Edouard moves inland and weakens

Tony Ramos, left, and Clem Mosley surf-fish Wednesday as Tropical Storm Edouard churns the surf at Jacksonville Beach, Florida.

MIAMI, Florida (CNN) -- Tropical Storm Edouard quickly weakened into a tropical depression late Wednesday evening as it came ashore, the National Hurricane Center said.

At 5 a.m. ET Thursday, Edouard was centered near 29.0 degrees north latitude and 81.9 degrees west longitude, about 20 miles southeast of Ocala, Florida.

All storm warnings and watches for the northwest Florida coast were discontinued as Edouard's maximum sustained winds fell to near 30 mph.

The depression is moving west-southwest at about 7 mph and is expected to continue in that direction for the next 24 hours as it crossed the Florida peninsula Thursday.

Two to 4 inches of rain were possible along Edouard's path.

Forecasters predict Edouard will move back over open water in the Gulf of Mexico by Friday morning, posing a possible threat to areas along the Gulf Coast.

A developing weather system in the northwestern Gulf of Mexico could stymie Edouard's advance, according to forecasters.

Edouard is only the fifth named storm in a so-far-uneventful 2002 Atlantic hurricane season, none of which actually became hurricanes. According to the National Hurricane Center, however, September is the most active month for hurricanes.

Meanwhile, Tropical Storm Dolly also weakened into a depression Wednesday.

Dolly, which had rushed toward hurricane strength (74 mph) last week before backing off and turning north well out to sea -- was continuing to move northward and weakening over the central Atlantic Ocean.