Hurricane Watch: Fay hits Florida, but doesn't become hurricane

August 19, 2008

From the Associated Press

NAPLES, FL - Tropical Storm Fay moved inland Tuesday after making landfall in southwest Florida, never growing into a hurricane that forecasters had cautioned it could become.

Traffic was light in Naples as rain swept roads littered with palm fronds and other minor debris. There was street flooding in spots, some downed trees and minor storm surge damage was reported in Everglades City to the south.

At the 7-Eleven near the beach in Naples, assistant manager Diana Eslick was getting ready for hungry surfers looking for food before they took advantage of Fay's waves.

"So far it's going good. We have power and everything. It's just been windy and rainy," she said.

At 1:00 pm EDT, the center of the Atlantic hurricane season's sixth named storm was near Moore Haven and was moving north-northeast near 8 mph. Maximum sustained winds rose 5 mph to 65 mph, which is unusual because the storm is mostly over land, away from its energy source of warm ocean waters. More flunctuations in intensity are expected as it crosses Florida to the Atlantic.

"We're still here," said Corey Knapp, resident manager of the Ivey House, a bed and breakfast in Everglades City. Water was knee deep on some side roads, but he said the storm was not as bad as he expected.

Forecasts for most of Monday had predicted a slight chance Fay would bring hurricane winds, which start at 74 mph, but that didn't happen.

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