Tropical Storm Alberto Pushes Into Mexico, Kills 4

The first named storm of the 2024 Atlantic Hurricane Season, Tropical Storm Alberto, has already made landfall in Mexico and has turned deadly as rains and strong winds lashed the country and nearby areas, including southern Texas.

Tropical Storm Alberto brought a tropical rainstorm over north-central Mexico on Friday, and this included dangerous flash flooding and mudslides in the area. It first made landfall near Tampico, Mexico, as a tropical storm with maximum sustained winds of around 45 miles per hour last Thursday.

It strengthened heading to land but got downgraded on Thursday as it made landfall. Despite this, Alberto still brought heavy torrential downpours over parts of Mexico and southwestern Texas.

According to AccuWeather, Alberto is expected to continue to advance inland and slowly unwind into Friday. It was recently downgraded to a tropical depression at mid-morning and was moving at 18 miles per hour while still having sustained winds of 35 mph.

Despite being downgraded to a tropical depression, however, meteorologists are warning that Alberto still poses a threat as while the winds and the storm's speed are not as strong, its excessive rainfall can still cause much damage,

"Abnormally warm waters and a pocket of relatively low wind shear located in the Bay of Campeche allowed Alberto to gain enough organization on Wednesday to be upgraded to tropical storm status," AccuWeather Meteorologist and Lead Hurricane Forecaster Alex DaSilva stated. He warned that the Big Bend area of Texas can get rainfall totals as high as 8-12 inches.

Tropical Storm Alberto Kills 4 People After Making Landfall in Mexico

The states of Nuevo Leon and Vera Cruz have been affected by the rains, with one man dying in the La Silla River in the city of Monterrey, while another two, both minors, s died from electric shocks in the municipality of Allende. The fourth person who died was electrocuted when he tried to repair wires in the rain in Nuevo Leon.

Over in Vera Cruz, 24 families were left homeless in Xalapa after a retaining wall collapsed into three buildings due to the heavy rain. Nobody was seriously injured as the residents all managed to escape safely, according to ABC News.

In Tamaulipas state, where Alberto made landfall, schools were closed and shelters were opened so fleeing residents could have somewhere to stay as they tried to escape high water.

A New Tropical Storm Could Form After Tropical Storm Alberto in the Gulf of Mexico

Alberto kicked off the 2024 Atlantic Hurricane season, and not long after it made landfall in Mexico, a second storm may be brewing in the Gulf of Mexico, with meteorologists already monitoring this potential development very closely.

According to The Weather Channel, the National Hurricane Center is tracking a disturbance in the southern Bay of Campeche. This disturbance is expected to drift northwestward in the southwest Gulf of Mexico and it is very much possible that it may become a tropical depression or storm.

Should it become one, it is expected to also hit Mexico and the southern United States.

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Rick Martin

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