First Storm of 2018 Atlantic Hurricane Season Forms: Here’s Where It’s Going

Subtropical storm Alberto formed over the northwestern Caribbean Sea, the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) said in an advisory on Friday, May 25.

The system is located about 55 miles south of Cozumel, Mexico, packing maximum sustained winds of 40 miles per hour, the Florida-based weather forecaster said.

“Heavy rainfall expected to affect the Yucatan Peninsula, western Cuba, Florida and the northeastern Gulf Coast through the weekend,” the agency said, according to Reuters.

“The threat of rip currents will steadily increase along the Gulf Coast from Florida westward to Louisiana over the Memorial Day weekend,” according to the NHC, CNN reported.

It is the first named storm of the 2018 Atlantic storm season.

“The threats for South Florida and the Florida peninsula are periods of very heavy rain and gusty winds including isolated tornadoes. Three to 7 inches of rain is forecast over South Florida between now and next Wednesday, with some local areas seeing 10 inches or more. The rain associated with the storm is expected to begin in earnest after sunrise Saturday. See the rainfall map below,” according to Local10.

A flash flood watch has been issued in every coastal city in the Mobile, Alabama, office’s jurisdiction.

“We cannot rule out the possibility of this system becoming a hurricane before it makes landfall sometime on Monday or Monday evening,” said AccuWeather meteorologist Dan Kottlowski, USA Today reported.

He added: “As it becomes more persistent, it will create a pileup of water, so the concern is for southwest Florida, or the west coast to Appalachicola Bay, which could get a big inundation of water because of the constant wind blowing and a lot of places are very prone to flooding,” the Miami Herald reported.

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