Hurricane Irene did not dampen everyone's enthusiasm for a day at the beach in Bonita Springs, Fla. (AP)

NAPLES, Fla., Oct. 15 – Hurricane Irene – the storm that reminded Floridians the hurricane season is not yet over – barreled ashore this afternoon near the thinly populated southwest tip of the state. But it brought blustery winds, heavy downpours, travel headaches and the threat of serious flash-flooding to hundreds of thousands of residents from Daytona Beach to Miami to Tampa and Orlando.

Irene, which had been brewing in the southwest Caribbean for five days, packed maximum sustained winds of 85 mph, or minimal hurricane strength, as it struck near Cape Sable. But gusts topping 100 mph were recorded at Big Pine Key, hurricane forecasters said, and 77-mph winds were clocked in Miami.

As the evening progressed, Miami-Dade and Broward counties on the southeast coast – in a heavily populated area that had not actively prepared for a storm of such intensity – apparently bore the brunt of Irene's high winds and heavy rains. More than 1.4 million customers lost their electricity, there were scores of flooded streets, and the evening commute was a nightmare, since most businesses and schools had not closed today in anticipation of the storm.

The storm brought heavy deluges to much of south and central Florida, and as much as 18 inches of rain in some areas. "It is a major rainmaker," said Stephen Baig of the National Hurricane Center in Miami, who added that the soggy impact might be felt as far away as New England over the next several days.

There were no reports of deaths or serious injuries in Florida. Civil defense officials in Cuba, however, said two men were confirmed dead from electrocution in Havana and two people were believed drowned in floodwaters spawned by Irene in Havana and the province of Matanzas, Reuters reported. The storm pummeled Cuba's western regions on Thursday, felling trees and power lines and turning streets into giant pools, before skirting past the Florida Keys earlier today. Four deaths were reported in the Bahamas.

In Key West, the fabled resort that was walloped by Hurricane Georges on Sept. 25, 1998, residents were grateful to find little damage. "I was born and raised here, and believe me, this was a breeze. I don't think the winds got up past 50 mph," said Key West resident Debi Chalmers, who recalled that her house ceiling "fell on my shoulders" when Georges struck last year.

Here in Naples on the lower southwest coast, which hurricane forecasters had picked as one of Irene's major targets, the worst seemed to be over early, said Collier County emergency management director Ken Pineau. Only a little over an inch of rain was recorded here, and the strongest winds were clocked at 48 mph.

At 11 p.m., a hurricane warning was dropped as Irene, with 75-mph winds that were just above minimal hurricane strength, moved toward Cape Canaveral, where forecasters said it would move over to the Atlantic and could come ashore again at the Georgia-South Carolina border. It was on a path that could bring more misery to North Carolina, which was inundated last month by rains from Hurricane Floyd.

"That's the good news," said meteorologist Robert Molleda of the National Hurricane Center, "but the heavy rains will continue, and flooding – that's the big threat, not just in south Florida but over much of the state."