Fred soaks the Southeastern United States; Grace again a tropical storm

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(AP) – Fred weakened from a tropical storm to a low early Tuesday as he walked inland, spreading heavy rain over the southeastern United States. The National Weather Service said it had spawned several tornadoes in Georgia, and flash floods and mudslides were possible in the mountainous areas as they moved towards the mid-Atlantic states.

No deaths have been reported from Fred, and fewer than 30,000 customers were without power in Florida and Georgia after the storm hit the shore late Monday afternoon near Cape San Blas in the Florida Panhandle. Emergency crews were repairing fallen power lines and cleaning up fallen trees on Tuesday in Freds’ wake.

The National Hurricane Center said Fred was crossing southeast Alabama to west and northern Georgia with sustained winds reaching 35 mph (56 km / h). Senior Hurricane Specialist Stacy Stewart said Tuesday she could dump 5-7 inches (13-18 centimeters) of rain in parts of Alabama, Georgia and the Carolinas and possibly up to 10 (25 centimeters) of rain in isolated places, causing flash floods in mountainous areas.

Meanwhile, reconnaissance planes found Grace regained the strength of a tropical cyclone early Tuesday. Grace called earthquake-damaged Haiti a tropical depression on Monday, pouring up to 10 inches of rain that knocked over people huddling in makeshift shelters following Saturday’s magnitude 7.2 quake, now responsible for more than 1,400 deaths.

Grace had sustained winds of 40 mph (64 km / h) and was heading west at nearly 16 mph (26 km / h), on a track between southeastern Cuba and Jamaica on Tuesday afternoon . Forecasters said it could be close to hurricane force as it approaches Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula late Wednesday or early Thursday.

Tropical Storm Henri, meanwhile, was about 135 miles (215 kilometers) south-southeast of Bermuda. The small tropical cyclone had winds of 80 km / h and was expected to pass well south of Bermuda by Tuesday evening, the hurricane center said.

Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

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