Subtropical storm Alberto is official as the year's first named Atlantic storm, heading toward the Gulf of Mexico with winds of 40 miles per hour as it threatens the Florida Panhandle, Alabama, Mississippi and southeast Louisiana, USA Today reported.
The newspaper said Friday that the storm is moving north-northeast at six miles per hour and could pour heavy rain of six to 12 inches in northwest Florida and 12 to 24 inches in other areas, the National Weather Service predicted, per USA Today.
"Alberto could bring tropical storm conditions and storm surge to portions of the central and eastern Gulf Coast later this weekend and early next week," the National Hurricane Center said, noting that it could reach land on Memorial Day, USA Today noted.
The storm is currently northwestern Caribbean Sea just east of the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico, according to the National Hurricane Center.
The Weather Channel reported that tropical storm watches have been issued for the western Cuba province of Pinar del Río and also for a part of Mexico's Yucatán Peninsula from Tulúm to Cabo Catoche, including Cancún and Cozumel.
Tampa's WTVT meteorologist Paul Dellegatto reported that some hurricane models have Alberto growing into a Category I hurricane, by Monday, meaning the strom's winds can grow from 74 to 95 miles per hour.
AccuWeather hurricane expert Dan Kottlowski said that despite the early arrival of a named storms, bigger storms are probably still months away.
"There can be another storm or two that forms June into July," Kottlowski said on the AccuWeather site. "However, you have to wait until August and September for the heart of hurricane season and the greatest threat for major hurricanes."
Kottlowski said that Sept. 4 is usually the time when the first major hurricane forms in the Atlantic Basin.
"The information we are looking at would suggest a near-normal season, but we have to wait to see how the water in the main development region warms," Kottlowski said.
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