Nov. 9 (Bloomberg) -- Tropical Storm Ida bore down on the U.S. coast, bringing winds of 65 miles (105 kilometers) per hour, as it churned across the Gulf of Mexico, where some oil and gas rigs were evacuated.

The storm is expected to make landfall early tomorrow on the Gulf Coast near Mobile Bay in Alabama, according to the National Hurricane Center in Miami. Ida’s center was 100 miles south-southwest of Mobile at 9 p.m. local time, the center said. The storm was moving north at 13 mph, down from 17 mph earlier.

Ida is expected to bring a storm surge of as high as 5 feet (1.5 meters) accompanied by “large and destructive” waves when it makes landfall, the center said. The storm’s winds declined from 70 mph and it’s forecast to weaken further as it moves closer to land.

“It is falling apart and she is going to continue to fall apart right through landfall,” said Jim Rouiller, a senior meteorologist at Planalytics Inc. in Wayne, Pennsylvania. “It is moving over cooler waters and that means the demise of this storm system over the next 24 hours.”

A tropical storm warning is in effect from Grand Isle, Louisiana, to the Aucilla River in Florida, an area that includes New Orleans. The warning means winds of between 39 and 73 mph are expected within 24 hours, the center said.

Oil Production

Ida is the first storm of the season to affect energy facilities in the Gulf, with companies evacuating workers and idling 29.6 percent of oil and 27.5 percent of natural gas output, the federal government said.

“Damage to any one port hub or rig will be minor at the very worst,” Rouiller said. “Once we get through today and tomorrow, skies will clear and it is business as normal.”

The region accounts for about 27 percent of U.S. oil production and 15 percent of gas output, according to the U.S. Energy Department.

Ida was the third Atlantic hurricane this year before weakening yesterday, reaching a peak as a Category 2 storm on the five-step Saffir-Simpson scale. The Atlantic hurricane season runs from June 1 to Nov. 30.

After making landfall, the remnants of Ida are expected to pass over Alabama, Georgia and Florida and re-enter the Atlantic Ocean, said Tom Kines, a meteorologist with private-forecaster AccuWeather.com in State College, Pennsylvania.

Affected Population

As many as 2.8 million people may feel the effects of the storm, based on its current projected path, the U.S. Census Bureau said in a statement tonight.

Louisiana, Alabama and Mississippi all declared emergencies. Schools were closed for today and tomorrow in parts of the western Florida panhandle, AP reported.

The Louisiana Offshore Oil Port stopped taking loads from tankers at about noon yesterday because of rough seas, said Barb Hestermann, a spokeswoman. Deliveries to refiners were being met with crude stored onshore.

Ida is forecast to dump as much as 8 inches (20 centimeters) of rain on the central and eastern Gulf Coast through tomorrow.

Ida, the ninth named storm of the 2009 Atlantic hurricane season, formed in the southwestern Caribbean Sea on Nov. 4, and swept across Nicaragua and Honduras.

Flooding and mudslides from storms in nearby El Salvador killed at least 130 people, with 60 others missing, the Associated Press reported.

To contact the reporter on this story: Brian K. Sullivan in Boston at bsullivan10@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: November 9, 2009 22:36 EST