Hurricane Fay Moves Across Florida

Tropical Storm Fay moves ashore over southwest Florida. The storm barely made hurricane strength with top speeds of 60 mph. Most forecasters are still calling it a tropical storm.

Tropical Storm Fay moved ashore over southwest Florida on Tuesday at 5 AM EDT. The eye of the storm had crossed the shoreline at Cape Romano.

Cap Romano is about 55 miles south of Fort Myers.

The storm has top sustained winds of 60 miles per hour as it passed over south below. Wind speeds are below the 74 mph threshold at which tropical storms become category 1 hurricanes.

Fay becomes the sixth storm of the current Atlantic hurricane season. Experts predicted a busy 2008 season.

Current storm conditions contain gusty winds and steady downpours in various parts of Florida. Residents on the east coast, from Melbourne to Lake Worth, were already experiencing wind gusts of 40 mph by 9:00 am EDT.

During its course, Fay killed more than 50 people in the Caribbean.

The hurricane center forecast that a weakening Fay would track in a northeasterly direction and briefly reemerge over the Atlantic before curving back into the coast of northeast Florida.

The tropical storm has already knocked down trees and has left thousands of utility customers without power in the Keys and south Florida.