Tropical Storm Beryl weakened over northern Florida Monday, causing it to be downgraded to a tropical depression. The storm, which was the second named of the 2012 Atlantic hurricane season, dumped heavy rain and knocked out power along the East Coast from northern Florida to parts of North Carolina, creating the risk of flooding inland. Fire and rescue officials in Jacksonville, Florida reported over 250 calls of downed trees blocking roads and about 24,000 people without power in the area. As of early Monday, the hurricane center said that Beryl's winds had fallen to 16 meters per second with the center of the storm located roughly 97 kilometers west-northwest of Jacksonville, and about 89 kilometers east-southeast of Valdosta, Georgia. “At this point … the main concern with slow-moving Beryl is very heavy rains, which are expected to occur from northern Florida to southeastern North Carolina during the next day or two,” the hurricane center said. According to the hurricane center, Beryl is forecast to dump as much as 102 millimeters to 203 millimeters of rain, with as much as 305 millimeters of rain in some areas. Forecasters said they expect the storm to steadily weaken as it moves inland over northeast Florida and into southeast Georgia by late Monday.
