Ida loses storm status over U.S. southeast

MIAMI, Nov. 10 (UPI) -- Tropical Storm Ida was downgraded to tropical depression status Tuesday morning as it saturated the U.S. Gulf coastal states with rain, forecasters said.

The National Hurricane Center in Miami said at 10 a.m. EST, all storm warnings ranging from Louisiana east to Florida had been discontinued.

At 4 p.m. the center of the storm's remnants was about 145 miles west of Tallahassee, Fla., and 170 miles southwest of Columbus, Ga. Top sustained winds were 25 mph with higher gusts.

The low pressure center was expected to continue on an eastward track along the Florida panhandle overnight Tuesday and then redevelop and grow stronger off the Carolina coast by Thursday morning. Forecasters warned as much as 8 inches of rain was possible along the forecast path through Wednesday.

Tropical rains were spreading northeast into the mid-Atlantic.

Forecasters said high Gulf of Mexico coastal water levels would begin to abate late Tuesday.

Ida surprised forecasters by quickly developing over the Atlantic Ocean last Thursday and becoming a hurricane that moved northward through Nicaragua and Costa Rica.