U.S. forecasters say the hurricane warning for tropical storm Alberto has been downgraded as it nears Florida's gulf coast.
The U.S. weather center says at mid-morning local time, Alberto is about 80 kilometers southeast of Tallahassee, Florida. The storm is expected to continue to move over northern Florida and into southern Georgia later Tuesday.
The storm's maximum sustained winds are 85 kilometers per hour.
More than 20,000 people were ordered to evacuate their homes in Florida Monday as Alberto strengthened in the Gulf of Mexico.
Florida Governor Jeb Bush has declared a state of emergency and urged residents in low-lying coastal areas to follow mandatory evacuation orders.
Alberto is the first named storm of this year's Atlantic hurricane season, which began June 1.
Some information for this report was provided by AP.