Nate, which had lashed the US Gulf Coast as a fast-moving hurricane, was downgraded to a tropical storm early Sunday while moving inland, meteorologists said.

At 5:00 am (0900 GMT), the storm had top winds of 70 miles (113 kilometers) per hour and was moving north-northeast at 23 miles per hour, according to the National Hurricane Center.

"Rapid weakening anticipated," the NHC said as the storm moved further inland over the southern states of Mississippi and Alabama.