Tropical Storm Alberto, the first storm of the Atlantic hurricane season, brought heavy rain and coastal flooding to parts of Texas and northeastern Mexico on Wednesday, hours before it was expected to make landfall.
Officials in Mexico monitor the levels of dams, rivers and streams and also clear drainage points to prevent flooding.
In Texas, officials warned of flooded roads in the Houston area early Wednesday afternoon. The tide was below high-rise buildings in some coastal towns, such as Surfside Beach, about 40 miles south of Galveston, on Wednesday morning. The city closed the beach earlier this week and warned visitors to stay away as flooding worsened.
The National Hurricane Center warned that Alberto was a major storm, with tropical winds about 415 miles north of its center in the Gulf of Mexico as it moved west toward northeastern Mexico. The storm has sustained winds of up to 40 miles per hour, but the main concern is one or more showers predicted for parts of Texas and Mexico. A tropical storm warning was issued for coastal areas on both sides of the border.
Forecasters are predicting that Alberto could make landfall as early as Thursday near the city of Tampico, Mexico, but its effects are expected to last.
Mayor Gregg Bisso of Surfside Beach said that while the floodwaters were slowly receding Wednesday afternoon, the city was constantly bracing itself for the possibility of something like Hurricane Nicholas hitting the city in 2021, causing extensive damage.
“This is the deal we’ve been waiting for,” Mr. Bisso said, adding that all of the city’s police and emergency responders are on call.
Here are the main things to know about the storm
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Alberto is expected to make landfall on the northeast coast of Mexico early Thursday, but winds and rain are far from the center of the storm.
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Heavy rain will continue across southern Texas. Five to 10 inches of rain is possible, with isolated amounts near 20 inches possible.
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Up to three inches of rain is expected to fall every hour, which could cause flooding and flooding.
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Mudslides are also a concern in the hills of Mexico.
Preparations are underway in Mexico
On Wednesday, authorities and residents were preparing for heavy rain and strong winds.
Government workers set up temporary shelters, and more than 1,500 electricians were sent to Tamaulipas, Veracruz and Nuevo León — the three states expected to bear the brunt of Alberto’s force when it makes landfall — to respond to power outages.
Still, for some states in Mexico, the arrival of the storm is a respite in the midst of a water crisis and a scorching heat wave.
“We are waiting for this rain, which will be very useful,” said Luis Gerardo González, Tamaulipas state civil protection coordinator, in a radio interview on Wednesday.
The rain the storm brought to southern Mexico also helped fuel the brutal heatwave that killed 220 primates. The country’s environment agency said on Tuesday that the rain had caused the population of howler monkeys, which began to fall from trees during the heat last month, to become more active.
A disaster declaration was issued in Texas
Ahead of the storm, Texas Governor Greg Abbott activated a variety of emergency management resources, including tall boats and helicopters with hoist capabilities. On Wednesday afternoon, he announced a severe weather disaster declaration for 51 counties.
The effects of the storm were already felt on Wednesday.
There were reports of property damage on North Padre Island after coastal bulkheads collapsed from the storm surge. And on South Padre Island, officials are handing out free sandbags to businesses and residents. In Corpus Christi, at least two people were rescued and taken to higher ground after their cars were submerged in floodwaters, officials said.
The National Weather Service issued a tornado warning for counties near Corpus Christi on Wednesday evening as Alberto approached. A tornado watch is in effect until 7 a.m. local time in Texas south of San Antonio, an area of ​​about 2.5 million people. Hurricanes and tropical storms can produce tornadoes, often in bands of rain away from their centers.
In Houston, which is just recovering from an unexpected storm last month, officials are bracing for major flooding this week.
“Be careful, be wise and be smart — we’re going to have a lot of rain,” Mayor John Whitmire said at a news conference earlier this week. Police officials said they were prepared for potential water rescues and were ready to use 20 high-water trucks and 30 boats. More than 300 Houston police officers are now trained in high water and swift water rescue.
The mayor also said the city will pay attention to ensuring that operators of nursing homes and independent living centers do not leave vulnerable residents in the throes of an emergency.
“We will be watching this very closely,” Mr Whitmire told a news conference.
This hurricane season is expected to be busy
Forecasters have warned that the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season could be more active than usual.
By the end of May, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicted 17 to 25 named storms this year, numbers “above-normal” and predictions in line with more than a dozen forecasts earlier in the year from experts in universities, private companies and government agencies. Hurricane season produces 14 named storms, on average.
Seasonal hurricane forecasts are very aggressive because forecasters looking at the start of the season are seeing a combination of conditions not seen in records since the mid-1800s: record warm water temperatures in the Atlantic Ocean and the potential for the formation of a weather pattern known as La Niña.
La Niña occurs in the Pacific due to changes in ocean temperatures, and affects weather patterns globally. When strong, it usually provides a calm environment in the Atlantic; this allows the storm to develop more easily and to strengthen without interruption of the wind pattern that can be used to manage.
Michael Corkery contribute reports.
