Tropical Storm Alberto was a broad but short-lived

tropical cyclone A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system with a low-pressure area, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depending on its locat ...

that affected portions of Mexico, Texas, and Louisiana during June 2024. The first named storm of the

2024 Atlantic hurricane season The 2024 Atlantic hurricane season was a very active and extremely destructive Atlantic hurricane season that became the third-costliest on record, behind only 2017 Atlantic hurricane season, 2017 and 2005 Atlantic hurricane season, 2005. The ...

, Alberto originated on June 12 from a broad area of disturbed weather in the

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico () is an oceanic basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, mostly surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north, and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States; on the southw ...

. A few days later, a low-pressure area formed from the disturbance, over the

Bay of Campeche The Bay of Campeche (), or Campeche Sound, is a bight in the southern area of the Gulf of Mexico, forming the north side of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec. It is surrounded on three sides by the Mexican states of Campeche, Tabasco and Veracruz. The ...

. It would steadily coalesce, and despite not being a tropical cyclone yet, would be designated as ''

Potential Tropical Cyclone The following is a glossary of tropical cyclone terms. A ;Advisory: Official information issued by tropical cyclone warning centers describing all tropical cyclone watches and warnings in effect along with details concerning tropical cyclone loc ...

One'' by the

National Hurricane Center The National Hurricane Center (NHC) is the division of the United States' NOAA/National Weather Service responsible for tracking and predicting tropical weather systems between the IERS Reference Meridian, Prime Meridian and the 140th meridian ...

on June 17 due to its proximity to the coast. It eventually organized as a tropical storm two days later, being named ''Alberto''. Its formation marked the latest start to an

Atlantic hurricane An Atlantic hurricane is a type of tropical cyclone that forms in the Atlantic Ocean primarily between June and November. The terms "hurricane", "typhoon", and "cyclone, tropical cyclone" can be used interchangeably to describe this weather ph ...

season since

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

. The next day, Alberto peaked with sustained winds of before making landfall near

Tampico Tampico is a city and port in the southeastern part of the Mexican state of Tamaulipas. It is located on the north bank of the Pánuco River, about inland from the Gulf of Mexico, and directly north of the state of Veracruz. Tampico is the fif ...

Tamaulipas Tamaulipas, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Tamaulipas, is a state in Mexico; one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 federal entities of Mexico. It is divided into 43 municipalities. It is located in nor ...

. Despite being weak, Alberto was unusually broad, affecting Texas, Louisiana, and Northeastern Mexico throughout its lifetime. Four people died in

Nuevo León Nuevo León, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Nuevo León, is a Administrative divisions of Mexico, state in northeastern Mexico. The state borders the Mexican states of Tamaulipas, Coahuila, Zacatecas, and San Luis Potosí, San Luis ...

due to its rainfall: one in

Monterrey Monterrey (, , abbreviated as MtY) is the capital and largest city of the northeastern Mexican state of Nuevo León. It is the ninth-largest city and the second largest metropolitan area, after Greater Mexico City. Located at the foothills of th ...

, one in El Carmen, and two in Allende. Another person died in Texas due to rip currents. Total damage is estimated at US$265 million.

Meteorological history

On June 12, the

(NHC) noted that an area of disturbed weather could form over the western

and possibly develop into a tropical cyclone. Several days later, early on June 17, a

low-pressure area In meteorology, a low-pressure area (LPA), low area or low is a region where the atmospheric pressure is lower than that of surrounding locations. It is the opposite of a high-pressure area. Low-pressure areas are commonly associated with incle ...

formed over the

. Designated

Invest Investment is traditionally defined as the "commitment of resources into something expected to gain value over time". If an investment involves money, then it can be defined as a "commitment of money to receive more money later". From a broade ...

91L as it emerged off the

Yucatán Peninsula The Yucatán Peninsula ( , ; ) is a large peninsula in southeast Mexico and adjacent portions of Belize and Guatemala. The peninsula extends towards the northeast, separating the Gulf of Mexico to the north and west of the peninsula from the C ...

, the low was spawned from a disturbance within the Central American Gyre. Though its thunderstorm activity was scattered, the invest began to grow better organized later that day and was designated ''

One''. The system slowly organized over the following two days as it approached the Mexican coast, developing into Tropical Storm Alberto on June 19. Alberto steadily intensified throughout the day, ultimately attaining peak sustained winds of , and a minimum central pressure of . Early the following morning, the system made landfall near

, weakening to a tropical depression inland a few hours later. Rapidly weakening, it dissipated just nine hours later.

