Alberto has moved inland into Florida officially as a subtropical storm, the first named storm to hit the U.S. this season. It hit just west of Panama City while steadily weakening.
Alberto weakened quite a bit Monday before reaching the coastline of the Florida Panhandle. Initially maximum sustained winds were up to 65 miles per hour, however diminished to 45 mph prior to landfall. Maximum wind gusts from the storm (so far) are as follows:
Numerous flash flood warnings had been issued for Florida due to the heavy rainfall associated with Alberto. In fact, some of this tropical moisture moved all the way up into the Carolinas and Virginia where flooding was reported as well.
From here, Alberto’s remnants are forecast to move north toward the Great Lakes. Up to six inches of rainfall is forecast for some areas (dark red, below).
Moving forward, flooding will be the biggest weather-related hazard from Alberto. Tropical cyclones usually produce a lot of rainfall for inland communities. Click/tap on the image below to find what areas have an elevated flooding risk through Wednesday.
With many tropical systems, inland flooding is usually a big concern. With #Alberto these shaded areas have at least *some* elevated risk of flooding. Be aware of your surroundings the next few days! pic.twitter.com/QjqPXxPeuE
— WeatherNation (@WeatherNation) May 28, 2018
The hurricane season has not even technically begun yet. It begins Friday, June 1 and lasts until November 30. It is possible to get storms in May, especially across the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico.
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For WeatherNation, Meteorologist Steve Glazier