the original eye to shrink and dissipate due to lack of moisture. At 0400 UTC on September 26, Jeanne made landfall with peak winds of on the southern end of Hutchinson Island near Stuart, Florida, with an eye in diameter. The hurricane moved ashore in almost the same location as Hurricane Frances, which made landfall 21 days prior. Upon moving inland in east-central Florida, the hurricane produced a storm tide of up to in St. Lucie County. In New Smyrna Beach, the storm tide washed away much of the beach to the east of the city seawall. Overall impact from the storm tide was less than expected, due to the storm hitting at low tide. Jeanne produced peak winds of in a very small north of the center near Sebastian, though the National Hurricane Center noted the possibility of the strongest winds remaining over water. The National Weather Service office in Melbourne recorded sustained winds of , which was the strongest official sustained wind reading; stronger readings were not available due to widespread power outages along its track. Wind gusts peaked at in Fort Pierce. In addition to the winds, the hurricane dropped heavy rainfall in the vicinity of its eyewall, peaking at in Kenansville. The rainfall caused freshwater flooding, as well as increased levels along the St. Johns River. The hurricane also produced several eyewall mesovortices and tornadoes near where it moved ashore. Dissipation As Hurricane Jeanne moved inland, its inner eyewall dissipated, and its outer eyewall quickly became less distinct. It turned west-northwestward over the state, curving around the western periphery of the ridge to its northeast. By 14 hours after landfall, Jeanne weakened to tropical storm status near the Tampa Bay area. In western Florida, offshore winds produced a tide of below normal in Cedar Key; however, after the storm passed the area, the onshore winds produced above normal tides. Despite initial forecasts that it would emerge into the Gulf of Mexico, the storm remained over land and continued to slowly weaken. Early on September 27, dry air became entrained into the southern periphery of the circulation, which diminished the thunderstorms to the south. After turning northward, Jeanne entered southern Georgia and weakened into a tropical depression. As it moved northward, Jeanne continued to drop moderate to heavy rainfall, including over in southern Georgia. A cold front across the region caused the depression to accelerate northeastward, combining