The first named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season drenched the Southeastern U.S. but caused no major damage on Friday, marching up the East Coast as it brought the threat of weekend flooding as far north as New England.
Andrea was losing its tropical characteristics on Friday after bringing rain, strong winds and even tornadoes to Florida. But it still packed maximum sustained winds of 45 mph (72 kph).
It was blamed for one traffic-related death in Virginia.
As of 11 p.m. eastern Friday, the National Hurricane Center in Miami had discontinued all tropical storm warnings. The remnants of Tropical Storm Andrea were about 30 miles (48 kilometers) south of Cape May, New Jersey., and the system was moving northeastward at 35 mph (56 kph)
The storm's low-level center was losing definition but remained a threat to the East Coast while "evolving into a low-pressure center," said Darin Figurskey, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Raleigh, North Carolina
Forecasters say Andrea could bring high winds, heavy rainfall, and localized coastal flooding through Saturday across the mid-Atlantic states and New England. Rainfall accumulations of 2 to 4 inches were possible along the Eastern Seaboard into coastal Maine, the hurricane center said. Winds near gale force were possible along the coast from the Delmarva Peninsula north to southern New Jersey, as well as coastal Rhode Island and southeastern Massachusetts.
The weather service reported that small streams and creeks in southeastern Pennsylvania were going over their banks Friday night. New York City's airports were experiencing flight delays, and Connecticut was reporting numerous lane closures on highway as cars spun out amid heavy rain.
Authorities in Virginia blamed heavy rain from the storm's outer bands for a fatal accident on Interstate 77 in the state's western mountains. William Petty, 57, of Souith Carolina, died when a car in which he was a passenger hydroplaned while passing a tractor-trailer. He survived the crash, only to be killed moments later when the car was struck by second tractor-trailer, authorities said.
In Cuba, days of torrential rains associated with Andrea caused rivers to jump their banks in the western province of Pinar del Rio. More than 3,300 people evacuated endangered homes, and nearly 1,000 acres (4,000 hectares) of croplands suffered "serious damage," state-run newspaper Juventud Rebelde said Friday. Rain was forecast to continue falling on already waterlogged areas through Saturday.