Tropical Storm Lee Weakens, Still Dangerous

(NECN: Rick Vincent, Mandeville, LA) - Tropical Depression Lee isn't packing the punch it used to.  It was downgraded overnight from a tropical storm to a depression.

But it's still giving Gulf Coast states a major soaking.

It’s a scene all too familiar. Coastal Louisiana – swamped with water.

"We're worried most about flooding. We're not so much worried about the house floating away like it did in 2005 when we were on the roof floating up the street." Said New Orleans resident Robert Green.

Green lost his mother and grandmother in Hurricane Katrina. This time, it’s a much weaker Lee doing the damage.

"People are in a sense worried but they're not concerned enough to be scared and pulling out because if you leave before the time is necessary then you'll say, 'Well, I should have stayed because nothing's happening.'" Green said.

Lee is causing more headaches than just flooding. It triggered tornado watches across the Gulf coast. And though it hasn’t been confirmed, in Alabama, they’re pretty sure a twister is to blame for this damage.

"I didn't hear no roar.  I didn't hear -- all I heard was wind, and if it was wind, it was a hell of a wind." Said storm victim Madison Knight.

After Lee camped out on the Gulf Coast over the weekend, it’s finally starting to trudge northeast. That’s good news for some parched southeastern States. But it is expected to dumb even more rain on mid-Atlantic States still mopping up from Hurricane Irene.

The National Hurricane Center says Lee isn't expected to lose much more strength over the next day. Forecast models show it moving across Louisiana and then through southern Mississippi by late Monday.

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