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TS Tammy weakens as it moves inlandGeorgia, Carolinas could see 10 inches of rain
 Tropical Storm Tammy strikes land in this satellite photo taken Wednesday at 8:15 p.m. ET. SPECIAL REPORTYOUR E-MAIL ALERTS(CNN) -- Less than a day after forming off Florida, Tropical Storm Tammy moved onshore Wednesday. The storm weakened slightly but was still expected to dump up to 10 inches of rainfall over portions of southeastern Georgia and the eastern Carolinas, forecasters said. As of 5 a.m. EDT Thursday, Tammy's winds had weakened to near 40 mph -- barely tropical-storm intensity -- and its center was about 130 miles west-southwest of Savannah, Georgia, the National Hurricane Center said. The storm made landfall between 7 and 8 p.m. Wednesday near Mayport, Florida. just north of Jacksonville, but rain bands continued coming ashore for hours afterward. The storm was moving toward the northwest at near 14 mph, and was expected to continue that motion. The storm was expected to slow and its circulation was expected to dissipate during the next 24 hours. Forecasters said it will bring 3 to 5 inches of rain to the region, with isolated amounts of up to 10 inches. (Watch forecast as Tammy threatens to dump rain on the Southeast -- 2:21) A tropical storm warning remained in effect from Altamaha Sound, Georgia, northward to the mouth of the South Santee River in South Carolina, meaning tropical storm conditions, including winds of at least 39 mph, are expected within 24 hours. The southern portion of the warning, stretching into Florida, was canceled early Thursday, and forecasters said all warnings would likely be canceled later in the day. Gale warnings, however, may be issued by local weather offices outside the warning area, the hurricane center said. Tropical storm-force winds and heavy rains were confined to an area north and east of the center, mainly over water but also near coastlines in the warning area. The winds extended outward up to 200 miles northeast of Tammy's center. The storm was expected to continue weakening and will likely become a tropical depression Thursday, forecasters said. People in Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas were also being warned to keep an eye out for tornadoes spinning off from the storm. In St. Mary's, Georgia, emergency officials put a shelter capable of holding 300 people on standby, said Mark Crews, Camden County's emergency management director. Tammy, which only formed Wednesday morning off the coast of Florida, is the 19th named storm of the busy 2005 Atlantic hurricane season and the third tropical storm to hit the U.S. coast, which has also been menaced by four hurricanes this year. With nearly two months left in the hurricane season, some records for hurricane activity appear ready to fall. The largest number of tropical storms recorded in a single year was 21 in 1933; the largest number of hurricanes was 12 in 1969. Ten hurricanes have formed in the Atlantic this season. The National Hurricane Center is down to the last two storm names on its list for 2005, Vince and Wilma. If more storms form, the names of the letters of the Greek alphabet will be used to name them, starting with Alpha. CNN's Chad Myers contributed to this report. 
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