Ida

Ida is heading toward the Gulf Coast. Around here, the local news is reporting that Dauphin Island is already seeing high water, and reports are that the Gulf of Mexico is looking rough. Dry air and cooler waters are having their impact as the storm weakens to tropical storm strength, but even without hurricane-force winds there's storm surge potential.

Schools are closed or releasing early in various counties and parishes in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida. Since Katrina, state and local governments have been reacting to impending storms early and with the highest levels of caution.

Head over to Jeff Masters Wunder Blog and check out his storm surge maps and intensity forecasts. It makes for some interesting reading.

Blow wind blow!

124 people died in El Salvador because of heavy rains due to tropical disturbance 96E. Please keep the people of that region in your thoughts.