Hurricane Alberto Downgraded to Subtropical Depression
After causing thousands of Florida residents evacuate in the eve of the Memorial Day, the National Hurricane Center declared that Hurricane Alberto was already downgraded to a subtropical depression.
As of 10 p.m. CDT (11 p.m. EDT) on Monday, Alberto's winds had been decreased to 35 mph as it moves to the north at approximately 10 miles per hour. According to the press statement released by NHC, "Continued weakening is forecast as Alberto moves farther inland, and the system is expected to degenerate into a remnant low by Tuesday evening."
The press release also mentioned that Alberto is still expected to come with two to six inches of rain that will affect Alabama up to the west part of Great Lakes. It will also bring the same amount of rain from northern Florida up to the mid-Atlantic coast until Wednesday, May 30.
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Surf swells are also expected to continuously affect the eastern and northern Gulf Coast through Tuesday. This can cause possible life-threatening and rip current conditions.
Alberto is the first named storm in the Atlantic for this year that came several days earlier than the formal start of the hurricane season, which is on Thursday, June 1.
But while the weather disturbance continuous to weaken, it caused several destructions in the Florida Panhandle and killed at least two people in its wake.
According to CNN, news anchor Mike McCormick and photojournalist Aaron Smeltzer from the news agency's Greenville, South Carolina-based affiliate WYFF were killed Monday after a tree fell on their car while covering the hazardous weather.
The news station revealed that the fatal accident took place at Highway 176 in Polk County while they were gathering information about the effect of heavy rain in the area.
The report also mentioned that Tryon Fire Chief Geoffrey Tennant had claimed that the engine of the SUV used by the victims was still running, and it was in drive transmission when the authorities arrived at the area by 2:30 p.m.
He also said that the tree that fell on the SUV measured three feet in diameter. It reportedly fell after its root system failed due to the saturated ground.
According to the fire chief, the accidental death of the news anchor and photojournalist personally affected him because he just talked to them 10 minutes before they receive the call about it.
"We had talked a little bit about how he wanted us to stay safe and I wanted him to stay safe and of course 10 or 15 minutes later we got the call and it was him and his photographer," Tennant stated. "It's the first time I ever met either one of those two gentleman, but you feel a sense of responsibility to them," he added.
While Alberto came before the official start of this year's hurricane season, it does not mean that the upcoming season will be as busy as the 2017 hurricane season.
CBS News revealed the report from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration which predicted that there will be at least 10 to 16 named storms this year. About five to nine of which will become hurricanes, while one to four are expected to become "major" weather disturbances that might have an average of 111 mph sustained winds.
