Beryl Previews Hurricane Season by Soaking Southeast

As the rest of the U.S. settled in for the Memorial Day weekend, residents of northern Florida and southern Georgia braced for the impact of Tropical Storm Beryl, the second named storm of the 2012 Atlantic hurricane season and the first to make landfall after Alberto veered off two weeks ago. Here's a roundup of the effects:

• There was little major damage, though several thousand are without power. One death has been reported; that of a surfer off the coast of Daytona Beach, Fla.
• The storm is expected to cause a rainy Southeast over the next couple days before pushing out over the water.
• Officials were generally pleased with their storm preparations, calling it a "dry run" for more powerful storms to come. Atlantic hurricane season officially starts Friday.

[Check out our gallery of the top technologies insurers can use during storm season.]

Nathan Golia is senior editor of Insurance & Technology. He joined the publication in 2010 as associate editor and covers all aspects of the nexus between insurance and information technology, including mobility, distribution, core systems, customer interaction, and risk ... View Full Bio