Tropical Storm Lee dumped more than a foot of rain in New Orleans and spun off tornadoes elsewhere as its centre came ashore in a slow crawl north that raised fears of inland flash flooding in America’s Deep South and beyond.

NORMALLY the New York summer lingers like an unwanted late-night party straggler until just after the US Open champions are crowned in Queens.

Life in the New York area is returning to normal after Hurricane Irene left town and headed into Canada, leaving destruction in its wake.

Tropical storm Irene strengthened into a hurricane today after it began moving across Puerto Rico, bringing torrential rains and winds and threatening to move toward the US later in the week.