Hurricane Ida weakened to a tropical storm on Monday morning as it is approaching the U.S. Gulf Coast, where it is expected to land in the next 24 hours, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) said.
Ida's top winds fell to 110 kph, the Miami-based NHC said in its latest web update.
Several Florida Coastal communities are under a tropical storm warning as Ida is expected to dump up to 200 mm of rain in these areas.
The NHC also warned of "large and destructive waves" caused by the storm, as it heads northwest near 26 kph.
Florida Division of Emergency Management asked residents of the state to have disaster plans in place.
On Sunday, Ida prompted a state of emergency in Louisiana when it moved into the southern Gulf of Mexico.
Alabama's Baldwin County is also under a local state of emergency and opened a shelter.
County officials urged residents living in mobile homes, coastal communities or low-lying,
flood-prone areas to voluntarily evacuate.
Ida is the ninth named storm of the current Atlantic hurricane season, which ends Nov. 30.