TS Ida threatens Dauphin Island

DAUPHIN ISLAND, Ala. - Folks on Dauphin Island started feeling the effects of Ida early Monday morning.

As the wind and waves grew stronger, a few folks decided to get a closer look. But most people wanted to get as far away from the island as possible.

"We have to be safe. We have to go back home," said Denise Magnet.

By 9:30 Monday morning, the West end of the Dauphin Island causeway was already covered in water.

John Hopkins and his wife had to drive through it.

"We have several rental homes on the island, and we live on the island ourselves, and we're just making sure everything's safe and sound," said Hopkins.

As the hours passed, waves began to crash closer to the shoreline, and too close to the houses there.

"It's going to get a little bit worse I believe," said Hopkins.

Chip McNeill and his family have owned houses on Dauphin Island for 35 years, so they're no strangers to bad storms. That's why they spent the morning putting up hurricane panels. They're not taking any chances with Ida.

"It just got to be too much of a headache worrying about what was going to happen so we decided this was all we could do. If we didn't do it, then we could regret it. We learned from Katrina that you never know what to expect," he said.