Tropical Storm Alberto Enters Gulf
Tropical Storm Alberto, the first named storm of the 2006 Atlantic hurricane season, developed Sunday from a poorly organized tropical depression in the eastern Gulf of Mexico, forecasters said.
The storm had maximum sustained winds near 45 mph up 10 mph from early in the morning and was expected to strengthen, according to the National Hurricane Center.
Alberto was located about 400 miles west of Key West and about 445 miles south-southwest of Apalachicola, and moving northwest near 9 mph, forecasters said.
A depression formed early Saturday, nine days after the official start of the season, but was not expected to become a hurricane, according to the National Hurricane Center.
"It will be relatively weak in terms of wind, but that doesn't mean it's going to be weak in terms of rainfall," senior hurricane specialist Stacy Stewart said.
Up to eight inches of rain could fall over the Florida Keys and the state's Gulf Coast before the storm nears land. The Miami Hurricane Center also says parts of Cuba could get 30 inches of rain.
The hurricane center recommended tropical storm warnings for the Cuban provinces of Pinar Del Rio and the Isle of Youth.
Over the next two days, the system is expected to move through the Yucatan Channel into the southeastern Gulf of Mexico, then toward Florida where it could make landfall Monday or Tuesday somewhere between South Florida and the western tip of the Panhandle, forecasters said.
"The media overplays this, they get people very scared," said Tim Roberts, a Fort Lauderdale condo owner who was visiting Tallahassee. "Sure, when the time comes to be alarmed, yes, but don't make more out of it until it's time."
Scientists predict the 2006 season could produce up to 16 named storms, six of them major hurricanes.
Last year's hurricane season was the busiest and most destructive in recorded history. Hurricane Katrina alone devastated Louisiana and Mississippi and was blamed for more than 1,570 deaths in Louisiana alone.
They also did a number on the energy infrastructure in the Gulf of Mexico, reports CBS News correspondent Michelle Miller. One congressional report figured consumers paid billions in higher costs, and the industry would spend up to $31 billion to repair all the damage.
Residential properties were also devastated. Mike Martino lost his Navarre Beach home twice in the past two hurricane seasons — first to Hurricane Ivan in 2004, and never got to move into a new home built on the same lot because Hurricane Dennis wiped it out in 2005. Instead of rebuilding again, he moved to the mainland.
Martino, who rents kayaks, bikes and surfboards out of his store in Navarre Beach, worried that the weather would do more economic damage than property damage.
"I know that we have weather coming, so I can't have weekly rentals, it's all going to have to be done by the day," he said.
The 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was the busiest in 154 years of storm tracking, with records set for the number of named storms (28) and hurricanes (15). Forecasters used up their list of 21 proper names (beginning with Arlene and ending with Wilma) and had to use the Greek alphabet to name storms for the first time.
Meteorologists have said the Atlantic is not as warm as it was at this time in 2005, meaning potential storms would have less of the energy needed to develop into hurricanes.
Atlantic hurricane seasons were relatively mild from the 1970s through 1994. Since then, all but two years have been above normal. Experts say the ocean is in the midst of a 20-year-cycle that will continue to bring strong storms.
From 1995 to 2005, the Atlantic season averaged 15 named storms, just over eight named hurricanes and four major hurricanes, according to the hurricane center. From 1971 to 1994, there were an average of 8.5 named storms, five hurricanes and just over one major hurricane. The Atlantic hurricane season ends Nov. 30.