Andrea hits Florida

Tropical storm with heavy rain has Georgia on its mind

MIAMI — The first named storm of the Atlantic season hammered Florida with rain, heavy winds, and tornadoes Thursday as it moved over land toward the coast of Georgia and the Carolinas, promising sloppy commutes and waterlogged vacation getaways through the beginning of the weekend.

Tropical Storm Andrea was not expected to strengthen into a hurricane but forecasters warned it could cause flooding and storm surge before it loses steam over the next two days.

Thursday evening, Andrea was west of Gainesville, after making landfall hours earlier in Florida’s Big Bend area.

Its maximum sustained winds had fallen to 50 mph and it was moving northeast at 15 mph.

Rains and winds from the storm were forecast to sweep northward along the Southeastern U. S. coast Thursday night and Friday.

The storm was expected to lose steam by Saturday as it moves through the eastern United States, according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami.

Florida Gov. Rick Scott said one of the biggest risks associated with the storm for Florida was the chance of tornadoes, eight of which had been confirmed Thursday across the state. Scott urged residents to remain vigilant.

In The Acreage, a part of Palm Beach County, Fla., pre-kindergarten teacher Maria Cristina Arias clutched valuable personal papers as she surveyed the damage done by a tornado to her five-bedroom home when she was away.

Windows were smashed and a neighbor’s shed had crashed into her bedroom.

“It’s all destroyed,” she told The Palm Beach Post. “This is unbelievable. I don’t know what we’re going to do.”

Across Florida, 30 state parks closed their campgrounds.