Tropical Storm Ida rolled ashore in Alabama about sunrise Tuesday morning. Flash flooding from heavy rains that will continue for the next few days is the biggest concern.

The National Hurricane Center said Ida made landfall at 6:40 a.m. near Dauphin Island with 45 mph winds.

Few Gulf Coast residents had evacuated, choosing to ride out a storm that forecasters accurately predicted would lose much of its steam as it crossed cooler Gulf of Mexico waters over the previous two days.

There were no early reports of major damage. The National Weather Service had issued flash flood and river flood warnings for the western Panhandle and Alabama. It could take a day or so for storm runoff from the projected three to eight inches of rain to push some rivers near or over flood stage. Forecasters also warned of tornadoes potentially spinning off from the storm.

Ida's approach put some 200 miles of coastline in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida under tropical storm warnings, closed schools in the western Panhandle and prompted Florida Gov. Charlie Crist to declare a state of emergency for the region.

Forecasters expected Ida to remain near tropical storm strength through much of the day as it moved inland and began hooking eastward, driven by a cold front pushing down from the north. By Wednesday, its remnants are expected to be near Tallahassee.

But Ida's lingering effects will be felt in rains across much of the Southeast for the next few days.

This report was supplemented with information from the Associated Press.

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