Hanna Weakens

Tropical Storm Hanna was downgraded to a tropical depression Sunday after knocking out power lines and downing trees in a path across Alabama and Georgia.

"There's no real threat," said Jim Noffsinger, a National Weather Service forecaster. "You're talking about something that's now only got 20 mph winds."

Before dropping below tropical storm strength, defined as sustained winds of at least 39 mph, Hanna's heavy rain, wind and lightning had interrupted air travel, brought down tree limbs and caused power outages to about 48,000 homes.

By Sunday, only a few areas were still without electricity, but rain from Hanna was still falling in parts of Georgia, Kentucky, Virginia and the Carolinas.

Hanna blew ashore Saturday in eastern Alabama with about 50 mph winds, dropping up to 5 inches of rain in the coastal area and the Florida Panhandle.

Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman declared a state of emergency for Mobile and Baldwin counties. Florida Gov. Jeb Bush had declared a state of emergency in all counties west of the Apalachicola River in the Panhandle.

It was the eighth tropical storm of the 2002 Atlantic hurricane season, which began June 1 and ends Nov. 30. Gustav, the season's only hurricane, did little damage when it grazed North Carolina's coast last week.

In the Caribbean, the 10th tropical depression of the season formed near Trinidad with 30 mph wind, the National Hurricane Center said. It was moving west-northwest at 21 mph Sunday and could pass near the islands of Bonaire, Curacao and Aruba during the day, forecasters said.