HOMOSOSSA SPRINGS, Fla. (AP) - Tropical Storm Barry weakened into a tropical depression as it moved through Tampa Bay yesterday, bringing nearly 7 inches of rain to parts of the drought-parched region.

Forecasters discontinued the tropical storm warnings and watches issued for stretches of the Gulf Coast. The depression’s sustained winds had slowed to near 35 mph, and it was moving north-northeast at about 23 mph.

The storm made landfall in the Tampa Bay area around 9 a.m. Missouri time, said Daniel Brown, a meteorologist at the National Hurricane Center.

"The landfall in a case like this is kind of insignificant," Brown said.

In Mexico, Tropical Storm Barbara made landfall yesterday and weakened into a depression as it moved inland from the southern Pacific coast near the Guatemala border, an area notoriously vulnerable to flooding.

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