Tropical Storm Barry brought heavy rain to a parched Florida early Saturday, along with strong winds and heavy surf along the state's Gulf coast.Rain was falling throughout the state, where droughts conditions have left Lake Okeechobee at its lowest recorded level and allowed an isolated brush fire on the Georgia-Florida border to burn for weeks. The storm was expected to drop 3 to 6 inches of rain on parts of the state Saturday. Isolated areas could get up to 10 inches of rain.
"It'll help a little bit, but everyone is so far below rainfall that we're still going to be under drought conditions," said Kim Brabander, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service. "To really alleviate the drought conditions we're going to need anywhere from 30 to 40 inches of rain."
At 8 a.m. ET, Barry was centered in the Gulf of Mexico about 85 miles southwest of Tampa. It had sustained winds of about 50 mph near the center with higher gusts and was moving north-northeast at about 20 mph. Wind gusts of up to 47 mph were reported on the state's southern and eastern coasts Saturday morning.
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