- Fred, which made landfall in the Florida Panhandle, is weakening but still could bring up to 10 inches of rain to Georgia and the southern Appalachians.
- In the Caribbean, Tropical Storm Grace was forecast to bring up to 10 more inches of rain to Haiti, which is still recovering from a massive, deadly earthquake.
- And a third storm named Henri is swirling in the Atlantic but isn’t expected to reach the US.
A weakening Tropical Depression Fred was trekking inland Tuesday as it dumped heavy rains across the U.S. Southeast, while Tropical Storm Grace in the Caribbean may become the next hurricane as it continued to drench Haiti, still reeling from a massive earthquake that killed more than 1,400.
Fred could bring as much as 10 inches of rain Tuesday to parts of Georgia and the southern Appalachians after it lashed the Florida Panhandle and Big Bend coasts Monday, knocking out power for thousands of people and washing out flood-prone roads.
“It’s wet,” said Jennifer Daniels, an emergency management official in Franklin County, Florida. “We have a lot of water. We have had a lot of surge.”
The storm made landfall near Cape San Blas in the Florida Panhandle, but its winds have since weakened to 35 mph. There were no immediate reports of deaths or major damage.
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Meanwhile, the tail end of Grace could bring 5 to 10 inches of rain with patches up to 15 inches in some parts of southern Haiti on Tuesday while the storm eyes Jamaica, according to the National Hurricane Center.
Forecasters said Grace could possibly reach hurricane strength in a couple days after it enters open water on its way toward the Yucatan peninsula. Hurricane watches were in effect along eastern parts of the peninsula.
A third storm swirling in the Atlantic, Henri, was forecast to turn west Tuesday as it passes south of Bermuda, but the storm is forecast to head north later in the week and spin out before reaching the U.S.
Here’s what we know.
Fred drenches Florida but no major damage
Power lines and trees were down and roads were damaged, but Florida’s Panhandle and Big Bend were spared from widespread damage.
Areas along the Panhandle got 4 to 6 inches of rain as Fred passed through, and some river flooding was expected in the coming days, according to the National Weather Service.
Cameron Young, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Tallahassee, said Apalachee Bay saw 2 to 3 feet of storm surge and general rainfall amounts of 1 to 3 inches, with some places seeing higher amounts. He said there were no reports of structural damage, injury or death.
“It’s a good reminder to everyone that we should always be prepared for tropical systems no matter their intensity,” Young said.
More on Fred:Officials say Fred a ‘good reminder’ to be prepared
Around 16,000 customers in Florida and 12,000 in Georgia were without power as of Tuesday morning, according to online tracker PowerOutage.us.
The storm was expected to pass through Georgia onto southern Appalachia on Tuesday.
“Although Fred is weakening, the system is still expected to bring flooding rains to portions of the southeastern and eastern United States during the next couple of days,” the National Hurricane Center said.
By Thursday, central Appalachia and parts of the mid-Atlantic could see 2 to 4 inches of rain, with some areas reaching half a foot.
A few tornadoes were also possible in Georgia, the Carolinas and southwestern Virginia through Tuesday evening.
Grace keeps dumping rain on Haiti, may become hurricane as it heads toward Mexico
About 165 miles east of Montego Bay, Jamaica, Grace drenched Haiti as a tropical depression on Monday.
Some areas got as much as 10 inches of rain, and the National Hurricane Center said Tuesday 5 to 10 inches of rain with some patches up 15 inches was still possible.
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The storm came as Haiti was still assessing the damage from a 7.2 magnitude earthquake that rocked the island Saturday. At least 1,419 people were killed and 6,000 were injured in the quake, according to Haiti’s Civil Protection Agency.
“We are in an exceptional situation,” Prime Minister Ariel Henry told reporters Monday afternoon as the storm approached.
Scores of buildings across the island were destroyed and damaged from the earthquake, including 7,000 homes destroyed and nearly 5,000 damaged, leaving some 30,000 families homeless.
Many Haitians were outside, waiting in lines at hospitals for treatment from earthquake injuries, as the storm rolled through. “We had planned to put up tents (in hospital patios), but we were told that could not be safe,” said Gede Peterson, director of Les Cayes General Hospital.
Grace is forecast to move over Jamaica on Tuesday, where it could dump up to 9 inches of rain in some areas and bring tropical storm force winds.
The storm was heading west at 16 mph. After it passes Jamaica, National Hurricane Center forecasters say Grace will hit warm water and a more divergent upper-level wind flow pattern.
“These two favorable conditions should allow for Grace to slowly intensify and possibly be near hurricane strength by the time the cyclone reaches the Yucatan peninsula in about 48 hours,” the Hurricane Center said.
Henri spins around Bermuda, not expected to hit US
The third storm out in the Atlantic is Henri, a slow-moving tropical storm that was about 135 miles south-southeast of Bermuda on Tuesday.
Forecasters said Henri would strengthen over the next day. It’s expected to turn west before it turns north on Thursday, and then heading back out into the Atlantic by the end of the week.
Contributing: Jeff Burlew and Tori Lynn Schneider, Tallahassee Democrat
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