Fading Barry headed for Mississippi, Arkansas

DESTIN, Florida (CNN) -- Tornado and flash flood watches remained in effect in much of Florida and Alabama on Monday after the remains of Tropical Storm Barry moved into Mississippi.

The National Weather Service downgraded Barry to a tropical depression Monday after it roared into Florida and Alabama with heavy rain. By Monday evening, Barry's remnants packed top winds of only 20 mph.

The storm was expected to move northwest across northern Mississippi and into northeast Arkansas by Tuesday afternoon.

"If it zips through, we'll be in good shape, but if it slows down, additional rain can only aggravate the situation," said Brian Peters, meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Birmingham, Alabama.

VIDEO CNN's Ed Lavandera on the light damage Barry caused in Florida and Alabama (August 6) Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media) Winds bend trees and rain lashes the Florida Panhandle (August 6) Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media)   EXTRA INFORMATION Gallery: Barry pounds Florida   In-Depth: Hurricanes     RESOURCES On the Scene: Ed Lavandera greets Barry on the beach   On the Scene: Storm could stall over Arkansas

Barry made landfall early Monday morning east of the Florida resort town of Destin, the National Weather Service said. Although it came ashore with 70 mph winds and a storm surge of 4 to 5 feet, it dropped less than 10 inches of rain on the region as it moved northwest.

No deaths or injuries were blamed on the storm.

"There were isolated power outages, some trees were downed and minor flooding closed some roads," said National Weather Service meteorologist Paul Duval, in Tallahassee. "We're still keeping an eye on the rainbands, but basically everybody is breathing a sigh of relief."

Florida Gov. Jeb Bush told CNN about 34,000 customers had their power knocked out in the storm's aftermath.

"We'll have assessment teams go out and assess the cost of public sector support and loss of property to the private sector, and then we go to Washington, if appropriate, and get more support," Bush told CNN on Monday. "It's a good system that we have in place to deal with disasters."

As Barry moved northwest, its greatest threat was from the potential for tornadoes and flooding. Damage was limited in Alabama's capital of Montgomery, emergency management chief Anita Patterson said, but the city was under a tornado watch until 7 p.m. CDT.

"There's still potential for severe weather. We're watching the flooding and monitoring that very closely because we're concerned about some low-lying areas here in town," Patterson said. "But other than that, we've just got the heavy rainfall and then the winds gusting up to some 30 miles an hour."