Tropical Storm Alberto (2024)

Tropical Storm Alberto was a broad but short-lived tropical cyclone that affected portions of Mexico, Texas, and Louisiana during June 2024. The first named storm of the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season, Alberto originated on June 12 from a broad area of disturbed weather in the Gulf of Mexico. A few days later, a low-pressure area formed from the disturbance, over the Bay of Campeche. It would steadily coalesce, and despite not being a tropical cyclone yet, would be designated as Potential Tropical Cyclone One by the National Hurricane Center on June 17 due to its proximity to the coast. It eventually intensified into a tropical storm two days later, being named Alberto. Its formation marked the latest start to an Atlantic hurricane season since 2014.

The next day, Alberto peaked with sustained winds of 50 mph before making landfall near Tampico, Tamaulipas. Despite being weak, Alberto was unusually broad, affecting Texas, Louisiana, and Northeastern Mexico throughout its lifetime. Four people died in Nuevo León due to its rainfall: one in Monterrey, one in El Carmen, and two in Allende. Damage estimates are believed to be less than $10 million (2024 USD). Another person died in Texas due to rip currents.

Meteorological history
On June 12, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) noted that an area of disturbed weather could form over the western Gulf of Mexico and possibly develop into a tropical cyclone. Several days later, early on June 17, a low-pressure area formed over the Bay of Campeche. Designated Invest 91L as it emerged off the Yucatán Peninsula, 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 Potential Tropical Cyclone 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 45 kn, and a minimum central pressure of 993 mbar. Early the following morning, the system made landfall near Tampico, Tamaulipas, weakening to a tropical depression inland a few hours later. Rapidly weakening, it dissipated just nine hours later.

Preparation and impact
Tropical storm warnings were issued for a long stretch of the western Gulf of Mexico coast, extended from Tecolutla, Veracruz north to San Luis Pass in Texas. Ports in Tamaulipas, Veracruz, Quintana Roo, Tabasco, and Campeche were closed. In Tamaulipas, 333 shelters were opened. In Texas, 51 counties were put under disaster declarations in advance of the storm, and Amtrak's westbound Sunset Limited was cancelled between New Orleans, Louisiana, and San Antonio, Texas.

Heavy rainfall from Alberto resulted in four deaths, all in Nuevo León: one in Monterrey due to La Silla River flooding, one in El Carmen, and two in Allende (the latter three were indirect electrocution deaths). The preliminary estimate is that Alberto caused less then US$10 million in damage overall. 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, Coahuila. In Xalapa, 24 people were left homeless after days of flooding caused three buildings to collapse.

Alberto brought significant rainfall to the Galveston area, leading to freshwater flooding. Its winds caused a 2–4 ft storm surge, inundating coastal communities between Galveston and Freeport. One person drowned at Galveston due to rip currents generated by the storm. South of there, between Portland and Gregory, US 181 was temporarily shut down due to downed power lines. Also, near Port Aransas, Mustang Island State Park 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 Padre Island. Several creeks overflowed their banks in Jim Wells County, resulting in flooding in the communities of Alice and Alfred. Additionally, an EF1 tornado touched down near Bellville, causing some property damage along its 2 mi 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.