Arlene makes landfall
MIAMI, Florida (CNN) -- Tropical Storm Arlene came ashore on the U.S. Gulf Coast between 2 p.m. and 3 p.m. ET Saturday, near the Florida-Alabama state line, according to the National Hurricane Center.
Before it made landfall, reconnaissance aircraft determined that Arlene had grown weaker. But, hurricane warning remained posted early Saturday for parts of the north-central Gulf Coast, from Pascagoula, Mississippi, east to Destin, Florida.
Hurricane warnings indicate that hurricane conditions are expected in the designated area, usually within 24 hours. By 2 p.m. EDT Saturday the weather service had discontinued the hurricane watch from east of Destin, Florida, to Indian Pass, Florida.
A hurricane watch and a tropical storm warning covered the area between the mouth of the Pearl River eastward to west of Pascagoula, Mississippi, remains in effect.
A watch means hurricane conditions are possible -- usually within 36 hours.
A tropical storm warning was posted for the Gulf Coast from Grand Isle, Louisiana, to the state's Mississippi border.
That area includes New Orleans, Louisiana, and east of Destin, Florida to the Ochlocknee River in Florida.
Before making landfall, the storm's maximum sustained winds dropped to 60 mph, with higher gusts. The storm's sustained winds would have had to reach 75 mph before it would have been classified as a hurricane.
The death of a woman who was caught in a riptide Friday near Miami was blamed on the storm.
Arlene, the first named storm of the 2005 hurricane season, appeared to follow a track similar to Hurricane Ivan, which hammered the Alabama coastline and parts of the Florida Panhandle last September, killing 50 people.
Tropical storm-force winds extended 150 miles, mainly from the north and east of Arlene's center.
Friday afternoon, Escambia County, Florida, which includes Pensacola, ordered residents in low-lying areas and along the shoreline to evacuate, and opened five shelters. The county took action immediately following Gov. Jeb Bush's signing an executive order declaring a state of emergency.
Arlene spun off tornadoes in parts of South Florida as it brushed by. In the Miami area Friday, the storm caused battering waves, delighting surfers, but causing dangerous riptide currents.
Authorities said a woman was carried away by a strong riptide just before 7 a.m. Another woman tried to rescue her, and rescue workers had to be rescued themselves by a Coast Guard boat. The woman died at a hospital.
Ships moved from storm's path
Later Friday, the Coast Guard reported it had rescued five people adrift in 12-foot seas on their disabled fishing vessel about 21 miles south of San Blas, Florida, which is seven miles southeast of Panama City.
Heavy rain associated with the storm will continue to spread northward throughout the southeastern United States, including the southern Appalachians and the Tennessee and Ohio valleys, into the weekend, forecasters said. There could be isolated rainfall amounts up to 10 inches along the central and eastern Gulf Coast states.
The U.S. Navy said Friday it was moving several ships out of Arlene's path.
A storm surge of 3 feet to 5 feet above normal levels, along with dangerous waves, was expected near and east of where Arlene makes landfall. Along the northern Gulf coast, water levels were about a half-foot above normal, according to the Hurricane Center.
CNN Correspondent John Zarrella contributed to this report.
