A Look Back at Tropical Storm Alberto, the first storm of the 2024 Season

The National Hurricane Center has posted  The Tropical Cyclone Report for Tropical Storm Alberto which occurred on June 19-20 of this year.  This was the first named storm of the 2024 season.

This was a short-lived system that became a tropical storm on June 19 a few hundred miles east of Tampico, Mexico.  The wind field expanded to a more than 360 n mi from the center and affected parts of coastal Texas as far north as Galveston Bay. Landfall of Alberto occurred near Tampico early on June 20 and it quickly dissipated.

Breaking down the impacts:

1. Storm Surge: Combination of storm surge and tide brought inundation of 2-4 feet above ground level along the Texas Coast.
2. Heavy Rain:  A good 5-8 inches of rain occurred around Rockport and Corpus Christi in Texas.  The highest rain total was found in Lamar, TX, 10.5 inches were recorded!
3. Three tornadoes were reported.  One was rated EF1 near Bellville.  Two homes and a business were damaged.
4. Fatalities:  Sadly, there were two direct deaths associated with Alberto.  Both were teenagers who drowned.  Per the report, a 17-year-old drowned in a rip current in Galveston. In Mexico, a 16-year-old drowned in Monterrey. They had gone into a river to grab a soccer ball. Three indirect deaths were reported due to electrocution in Mexico.

This was not the first time the name Alberto was used for a tropical system.  In fact, per Brian McNoldy, Senior Research Associate at the Univ. of Miami Rosenstiel School, this is the 8th time the name Alberto has been used. It was first used in 1982 and every 6 years since.  From Brian’s X account, is a map showing the tracks for all of the Albertos!

Category: ALL POSTS, Tropical