every street is taking on water,” Pascagoula police said. “For your safety, we are asking everyone to please STAY OFF OF THE ROADS! We have roads collecting water that do not normally flood.”
Conditions slowly improve
“We have quite a lot of street flooding,” said Hancock County Emergency Management Director Brian Adam.
The county also had a lot of storm surge, he said, and some of the water has begun to recede from the high levels on Sunday night. Adam said they had requests for a few assists from the public, but no rescues were needed.
A few trees went down in the storm, he said, and those were removed.
Tornado warnings were just issued for South Mississippi.Tornado warningsCrews are out restoring power, with about 35,500 now without electric service. That is down from more than 44,000 earlier this morning without power.
▪ National Weather Service in New Orleans has issued a warning for eastern Harrison County until 8 a.m. At 7:36 a.m., a severe thunderstorm capable of producing a tornado was located near Long Beach, moving northeast at 40 mph.
This dangerous storm will be near Gulfport and Biloxi around 7:55 a.m. The area also includes the Gulfport Biloxi International Airport and I-10 between mile markers 33 and 44.
▪ A tornado watch was issued at 8:02 a.m., where radar indicated rotation near Latimer in Jackson County, moving northeast at 40 mph. The warning is in effect until 8:30 a.m.
.▪ A tornado warning was just issued for southwestern Jackson County until 8:15 a.m. A severe thunderstorm capable of producing a tornado was located over Petit Bois Island, or 12 miles south of Moss Point, moving north at 45 mph.
Radar indicated rotation, and the storm will be near Moss Point around 7:45 a.m. and Helenna around 7:50 a.m.
Emergency management director Earl Etheridge said there was one rescue Sunday about 7:30 p.m., when a man drove his car into water in the St. Andrews area.
The east end of the county has seen about 6 inches of rain and the west end about 7 inches, he said, with rain continuing throughout the day.
Thirty people are in the shelter in Vancleave, he said, and 1,600 residents in Jackson County are without power A few roads are washed out from the storm surge.
Curfew extended in Hancock County
The curfew that was set to expire at 6 a.m. in Hancock County has been extended until Monday at 6 p.m.
The curfew includes Bay St. Louis, Diamondhead and Waveland.
Hancock County Sheriff Ricky Adam said there is lot of flooding throughout the county.
His department also is dealing with a shooting in Pearlington, he said.
A county-wide curfew remains in effect until further notice in Harrison County.
EMA Director Matt Stratton said storm conditions will continue through Monday and river flooding through Tuesday.
Road crews are out assessing Harrison County roads for safety and several remain closed.
Ida moves slowly through Mississippi
Tropical Storm Ida is moving north through Mississippi at 8 mph, with a wind gust of 45 mph recently recorded in Gulfport and minimum pressure of 993 mb, according to the 7 a.m. advisory from the National Hurricane Center.
Another 4 inches to 8 inches of rain, with localized higher amounts possible across the Mississippi Coast, is expected through Tuesday morning, bringing total rainfall accumulations of 10-18 inches, with some areas receiving more than 24 inches.
“Dangerous storm surge and flash flooding continues over portions of Southeastern Louisiana, Southern Mississippi and Southern Alabana,” the NHC reports.
A storm surge warning and tropical storm warning remain in effect for Grand Isle, Louisiana, to the Alabama/Florida border.
The center of the storm will move farther inland over southwestern Mississippi Monday morning and over central and Northeastern Mississippi Monday afternoon and evening.
Ida is expected to weaken to a tropical depression Monday afternoon. The storm is expected to pick up speed Monday night and on Tuesday as it moves away from Mississippi.
Checking conditions
Hancock County is seeing the worst of the storm on the Coast, with heavy rain and storm surge.
“We are working to see what is flooded and what is passable,” Hancock County Emergency Management reported on social media Monday morning.
Hancock and Pearl River counties also have the most power outages. There now are 44,375 customers who don’t have power across South Mississippi.
Roads are closed by flooding throughout Harrison County and across the Coast.
Ida weakens to tropical storm
Cell phones and weather radios blared warnings in the early morning hours Monday as Ida weakened to a tropical storm and moved over southwestern Mississippi.
Ida’s winds early Monday were at 60 mph. The storm was moving at 8 mph.
A tropical storm warning, tornado warning and flash flood warning are in effect for South Mississippi.
“Ida will continue to produce heavy rainfall tonight through Monday across southeast Louisiana, coastal Mississippi, and southwestern Alabama, resulting in considerable to life-threatening flash and urban flooding and significant riverine flooding impacts,” according to the National Hurricane Center.
The 4 a.m. advisory said that dangerous storm surge inundation will continue from Grand Isle, Louisiana, to Bay St. Louis. A river watch goes into effect this morning and rivers in Harrison County are expected to crest more than 5 feet above flood stage.
“Damaging winds, especially in gusts, will continue to spread inland near the track of Ida’s center into southwestern Mississippi through this morning and early afternoon,” NHC said. “These winds will likely lead to widespread tree damage and power outages.”
The three power companies in South Mississippi report more than 31,000 customers without power. Coastal Electric reports 22,619 of its nearly 85,000 customers are in the dark. Mississippi Power has 171 outages in the Biloxi area affecting 4,577 people and 116 outages in the Hancock County area affecting 3,878 customers. Singing River Electric has 55 outages in Jackson County.
Schools are closed Monday throughout South Mississippi. Other businesses and casinos are expected to reopen Monday as conditions allow.
The Sun Herald will continue to provide updates throughout the day.
This story was originally published August 30, 2021 at 5:47 AM.
