Over the weekend, the National Hurricane Center named the first tropical storm of the season, before the actual season starts on June 1st. Tropical Storm Alberto is less than 200 miles from the Georgia coast. Maximum winds are 40 mph and the only threat to the coast is dangerous rip currents. The forecast is for T.S. Alberto to wobble a bit and then head out to the NE away from the East Coast.

If the name Alberto sounds familiar, you are correct. T.S. Alberto was a deadly storm back in July of 1994. Alberto was never a hurricane, but as it stalled over Alabama and Georgia, flooding was unprecedented. 30 people died and the resulting floods caused 1 billion dollars in damages. Americus, GA had 27.85" in a 24 hour period. That was unreal and the Flint River rose to record levels.

Historically when a tropical system causes this much damage, the name is retired by the World Meteorological Organization. (see the list here) However, this storm did not get enough votes at the annual meeting in 1995, so the name Alberto was back in the rotation of names. Of all the retired names, only one (Allison in 2001, that hit Houston, TX) was never a hurricane.

Also an interesting note, this is the first time in recorded history there were two preseason storms in both the Atlantic (Alberto) and the Eastern Pacific (Alleta) at the same time. Keep in mind, early season storms have no correlation to an active season. Peace.