Storm Lifecycle

On June 10, an area of disturbed weather associated with a broad low pressure area off the coast of Belize organized over the warm waters of the Caribbean Sea and became the first tropical depression of the season. Southwesterly vertical wind shear was a constant companion to this system, but as it moved closer to Florida, the depression strengthened into a tropical storm on the morning of June 11. Passing over the warm deep water of the Loop Current allowed accelerated development, and the cyclone's maximum sustained winds increased to its peak strength of 70 mph (115 km/h), just shy of hurricane strength. Subsequent weakening occurred as it moved over the cooler waters of the continental shelf. Alberto made landfall midday on June 13, about 50 miles (85 km) southeast of Tallahassee, Florida, with windspeeds of approximately 45 mph. More » Alberto brought a storm surge of five feet to the Big Bend area of the Florida coastline, flooding areas of Cedar Key and Crystal River. The large system was slow to weaken, moving across Georgia and the Carolinas before being downgraded to a tropical depression early on June 14. Alberto became an extratropical storm that morning while quickly moving towards the coast. As an extratropical storm, Alberto strengthened rapidly offshore New England and the Canadian Maritimes, becoming an oceanic storm by the afternoon of June 15. Damage in the United States totaled to $565,000 (2006 USD). The National Hurricane Center (NHC)'s archive on Tropical Storm Alberto. The Hydrometeorological Prediction Center (HPC)'s archive on Tropical Storm Alberto. « Hide