Hurricane That Pounded Florida Dies in Bahamas

A tropical storm sputtered harmlessly through the Bahamas and disappeared Tuesday as agriculture officials surveyed crop damage left by the one-time hurricane and the Coast Guard rushed to aid a ship nearly swamped by rough seas.

Hurricane Floyd, which whipped up the Florida Keys and off South Florida with 80 m.p.h. winds on Monday, was downgraded Tuesday to a tropical storm and by mid-afternoon had disappeared.

National Hurricane Center forecasters said a northern cold front kept the storm from becoming a major hurricane.

“If we didn’t have all that cold air coming in, we would have had a much different scenario that what we experienced,” forecaster Hal Gerrisch said. “The cold front essentially spread a blanket that prohibited those strong winds from reaching us where we live. A hurricane is run by a heat engine and when you put cold air into it, it causes the engine to sputter.”

Authorities blamed one death on the hurricane, the drowning of a 23-year-old woman off Texas’ South Padre Island.

While damage in Florida generally was minor, tomato growers said the storm flooded as much as half of the $22.5-million early winter crop.

“The rains we had two weeks ago already damaged the plants,” said Kevin Bruce, who planted 80 acres last month. “This might have just done me in.”

The storm also caused problems at sea, where the Coast Guard rescued 26 people from a freighter Tuesday after high waves whipped up by the storm shifted its cargo and made it roll dangerously.

The 400-foot Alma Llanera, a Venezuelan container ship, listed severely and was rolling up to 60 degrees after 6- to 8-foot waves unbalanced the cargo in its hold, officials said. The ship was first reported 14 miles off Palm Beach, but by afternoon had drifted south to a point 30 miles east of Port Everglades.

Forecasters said some people may have overreacted Monday to the first hurricane to hit South Florida in two years. Stores were jammed with people buying batteries, canned food and bottled water.

“It was a good practice run,” said Eddie Gonzalez, a deputy director with Metro-Dade police who was staffing the county emergency management office late Monday. “We put a lot of stuff into motion.”

The storm knocked down some trees and wires in Dade County, Gonzalez said. In Florida’s Keys, damage was minimal despite heavy wind and rain, Monroe County spokesman Charles Acheson said.