Florida readies first storm of season

TAMPA, Fla. – Most of Florida’s west coast was under a tropical storm watch Sunday as the first named storm of the 2006 Atlantic hurricane season spun over the Gulf of Mexico, threatening to bring heavy rain in the next few days.

In the evening, Tropical Storm Alberto had maximum sustained winds near 45 mph, up 10 mph from early in the morning, but it was not likely to grow into a hurricane, the National Hurricane Center said.

Alberto is a lopsided tropical storm with the most intense wind and rains massed on the eastern edge of the system, said Lixion Avila, a senior hurricane specialist. The first of the storm’s rains swept across the Florida peninsula Sunday with no major reports of damage.

Forecasters said that 30 inches of rain could fall over the western half of Cuba, creating a threat of flash floods and mudslides, and that 8 inches could fall over the Florida Keys and the state’s Gulf Coast.

Alberto was centered about 360 miles south-southwest of the Florida Panhandle on Sunday evening, forecasters said.

It could make landfall early Tuesday, forecasters said.