The United States National Hurricane Center (NHC) announced on Wednesday that Tropical Storm Alberto, the first named storm of the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season, has formed in the western Gulf of Mexico and is causing coastal flooding in the southern United States.
This "very large" storm is located about 180 miles (290 km) east of Tampico, Mexico, with maximum sustained winds of 40 miles per hour (65 kilometers per hour), according to forecasters based in Miami.
Alberto may dissipate over Mexico by Thursday night, but before then, it will bring heavy rain, coastal flooding, and strong winds to northeastern Mexico and the southern coast of Texas.
The NHC warns that life-threatening floods and mudslides may occur in northeastern Mexico, including Monterrey, the third-largest city in the state of Nuevo León.
At a press conference, Alejandra Mendez, head of the Mexican National Meteorological Service (SMN), stated that considering sea temperatures exceed 31 degrees Celsius (88 degrees Fahrenheit), it is not ruled out that Tropical Storm Alberto may strengthen into a Category 1 hurricane.
Hurricanes have sustained wind speeds of at least 119 kilometers per hour.
Mendez added that the storm is interacting with a weather system in the Pacific, which will bring rain to much of Central America. The region is currently experiencing heavy rainfall, and 11 people have died in El Salvador over the past weekend due to landslides and road accidents.
Mendez noted that the storm is drawing moisture from both the Gulf of Mexico and the Pacific, which should bring much-needed rainfall to large areas of Mexico affected by long-term drought and dry dams.
