After making landfall three times in the Florida Keys, the Everglades region and the northwest coast of the state, the storm broke an all-time record by making an unprecedented fourth landfall in the Florida Panhandle.

The storm spawned tornadoes that ripped through seven counties in the south of the state, wrecking 10 homes and damaging about 50 others.

Thousands of homes and businesses were inundated with flood waters as Fay zigzagged across the peninsula.

President George W. Bush declared an emergency in four of the worst-hit counties, opening the way for federal disaster assistance.

As Fay finally wound down over northwestern Florida, its outer bands brought drought-breaking rains to parched areas of the Southeast, where a protracted dry spell had lingered since early last year.

Despite the human fatalities and flood damage, rainfall from the tropical storm was just what the state’s depleted watersheds needed after a very dry winter and spring.

Tropical Storm Fay Track

Satellite Loop: University of Wisconsin (CIMSS)