PENSACOLA BEACH, Fla. — A tropical storm that lost steam after blowing ashore today dumped rain on Florida and Alabama, while the first hurricane of this year's Atlantic season picked up strength over open waters on a path toward Bermuda.

Hurricane Bill was expected to become a major hurricane in the next couple days, with winds topping 110 mph. Hours after forming today, Bill's top wind speed jumped to 90 mph as of 11 a.m.

In parts of the Florida Panhandle and southern Alabama, rainfall of 2 to 4 inches was expected as a weakened Claudette moved farther inland. The storm was downgraded to a tropical depression with winds of 30 mph hours after it made landfall near Fort Walton Beach.

The first named storm to hit the U.S. mainland this year was headed across Alabama toward northeastern Mississippi, but wasn't expected to cause significant flooding or wind damage.

Over the Atlantic, Hurricane Bill quickly strengthened, and forecasters think it could be a major hurricane by Wednesday.

"We do believe (Bill) could become a major hurricane during the next couple of days," said Daniel Brown, a hurricane specialist for the National Hurricane Center in Miami.

Bill was centered about 1,080 miles east of the Lesser Antilles and moving west-northwest at 16 mph at 11 a.m. The five-day forecast shows the storm passing northeast of Puerto Rico and heading toward Bermuda, though a storm's track is difficult to accurately predict several days in advance.