Preparations

Tropical Storm Alberto in Corpus Christi

Upon the designation of Alberto as a potential tropical cyclone, at 21:00 UTC on June 17, a tropical storm watch was issued from

Port O'Connor, Texas Port O'Connor is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Calhoun County, Texas, United States, near the Gulf coastline between Galveston and Corpus Christi. The CDP had a population of 954 at the 2010 census. It is pa ...

to Boca de Catan,

. Twelve hours later, the tropical storm watch was extended southward to Puerto de Altamira. Early on June 18, the portion of the tropical storm watch into Texas was upgraded to a tropical storm warning. About six hours later, the Mexican portion of the tropical storm watch was upgraded into a tropical storm warning. At 21:00 UTC that day, the tropical storm warning was extended northward to San Luis Pass. At 15:00 UTC on June 19, the tropical storm warning was extended southward to

Tecolutla Tecolutla is a town and municipality located on the Tecolutla River on the eastern coast of the state of Veracruz in Mexico. It has the closest beaches to Mexico City, and much of its economy is based on tourism, as it is only a four- or five-hour ...

. These warnings were discontinued as Alberto moved inland at 15:00 UTC on June 20. Ports in Tamaulipas, Veracruz,

Quintana Roo Quintana Roo, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Quintana Roo, is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, constitute the 32 administrative divisions of Mexico, federal entities of Mexico. It is divided into municipalities of ...

Tabasco Tabasco, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Tabasco, is one of the Political divisions of Mexico, 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into Municipalities of Tabasco, 17 municipalities and its capital city is Villahermosa. It i ...

, and

Campeche Campeche, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Campeche, is one of the 31 states which, with Mexico City, make up the Administrative divisions of Mexico, 32 federal entities of Mexico. Located in southeast Mexico, it is bordered by the sta ...

were closed. In Tamaulipas, 333 shelters were opened. In Texas, Governor

Greg Abbott Gregory Wayne Abbott ( ; born November 13, 1957) is an American politician, attorney, and jurist who has served since 2015 as the 48th governor of Texas. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served from 2002 to ...

placed 51 counties under disaster declarations in advance of Alberto. The governor activated three

Texas National Guard The Texas Military Forces (TXMF) are the principal instrument through which the Texas Military Department (TMD) executes security policy for Texas, which has the second-largest population and border in the United States. The Texas Military Forc ...

platoons, consisting of 40 members, 20 vehicles, and Chinook helicopters. Classes and camps at

Del Mar College Del Mar College (DMC) is a Public college, public community college in Corpus Christi, Texas. Founded in 1935, DMC encompasses three primary campuses and one campus annex. As defined by the Texas Legislature, the official service area of DMC is ...

were cancelled, as well as summer classes in

Alice Alice may refer to: * Alice (name), most often a feminine given name, but also used as a surname Literature * Alice (''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland''), a character in books by Lewis Carroll * ''Alice'' series, children's and teen books by ...

and Orange Grove. The Corpus Christi Regional Transportation Authority, in coordination with the

American Red Cross The American National Red Cross is a Nonprofit organization, nonprofit Humanitarianism, humanitarian organization that provides emergency assistance, disaster relief, and disaster preparedness education in the United States. Clara Barton founded ...

and the Corpus Christi Fire Department, offered voluntary evacuations on public buses at two collection stations. The Corpus Christi Fire Department also offered residents boat rides out of flooded areas. An

American Airlines American Airlines, Inc. is a major airlines of the United States, major airline in the United States headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, within the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, and is the Largest airlines in the world, largest airline in the ...

flight to

Dallas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

and a

United Airlines United Airlines, Inc. is a Major airlines of the United States, major airline in the United States headquartered in Chicago, Chicago, Illinois that operates an extensive domestic and international route network across the United States and six ...

flight to

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

were delayed at the

Corpus Christi International Airport Corpus Christi International Airport is west of Corpus Christi, in Nueces County, Texas. It opened in 1960, replacing Cliff Maus airport at , where the Lozano Golf Center is now located. The airport's six-gate Hayden Wilson Head Termina ...

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak (; ), is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates intercity rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...

