Storm Drenches Florida as 2 Others Swirl Toward Caribbean

Tourists abandoned beaches and people watched the rain helplessly Thursday as Tropical Storm Jerry drenched much of Florida.

Meanwhile, Hurricane Humberto, with 105-m.p.h. winds, and Tropical Storm Iris, with 65-m.p.h. winds, were pushing their way across the Atlantic toward the Caribbean.

Jerry lost steam as it weakened to a tropical depression after making it nearly across the peninsula, but forecasters predicted that it could build into a storm again over the Gulf of Mexico and strike northern Florida.

Jerry dumped 10 1/4 inches of rain near Stuart, more than 8 1/2 inches on Sanibel Island and nearly eight inches in West Palm Beach.

Humberto was about 1,075 miles east of the Lesser Antilles in the eastern Caribbean. A gradual west-northwest turn was expected. Iris, slowly moving west ahead of Humberto, was centered about 250 miles east of the Lesser Antilles.