By late morning, windspeed dropped to 55 kilometers (35 miles) per hour as the weather system now known as Tropical Depression 24 traveled along the Florida peninsula.

It was expected to head out to the Atlantic Ocean and could regain tropical storm strength before an anticipated landfall in South Carolina, according to the Miami-based National Hurricane Center (NHC).

On Sunday, Ernesto had become the first Atlantic hurricane of the year, causing one death in Haiti before weakening Monday as it moved over mountainous areas of Cuba.

Contrary to expectations, Ernesto did not strengthen after leaving the Cuban coast, and remained a weak tropical storm when it hit Florida late Tuesday.

Experts initially feared Ernesto would hit Florida as a powerful hurricane packing the same intensity as Katrina, which killed 1,500 people after it slammed ashore near New Orleans, Louisiana, on August 29, 2005.

The initial concern prompted Florida Governor Jeb Bush to declare a state of emergency, while visitors were ordered to leave the Florida Keys.

NASA canceled the Tuesday blast-off of the Space Shuttle Atlantis from Florida's Atlantic coast but changed its mind about moving the shuttle to its hangar for protection as the storm outlook improved.

Related Links
US National Hurricane Center