NU Online News Service, May 29, 11:53 a.m. EDT

The second tropical storm of the yet-to-officially-commence Atlantic hurricane season put a damper on holiday plans in Florida this weekend.

According to Risk Management Solutions, Beryl made landfall near Jacksonville Beach, Fla., early on Monday with sustained winds near hurricane force at 70 mph.

The Orlando Sentinel reported that the storm soon dropped to 45 mph after making landfall, and damage was minimal.

RMS says 20,000 people lost power at the peak of the storm Monday, and by Tuesday most residents had power back on line.

According to a current Florida Power and Light Co. map, there are less than 100 people without power in the Jacksonville area.

There were some reports of cancellations at the Jacksonville Airport and there was a report of a tornado that did damage to a few homes.

Beryl moved north into Georgia where the National Weather Service, at its latest report at 11 a.m. EDT says the storm has sustained winds of 30 mph and has been downgraded to a tropical depression.

The storm is expected to dump more rain over northern Florida and southeastern Georgia, between 5 to 10 inches and isolated amounts of up to 15 inches.

As it moves over South Carolina and back into Atlantic over tomorrow, the storm is expected to dump three to six additional inches of rain.

Beryl could regain tropical-storm status as it moves over the coastline and back into the ocean, the National Weather Service says.

Tropical storm Alberto, the first storm of this season, formed on May 21, but did not make landfall.

In the Pacific, concern was raised that Hurricane Bud would hit the Southwestern coast of Mexico near the areas of Cabo Corrientes and Manzanillo, Mexico. Hurricane Bud became a major hurricance by 8 p.m. PDT on Thursday, with winds reaching 115 mph, making it a Category 3 storm on the Saffir-Simpson scale, according to the National Weather Service. The storm, which reached Mexico Friday, lost strength and became a post-tropical storm by the time it made landfall.

This story was updated at 1:28 p.m. EDT with information about Hurricane Bud.

Special Reports /

Tropical Storm Beryl Makes Florida Landfall; Does Little Damage

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