Tropical Storm Barry came ashore in northwestern Florida early today, bringing heavy rains and strong winds, but the US National Weather Service said it had not gathered sufficient force to be classed a hurricane.
At 3 a.m. (8 a.m. Irish time) the center of the storm, which had moved slowly northwards across the Gulf of Mexico over the weekend, was about 40 kilometres northeast of the Florida town of Valparaiso, the service said.
The hurricane warnings issued the previous day were no longer in effect.
Barry had winds of up to 104 kilometres near its centre, but these were expected to weaken steadily as the storm continued to move over land.
Through today, it was expected to bring high winds and some heavy rain to southwest Alabama and northwest Florida.
Ms Lynette Bonta, a spokeswoman at the Emergency Operations Center for the area around the Florida resort of Fort Walton Beach, which had been considered to lie in the storm's path, said it had passed the area "like a small thunderstorm."
"The operations center had received reports of some trees and powerlines downed by strong winds, but Barry had caused no major damage, beyond ripping of one wall of a newly constructed marina in nearby Destin," she said.
AFP