Alberto, the first named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season, weakened into a depression after making landfall on Mexico’s northeastern coast as a tropical storm Thursday morning, forecasters said. While the expansive storm is still producing heavy rain and gusty winds, meteorologists said it is expected to weaken in intensity as it moves further inland.
Three children have died in storm-related incidents in Mexico’s Nuevo Leon state, according to Governor Samuel Garcia. One person was trapped in the river and drowned while trying to retrieve his ball, Erik Cavazos, Nuevo Leon’s civil protection director, told reporters. Two others were electrocuted after crossing the pond where they came into contact with live cables, he said.
Citing local emergency authorities, El Universal newspaper reported that the child who drowned was 16 years old and the other two were 12 years old.
In Texas, tides have surged beneath elevated homes in some coastal cities since Wednesday morning, including Surfside Beach, about 40 miles southwest of Galveston. The city closed beaches earlier this week and warned visitors to stay away as flooding worsened.
The National Hurricane Center warned Thursday that Alberto remained a major storm, with tropical winds extending about 250 miles from its center and moving west into Mexico. The storm’s maximum sustained winds were 45 mph and later eased to 35 mph, the center said in a later message.
Heavy rain accompanying the storm had already begun to recede across southern Texas early Thursday, but parts of Mexico could see accumulations of up to 20 inches, forecasters said. A tropical storm warning for Texas, covering more than 2 million people from south of San Luis Pass to the mouth of the Rio Grande, was suspended early Thursday.
Surfside Beach Mayor Gregg Bisso said Wednesday evening that while flooding is slowly easing, the city is prepared for conditions to intensify at any time, just as they did when Hurricane Nicholas struck the city in 2021, causing major damage. I said there is.
“It’s a deal that remains to be seen,” Mr. Bisso said, adding that all police officers and emergency services personnel in the city were on standby.
Here are some key things to know about the storm:
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Alberto made landfall on Mexico’s northeastern coast Thursday morning, but winds and rain stretched far from the storm’s center.
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Rain has already begun to taper off across southern Texas, and more rain was expected to fall across northeastern Mexico.
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Landslides are also a problem in the Mexican hills.
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The tropical storm weakened Thursday morning. The National Hurricane Center said the storm was expected to dissipate over Mexico late Thursday.
Preparations were underway in Mexico.
On Wednesday, both authorities and residents were bracing for heavy rain and strong winds.
“The state has been asked to evacuate as quickly as possible,” said Governor García. “The worst is yet to come,” he said in a TV interview Wednesday night.
Mexico’s Meteorological Agency forecast heavy rain in the northern states of Nuevo Leon, Coahuila, Tamaulipas and San Luis Potosi on Thursday.
The flows of the two rivers flowing through Monterrey, the capital of Nuevo Leon, increased significantly in a matter of hours. By Thursday morning, Monterrey’s civil protection authorities reported traffic accidents and vehicles stranded on flooded streets.
Government workers were setting up temporary shelters, and more than 1,500 electricians had been deployed to Tamaulipas, Veracruz and Nuevo Leon – the three states expected to be hit hardest by Alberto’s forces – to respond to power outages. .
Still, in some Mexican states, the storm’s arrival was a welcome respite amid a water crisis and scorching heat wave.
“We are waiting for this rain, which will be very beneficial,” Luis Gerardo González, civil protection coordinator for Tamaulipas state, said in a radio interview Wednesday.
Disaster declaration issued in Texas
Before the storm, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott activated a variety of emergency management resources, including high-water boats with hoist capabilities and helicopters. Wednesday afternoon, he issued a severe weather disaster declaration for 51 counties.
On Wednesday, property damage was reported on North Padre Island after a coastal bulkhead collapsed due to storm surge. And on South Padre Island, officials were handing out free sandbags to businesses and residents. In Corpus Christi, at least two people were rescued and taken to higher ground after their vehicle was submerged in floodwaters, officials said.
Hurricanes and tropical storms can produce tornadoes, which often develop in bands of rainwater far from the center. As Alberto approached, the National Weather Service issued a tornado warning late Wednesday night for areas of Texas along the U.S.-Mexico border, including the cities of McAllen, Mission and Pharr. A previously issued tornado warning has been extended for counties near Corpus Christi. A tornado watch was in effect until 7 a.m. local time for most of South Texas, including San Antonio, where about 2.5 million people live.
In Houston, which recently recovered from last month’s unexpectedly deadly storms, officials were bracing for major flooding this week.
This hurricane season is expected to be busy.
Forecasters have warned that the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season could be much more active than usual.
At the end of May, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicted that 17 to 25 named typhoons would occur this year. This is an “above normal” figure and is consistent with more than a dozen forecasts made by experts at universities, private companies and government agencies earlier this year. There are an average of 14 storms during hurricane season.
Michael Corkery, Victoria Kim, Sarah Ruberg and Derek Bryson Taylor contributed to the report.