Tropical Storm Arlene Fizzles in Gulf Coast

PENSACOLA, USA--Tropical Storm Arlene weakened as it blew ashore Saturday on the Gulf Coast, but still packed enough punch that it brought sheets of rain, 20-foot waves and heavy wind to the same area that was devastated by Hurricane Ivan nine months ago.

The first named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season had threatened to strengthen to a hurricane, but it had sustained winds of only about 97kph when it made landfall at around 1900GMT (0500 AEST) on Saturday afternoon, just at around 3 p.m. along the Alabama-Florida Panhandle coast. The minimum hurricane level is 74 mph.

Arlene came ashore a bit east of where Ivan hit with 120-mph wind Sept. 16. Ivan, blamed for 29 deaths in Florida, was one of four hurricanes to batter Florida last summer within a few weeks.

Initial damage reports were minimal; about 11,300 homes and businesses on the Gulf Coast were without power Saturday evening. A few Panhandle bridges were closed because of wind, and some flooding on Alabama's coastal highways was reported.

There were no immediate reports of deaths blamed on the storm Saturday, but one woman died Friday after being pulled from strong surf on Miami Beach, more than 500 miles southeast of the landfall point.

Arlene weakened later to a tropical depression, with top sustained winds of 35 mph and was centered about 15 miles east of Jackson and about 120km south of Tuscaloosa, Alabama last night.

Meteorologists said flooding and up to 6 inches of rain was possible in the path of Arlene's remnants through the Mississippi River valley, but all hurricane and tropical-storm warnings were lifted.

The hurricane season began June 1 and ends on Noember 30. Last year's first storm of the season, Alex, didn't form until August 1, and two weeks later Florida was hit by four deadly hurricanes, including Ivan. Those storms caused about 130 deaths in the United States and billions of dollars in damage.

The National Hurricane Center did not immediately provide specifics of when and where Arlene's center crossed the coast.

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