Alberto (2006)

A low-pressure area over Central America and the northwestern Caribbean organized into a tropical depression around 0600 UTC on June 10, 2006, about 120 nautical miles south of western Cuba. The system became Tropical Storm Alberto at 0000 UTC on June 11 as it moved northward through the southeastern Gulf of Mexico. Alberto strengthened to its peak on June 12–13 while centered roughly 100 nautical miles south of Apalachicola, Florida, then weakened as it approached the Florida coast and moved inland. The system lost tropical characteristics over South Carolina on June 14 and became a powerful extratropical storm as it moved northward and eastward, eventually being tracked to the British Isles.

Alberto made a single U.S. landfall near Adams Beach, Florida (just north of Crystal River) at about 1630 UTC on June 13, 2006, with sustained winds of 40 knots (about 46 mph). After landfall the center moved northeast across Florida and into Georgia and the Carolinas while weakening, and the cyclone became extratropical the next day over South Carolina.

The storm’s maximum tropical intensity was estimated at 60 knots (70 mph) with a minimum central pressure of 995 mb, reached near 0000 UTC on June 13. That peak intensity corresponds to a strong tropical storm, below hurricane strength.

Alberto produced large rainfall totals in western Cuba—reports included about 17 inches at Rio Seco and multiple locations with 10–15 inches. In the United States, notable rainfall included 8.53 inches at Fort Pulaski, Georgia; 7.81 inches at Fripp Island, South Carolina; and 6–7 inches at several locations in the Carolinas. Storm surge and storm-tide observations along the Gulf Coast included 4.51 ft surge at Sarasota, FL; 4.09 ft surge and 6.74 ft storm tide at Cedar Key, FL; and 3–4 ft inundation reported in parts of Citrus and Levy counties (Homossassa had about 3 ft of water into a restaurant). Along the Atlantic coast, Fernandina Beach and St. Augustine recorded storm-tide values near 5–5.6 ft and multiple sites in Georgia and South Carolina reported storm tides of 4–7 ft.

There were no direct deaths in the United States while Alberto was a tropical storm. One indirect fatality occurred after the system became extratropical: an 8-year-old boy drowned in Franklin County, North Carolina. Damage was generally minor: flooding affected homes and roads in Levy and Citrus counties (roads covered by about 2 ft of water, damage to some homes), scattered downed trees and power outages in Tallahassee, and small overall insured losses according to industry reports. There was also a press report of four sailors missing south of Nova Scotia when Alberto was a strong extratropical storm.

Noteworthy items: Alberto briefly produced stronger transient winds measured aloft by reconnaissance aircraft that were judged unrepresentative of the storm’s sustained strength; the official best track peak remained 60 kt. Forecast track errors for Alberto were below the long-term averages, and intensity forecasts were generally close to average errors for that period. A hurricane warning had been issued for part of the Florida west coast because forecasts briefly indicated a possible hurricane, though Alberto did not reach hurricane strength while tropical.