#Tropical Storm Isaias weakens as it brushes along Florida coast

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Beachgoers watch waves churned up by Tropical Storm Isaias in Florida
AP

Heavy rains and winds from Tropical Storm Isaias struck Florida early Sunday morning, as officials prepared for the downgraded hurricane to make its way up the East Coast.

“We’ll start seeing impacts tonight,” Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis warned at a news conference on Saturday. “Don’t be fooled by the downgrade.”

Isaias was downgraded from a hurricane Saturday after wreaking havoc on the Caribbean, where it uprooted trees, destroyed crops and homes and caused widespread flooding.

As of Sunday at 8 a.m., the tropical storm was making its way up the Atlantic coast at around eight miles per hour, with wind gusts of 65 miles per hour, the National Hurricane Center said.

The storm is not expected to gain strength in the coming days, forecasts said, contradicting earlier predictions.

Still, Florida’s eastern shore should expect up to four feet of flooding in some places. Heavy rains may extended as far north as New England, The Weather Channel said.

The storm is not expected to make actual landfall in the continental United State until Tuesday in South Carolina.

With Post wires