's westbound ''

Sunset Limited The ''Sunset Limited'' is a long-distance passenger train run by Amtrak, operating on a route between New Orleans and Los Angeles. Major stops include Houston, San Antonio and El Paso in Texas, as well as Tucson, Arizona. Opening in 1894 thr ...

'' was cancelled between

New Orleans, Louisiana New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

, and

San Antonio, Texas San Antonio ( ; Spanish for "Anthony of Padua, Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the List of Texas metropolitan areas, third-largest metropolitan area in Texa ...

. The

Salvation Army The Salvation Army (TSA) is a Protestantism, Protestant Christian church and an international charitable organisation headquartered in London, England. It is aligned with the Wesleyan-Holiness movement. The organisation reports a worldwide m ...

branch in

McAllen McAllen is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Hidalgo County. It is located at the southern tip of the state in the Rio Grande Valley, on the Mexican border. The city limits extend south to the Rio Grande, across ...

opened their building as a public emergency shelter. Double red flags were hoisted at beaches in

Brazoria County Brazoria County ( ) is a county in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, the population of the county was 372,031. The county seat is Angleton. Brazoria County is included in the Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land metropolitan stat ...

, signaling the closure of beaches to swimming. Beaches across Cameron County were also closed. Sandbags were used to protect unhatched sea turtle eggs in

South Padre Island South Padre Island is a barrier island in the U.S. state of Texas. The remote landform is located in Cameron County, Willacy County, and accessible by the Queen Isabella Causeway. South Padre Island was formed when the creation of the Port Ma ...

from rising water levels. A wind advisory was issued for parts of southeastern

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

Impact

Mexico

Heavy rainfall from Alberto resulted in four deaths, all in

: one in

due to La Silla River flooding, one in El Carmen, and two in Allende (the latter three were indirect electrocution deaths). Dam reservoirs in the Monterrey metropolitan area received significant fractions of their capacity as a result of the storm. La Boca Dam in Santiago Municipality opened its floodgates on June 20 as it was filled to 104% capacity. Flooding also washed out a segment of Fed. 40 between Monterrey and

Saltillo Saltillo () is the capital and largest city of the northeastern Mexican state of Coahuila and is also the municipal seat of the municipality of the same name. Mexico City, Monterrey, and Saltillo are all connected by a major railroad and high ...

Coahuila Coahuila, formally Coahuila de Zaragoza, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Coahuila de Zaragoza, is one of the 31 states of Mexico. The largest city and State Capital is the city of Saltillo; the second largest is Torreón and the thi ...

. In

Xalapa Xalapa or Jalapa (, ), officially Xalapa-Enríquez (), is the capital city of the Mexico, Mexican List of states of Mexico, state of Veracruz and the name of the surrounding municipality. In 2020 census the city reported a population of 443,063 ...

, 24 people were left homeless after days of flooding caused three buildings to collapse. As of October 2024, according to AON, damages in Mexico are at US$140 million. However, the rainfall was also beneficial across the region and alleviated drought conditions.

United States

Texas

Alberto produced heavy rainfall over Texas, mainly over the southern part of the state. Precipitation accumulations peaked at 10.5 in (267 mm) in Lamar. Tropical storm force winds were measured at several locations in Texas. A sustained wind of 54 mph (87 km/h) was observed at a maritime weather station on

Baffin Bay Baffin Bay (Inuktitut: ''Saknirutiak Imanga''; ; ; ), located between Baffin Island and the west coast of Greenland, is defined by the International Hydrographic Organization as a marginal sea of the Arctic Ocean. It is sometimes considered a s ...

. Over land, a wind speed of 47 mph (76 km/h) was observed on

Padre Island Padre Island is the largest of the Texas barrier islands and the world's longest barrier island. The island is located along Texas's southern coast of the Gulf of Mexico and is noted for its white sandy beaches. Meaning ''father'' in Spanish, ...

within Kleberg County. Increased tides also occurred in Texas, peaking at 4.05 ft (1.2 m) at San Luis Pass. Storm surge in

Galveston Galveston ( ) is a Gulf Coast of the United States, coastal resort town, resort city and port off the Southeast Texas coast on Galveston Island and Pelican Island (Texas), Pelican Island in the U.S. state of Texas. The community of , with a pop ...

reached a height of 4 ft (1.2 m), marking the city's seventh-highest water level on record. Alberto brought significant rainfall to the

area, leading to freshwater flooding. Its winds caused a

storm surge A storm surge, storm flood, tidal surge, or storm tide is a coastal flood or tsunami-like phenomenon of rising water commonly associated with low-pressure weather systems, such as cyclones. It is measured as the rise in water level above the ...

