Hours after making landfall in the Florida Panhandle, Fred was downgraded from a tropical storm to a tropical depression as it continues to bring heavy rainfall and the threat of tornadoes to the southeastern U.S.
Fred made landfall Monday afternoon at Cape San Blas, Florida, a beachside town located southeast of Panama City. The storm has drenched northern Florida in the last 12 hours and has since moved northward into Alabama and Georgia.
The Weather Channel reports that Fred led to isolated flooding in Northern Flooding on Monday, as high waters closed roads in Panama City and the surrounding areas.
PowerOutage.US reports that about 28,000 people are currently without power in Florida and Georgia following Fred's arrival. Another 2,000 people are without power in Alabama.
CNN reports that pasts of central and northern Georgia issued tornado watches Tuesday morning as the system moved through the state. Those watches will remain in effect until 1 p.m.
According to a 5 a.m. ET update from the National Hurricane Center, Fred had maximum sustained winds of 35 mph and was moving north-northeast at 14 mph.
The NHC says heavy rainfall from Fred will lead to considerable flash, urban and small stream flooding in southeastern Alabama and western Georgia on Tuesday. As the storm moves northward, heavy rainfall could cause landslides in the mountainous regions of eastern North Carolina.
