Tropical Storm Barry was a strong tropical storm that made landfall on the Florida Panhandle during August 2001. The third tropical cyclone and second named storm of the 2001 Atlantic hurricane season, Barry developed from a tropical wave that moved off the coast of Africa on July 24. The wave entered the Caribbean on July 29 and spawned a low-pressure area, which organized into Tropical Storm Barry on August 3. After fluctuations in intensity and track, the storm attained peak winds of over the Gulf of Mexico. Barry headed northward and moved ashore along the Gulf Coast before degenerating into a remnant low on August 7. On the next day, Barry's remnants dissipated over Missouri. Unlike the devastating Tropical Storm Allison earlier in the season, Barry's effects were moderate. Nine deaths occurred: six in Cuba and three in Florida. As a tropical cyclone, Barry produced heavy rainfall that peaked at at Tallahassee, in Florida. Gusts in the area reached , which was the highest wind speed recorded for the storm. The precursor tropical wave to Barry dropped large amounts of rain on southern Florida, leading to significant flooding and structural damage. Moderate flooding and wind damage occurred throughout the Florida Panhandle. As the storm's remnants tracked inland, parts of the Mississippi Valley received light precipitation. Barry caused an estimated $30 million (2001 USD) in damage. Meteorological history On July 24, 2001, a tropical wave emerged off the west coast of Africa, and tracked westward across the Atlantic Ocean. Little cyclonic development occurred until July 28, when convection began to increase along the wave. The wave moved into the eastern Caribbean on July 29, and its convection continued to increase while it tracked west-northwest over the subsequent few days. The disturbance emerged into the Gulf of Mexico on August 1, with rainfall noted over southern Florida and the western tip of Cuba. That same day, a broad low-pressure system developed along the wave near the Dry Tortugas at the end of the Florida Keys, which began to intensify as it moved northwestward. At around 1800 UTC on August 2, an Air Force Reserve Hurricane Hunter aircraft investigating the system discovered that the low had organized into a tropical storm, which received the name Barry. Post-hurricane season reanalysis, however, revealed that the low had become a tropical depression six hours earlier. There is uncertainty as to whether Barry actually held tropical characteristics