, inundating coastal communities between Galveston and

Freeport Freeport, a variant of free port, may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Freeport, name of several space stations in the video game ''Freelancer'' (2003) * Freeport, a fictional town in the video game ''SiN'' (1998) * ''Freeport: The Cit ...

. One person drowned at Galveston due to rip currents generated by the storm. South of there, between

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: *Portland, Oregon, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon *Portland, Maine, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maine *Isle of Portland, a tied island in the English Channel Portland may also r ...

and

Gregory Gregory may refer to: People and fictional characters * Gregory (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Gregory (surname), a surname *Gregory (The Walking Dead), fictional character from the walkin ...

US 181 U.S. Highway 181 is a south–north U.S. Highway located entirely in the state of Texas. Both termini are at Interstate 37, the road that it mainly parallels to the east. US 181 begins in Corpus Christi, Texas at mile marker 0 to the south ...

was temporarily shut down due to downed power lines. Also, near Port Aransas,

Mustang Island State Park Mustang Island State Park is a state park located south of the city of Port Aransas, Texas, United States on the coast of the Gulf of Mexico that covers and has a beachfront. The land was acquired from private owners in 1972 and opened to the ...

was closed for storm debris cleanup, as was the USS Lexington Museum in North Beach, Corpus Christi. A sinkhole produced by the storm destabilized the foundation of a home on

. Several creeks overflowed their banks in Jim Wells County, resulting in flooding in the communities of

and

Alfred Alfred may refer to: Arts and entertainment *''Alfred J. Kwak'', Dutch-German-Japanese anime television series * ''Alfred'' (Arne opera), a 1740 masque by Thomas Arne * ''Alfred'' (Dvořák), an 1870 opera by Antonín Dvořák *"Alfred (Interlu ...

. Additionally, an EF1 tornado touched down near Bellville, causing some property damage along its long path, and two EF0 tornadoes occurred near Rockport. Initially, Alberto was expected to relieve a three-year drought plaguing South Texas. However, soil absorbed most of the rainfall produced by the storm, allowing much less to runoff into reservoirs. A 5% increase in water levels was observed by drought monitors in the area nonetheless. Damage in Texas is estimated to be at US$125 million.

Elsewhere

Due to tides associated with Alberto, parts of Louisiana were placed under a coastal flood warning. Tides reached a maximum level of 2.91 ft (0.89 m) at the Freshwater Canal Lock observation station. Roads in Calcasieu,

Cameron Cameron may refer to: People * Clan Cameron, a Scottish clan * Cameron (given name), a given name (including a list of people with the name) * Cameron (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name) ;Mononym * Cam'ron (born 19 ...

, and St. Bernard parishes were closed due to flooding. Tropical storm force wind gusts impacted parts of Louisiana, peaking at 41 mph (66 km/h) at the

Lake Charles Regional Airport Lake Charles Regional Airport is a public use airport located five nautical miles (9 km) south of the central business district of Lake Charles, a city in Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana, United States. Owned by Calcasieu Parish, the airport ...

. Rainfall totals of up to 4.69 in (119.12 mm) were observed at Catfish Point. Storm surge also left several roads impassible in

Hancock County, Mississippi Hancock County is the southernmost county of the U.S. state of Mississippi and is named for Founding Father John Hancock. As of the 2020 census, the population was 46,053. Its county seat is Bay St. Louis. Hancock County is part of the Gulfp ...

. Double red flags were raised in

Dauphin Island, Alabama Dauphin Island, formerly Massacre Island ( French: ''Île du Massacre'') is an island town in Mobile County, Alabama, United States, on a barrier island of the same name, in the Gulf of Mexico. It incorporated in 1988. The population was 1,778 a ...

, warning beachgoers to remain out of the water. Waves up to 5 ft (1.5 m) in height inundated Bienville Boulevard.

References

External links

* The NHC'
Advisory Archive on Tropical Storm Alberto
{{DEFAULTSORT:Alberto (2024) 2024 Atlantic hurricane season Atlantic tropical storms Atlantic hurricanes in Mexico 2024 in Mexico