June 22 (UPI) — Claudette weakened to a low pressure trough after dumping heavy rains over North Carolina and killing more than a dozen people in Alabama over the weekend.
The National Hurricane Center said in its 11 p.m. advisory that the remnants of Claudette were located 160 miles south-southeast of Nantucket, Mass., and were moving east-northeast at 29 mph with maximum sustained winds of 45 mph.
Claudette arrived on the U.S. mainland over the weekend from the Gulf of Mexico and was blamed for several deaths. It weakened as it moved northeast over land, but again regained tropical storm strength as it hovered over the East Coast earlier Monday.
Claudette dumped as many as 8 inches of rain on parts of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama on Friday and Saturday. Forecasters called for as many as 4 inches in Georgia and North and South Carolina.
A tornado related to the storm was reported in southern Alabama and Florida over the weekend, downing trees, snapping power lines and spreading debris across the region.
In Escambia County, Fla., officials said a tornado injured three people and authorities closed U.S. Highway 29 in East Brewton, Ala., due to power lines on the roadway.
Claudette is expected to create storm surge of up to 3 feet near the North Carolina-Virginia border and up to 2 feet from Cape Lookout, N.C., to Little River Inlet, S.C.
Claudette is the third named system of the 2021 Atlantic hurricane season, after Ana and Bill. The hurricane season began June 1.
