NORFOLK, Va. — The 2024 Atlantic Hurricane Season was off to one of the slowest starts in a decade, but things have changed. The activity is really ramping up.
Tropical Storm Alberto formed on Wednesday morning in the Gulf of Mexico. The storm made landfall near Tampico Mexico Thursday morning as a weak to moderate tropical storm with maximum winds of 50-55 mph and higher gusts.
By the 8:00 AM advisory Thursday, the system had already weakened over land. Max winds were down to 45 mph with gusts to 65 mph. The storm will continue to weaken as it moves westward over the higher elevations in Mexico. It will continue to produce heavy tropical rain and this will likely lead to flooding issues, and potential mud slides of land slides in the higher elevations.
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While this system moves farther inland and eventually goes away. We are also monitoring to more areas of potential concern.
There is another area just north of Honduras that has a 50% chance of developing over the next 4-6 days in the southern Gulf of Mexico. This is roughly the same area that Alberto formed!
We also need to pay close attention to an area that could organize over the northern Bahamas over the next couple of days. Thursday morning the National Hurricane Center bumped the development chances to 40%. If a system develops, it could bring some wind and heavy rain to the southeast United States this weekend into early next week.
A cold front approaching from the northwest late Monday will push through the mid-Atlantic coast and could couple with tropical moisture to produce a more significant rain threat along the coast. Stay tuned for updates over the next couple of days.
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We still have a lot of names to get through though. The hurricane experts at NOAA are still predicting an above-average hurricane season with 17-25 named storms, 8-13 hurricanes, and 4-7 major hurricanes. That's because we're forecast to enter a La Niña oceanic pattern, and sea surface temperatures are already running above average.
The peak of hurricane season is in September.
On top of Alberto, we also have two other areas of potential development we're watching in the Atlantic basin.
SEE ALSO: 13News Now's Hurricane Guide