Tropical Storm Gabrielle Track 2013: 4-8 Inches Of Rain Expected In Puerto Rico, Potential Flash Floods And Mudslides, But Downgraded To Tropical Depression Thursday

Tropical storm Gabrielle 2013 is being tracked carefully, and Thursday morning Gabrielle was downgraded to a tropical depression. However, Gabrielle is expected to unleash a fair amount of rain on Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic, CNN reports.

Tropical depression Gabrielle will likely dump up to 4 inches of rain in parts of Puerto Rico and up to 8 inches in other places, the National Hurricane Center in Miami said, CNN reports.

"These rains could cause dangerous flash floods and mudslides over mountainous terrain," the center stated.

Puerto Rico Gov. Alejandro Garcia Padilla activated the National Guard, canceled classes at all public schools and closed central government agencies as a precaution, Fox News reports via AP.

"We should not lower our guard," state meteorologist Ernesto Morales said. "The storm is very dangerous. There's a very high possibility of flooding."

Downed trees were reported in the central town of Ciales and small landslides in the central mountain town of Utuado, Fox News reports.

However, Gabrielle's maximum sustained winds had dropped to 35 mph by late Thursday morning, below the 39 mph threshold for a tropical storm, CNN reports.

The 2013 tropical depression was centered about 80 miles south-southeast of Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic late Thursday morning. Gabrielle is expected to move over the Dominican Republic on Thursday night.