About two weeks before the official start of hurricane season and we already have a named tropical storm off of the Carolinas. Alberto reached tropical storm force Saturday afternoon with winds at that time around 45 MPH gusting to 55.
No immediate effect are expected here in Central Virginia and certainly no direct effects, period. The most we may see is some additional moisture thrown our way the first part of the coming week.
A special entry by the National Hurricane Center around 6:50 PM EDT Saturday said:
Reports from a ship near the center of Alberto indicate that the
cyclone is stronger than previously estimated. Based primarily on
the pressure data…maximum sustained winds are now estimated to be
60 mph…95 km/h. Little change in strength is expected over the
next couple of days and no changes to the official forecast are
required at this time.
And according to the NHC “Alberto is earliest-forming tropical storm in the Atlantic Basin since Ana in 2003.”
So not unheard of, but certainly rare.
