A weakening Tropical Storm Jeanne sloshed into north Florida yesterday after pounding areas of the state?s east coast ravaged by Hurricane Frances three weeks ago.

Jeanne was blamed for at least four deaths in Florida after causing floods in Haiti, the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico last week in which up to 2,000 people died.

As a hurricane, Jeanne dealt Florida its fourth major strike this season, ripping off roofs and filling oceanfront condos with sand when it crashed ashore with 120 mph (195 kph) winds near Stuart, on the Atlantic coast, and moved across the state to the Gulf coast on Sunday.

The storm left about 4 million people without electricity as it pulled down trees and shredded power lines from the east-central coast to Tampa before moving into north Florida and toward Georgia.

Forecasters said Jeanne?s sustained winds had weakened to about 50 mph (80 kph) by 11 p.m. EDT on Sunday. But it threatened to spawn tornadoes and dump up to 8 inches (20 cm) of rain in north Florida, Georgia and South Carolina.