The Latest on Subtropical Storm Alberto (all times local):
11:35 a.m.
Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant has declared a state of emergency as Subtropical Storm Alberto moves toward the state’s coast.
In a tweet Saturday, Bryant said he signed a proclamation declaring the emergency and an order making the Mississippi National Guard and other state resources available should they become necessary.
The latest advisory from the National Hurricane Center shifts the storm farther east with a potential landfall near the Alabama-Florida state line.
Heavy rains, tropical-storm-force winds, and storm surge could occur well east of the center of #Alberto. The storm surge watch has been extended farther east, and a tropical storm watch has been issued for a portion of the western Florida coast. https://t.co/tW4KeGdBFb pic.twitter.com/pInY8AkogR
— NHC Atlantic Ops (@NHC_Atlantic) May 26, 2018
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10:40 a.m.
Florida Gov. Rick Scott has declared a state of emergency for all 67 counties ahead of Subtropical Storm Alberto.
Scott made the announcement on Saturday morning.
At a briefing at the state emergency operations center in Tallahassee, authorities urged Floridians to take the storm seriously.
Wes Maul, the state’s emergency management director, said timing of the storm is uncertain, but the entire state will feel the effects. Swelling riverbanks, tornadoes and localized flooding are possible.
Here are the key messages for #Alberto as of 10 am CDT/11am EDT. Heavy rains and flash flooding over western Cuba and southern Florida will continue today. Tropical Storm conditions could reach the northern Gulf Coast as early as Sunday evening. https://t.co/tW4KeGdBFb pic.twitter.com/hdOmShnh4m
— NHC Atlantic Ops (@NHC_Atlantic) May 26, 2018
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A storm moving slowly through the Caribbean Sea is threatening to bring heavy rainfall, mudslides, and flash floods to parts of Mexico, Cuba, Florida and the U.S. Gulf Coast this weekend.
Subtropical Storm Alberto – the first named storm of the 2018 hurricane season – was continued roiling toward parts of coastal Mexico and Cuba with rip currents and dangerous surf on Saturday. Both countries issued tropical storm watches for portions of their coastlines, with rain totals in some isolated areas of up to 25 inches.
U.S. forecasters followed suit by issuing a tropical storm watch for parts of the Gulf Coast from the Florida Panhandle southwest of Tallahassee to the New Orleans metropolitan area.
At 5 a.m. EDT, the National Hurricane Center in Miami said Alberto was moving north-northeastward toward the Yucatan Channel and was centered about 95 miles (105 kilometers) southeast of Cozumel, Mexico. Its top sustained winds were 40 mph (65 kph). A gradual strengthening was expected through the weekend as it moves north.
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