Alberto downgraded as it steams across US south-east

The remnants of the first named storm of the hurricane season churned through the south-eastern US early today, bringing much-needed rain and offering officials a chance to practice their storm preparations.

Alberto splashed ashore in Florida without its once-feared punch, and weakened early today over South Carolina from a tropical storm to a tropical depression. All tropical storm warnings were discontinued, the National Hurricane Centre said.

The storm was expected to lose all characteristics later in the day, though possibly could strengthen again.

Forecasters said the centre of circulation would track into the Carolinas from Georgia, pushing nasty weather ahead of it. Storm winds gusting over 40 mph began moving into South Carolina late yesterday, knocking down trees and power lines in three counties.

After last year’s 28 named storms and record 15 hurricanes, Tropical Storm Alberto caused a brief scare and prompted a call for more than 20,000 people to evacuate Florida’s Gulf Coast. But no serious injuries or deaths were reported.

At 5am EDT (10am Irish time), Alberto had maximum sustained winds near 35 mph and was moving north-east at about 21mph, forecasters said. The centre of the depression was located about 35 miles south-south-west of Columbia, South Carolina. The threshold for a named storm is a system with maximum sustained winds of 39mph.

About 2-4 inches of rain were forecast for the Carolinas and parts of Virginia, with isolated heavier rains along the coast. Isolated tornadoes also were possible in the Carolinas.

Alberto’s winds were about 50 mph when it came ashore near Adams Beach, Florida, well below even a Category I hurricane’s 74-mph threshold.

Alberto’s rainfall may turn out to be a blessing for Florida’s efforts to battle wildfires and for farmers in Georgia worried about drought.

“It’s definitely a million-dollar rain,” said Joe McManus, a marketing specialist with the Georgia Farm Bureau in Macon. “It could save some cotton and peanut fields.”