A Tropical Storm Warning is issued for the coast of Pinellas, Hillsborough and Manatee Counties.
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This was issued because there is a slight chance of minimal tropical storm force winds (around 40 mph) during the night or early Sunday as the center of Alberto moves by to our west.
The center should stay 100-150 miles west of the coast but most of the significant stormy weather is well east of the center.
A Storm Surge Watch is posted for Citrus County, mainly for Crystal River northward, for Sunday. A storm surge of 3 feet is possible at high tide midday Sunday for Crystal River and the coast of Citrus County. A little further north, Cedar Key could have a significant storm surge of 4-5 feet at high tide.
A storm surge is also possible on the Pinellas side of Tampa Bay with an east wind overnight, the Shore Acres area of St. Petersburg could experience some high water into Sunday.
The east end of Bayshore Blvd in Tampa could also experience high water around high tide at 1 pm.
A Flood Watch remains posted for our area until Monday afternoon. There could be locally heavy rainfall on Sunday morning and again on Monday afternoon.
No major changes in the forecast at 5 p.m. Alberto is poorly organized but could become purely tropical late Sunday as it moves toward the north-northwest, it could strengthen before landfall along the Northern Gulf Coast. By this time it should continue to move away from our coast.
Due to the threat of heavy rain and potential flooding, Gov. Rick Scott has declared a state of emergency in all 67 Florida counties.
“As we continue to monitor Subtropical Storm Alberto’s northward path toward Florida, it is critically important that all Florida counties have every available resource to keep families safe and prepare for the torrential rain and severe flooding this storm will bring. Today, I have declared a state of emergency in all 67 Florida counties to make sure that our state and local governments are able to coordinate with federal partners to get the resources they need," Scott said.