Tropical Storm Hits Rain-Starved Florida

Tropical
storm Barry weakened into a tropical depression as it moved through
Tampa Bay on Saturday, though its rains brought some relief to the
drought-parched region.

Forecasters discontinued the tropical storm warnings and watches
issued for stretches of the Gulf Coast. The depression's sustained
winds had slowed to near 56 km/h and it was moving north-northeast at
about 37 km/h.

The storm made landfall in the Tampa Bay area around 10 a.m. EDT,
according to Daniel Brown, a meteorologist at the National Hurricane
Center.

"The landfall in a case like this is kind of insignificant," Brown said.

Tropical Storm Barry brought heavy rain to a parched Florida early Saturday, along with strong winds and heavy surf along the state's Gulf coast.

Rain was falling throughout the state, where drought conditions have left Lake Okeechobee at its lowest recorded level and allowed an isolated brush fire on the Georgia-Florida border to burn for weeks.

The storm was expected to drop 3 to 6 inches of rain on parts of the state Saturday. Isolated areas could get up to 10 inches of rain.

"It'll help a little bit, but everyone is so far below rainfall that we're still going to be under drought conditions," said Kim Brabander, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service. "To really alleviate the drought conditions we're going to need anywhere from 30 to 40 inches of rain."

At 8 a.m. ET, Barry was centered in the Gulf of Mexico about 85 miles southwest of Tampa. It had sustained winds of about 50 mph near the center with higher gusts and was moving north-northeast at about 20 mph. Wind gusts of up to 47 mph were reported on the state's southern and eastern coasts Saturday morning.

The storm was not expected to strengthen into a hurricane, said Dave Roberts, a hurricane specialist at the National Hurricane Center.

A tropical storm warning was issued from Bonita Beach on Florida's southwest coast northward to Keaton Beach, near the state's Big Bend area, as Barry was expected to make landfall on the peninsula's central or northern Gulf coast by Saturday evening. A tropical storm watch was issued for the area from Keaton Beach west to St. Marks, south of Tallahassee.