Tropical Storm Alex finally forms
The first official named system of the 2022 Atlantic hurricane season finally came in the form of Tropical Storm Alex, but only after it left a soaking wet Florida behind.
What had been Potential Tropical Cyclone One had tropical-storm-force winds as it sped over the Sunshine State on Saturday, but not with enough circulation to be a named system. Once the center made it into the Atlantic, though, it was able to gain strength and circulation and become a named storm.
In the 8 p.m. update from the National Hurricane Center, the system had sustained winds of 65 mph, moving east-northeast at 26 mph. Tropical storm conditions are expected in Bermuda by late
Sunday night or early Monday.
“Further acceleration to the northeast is expected over the next 12-24 hours. A gradual turn to the east-northeast and east is expected between Monday and Tuesday. On the forecast track, the tropical storm is expected to pass near or just north of Bermuda on Monday,” said NHC Senior Hurricane Specialist Jack Beven.
Tropical-storm-force winds extend out 205 miles.
It finally grew into Tropical Storm Alex as of 2 a.m. Sunday. The whole system was born out of the remnants of what had been the Pacific’s first named tropical system, Hurricane Agatha, that struck the Mexican west coast nearly a week ago, moved over land while disintegrating, and making a slow approach all week across the Gulf of Mexico.
Most of the rain that doused Florida on Saturday is still sloshing around the southeast quadrant of the system. It’s expect to bring 2-3 inches across Bermuda through Monday.
While it moved at a fair clip across Florida at 18 mph, its rains that began on Friday did the most damage overnight especially in flood-prone areas of Miami, leaving much of downtown and Little Havana under nearly a foot of water.
Other parts of the state, from Naples to the Treasure Coast, also endured flooding with the NHC having warned there could be pockets that would experience up to 15 inches of rain in 24 hours.
Preliminary rain totals from the NWS Weather Prediction Center
said Miami saw just over 11 inches of rain from 7 a.m. Friday through 10 p.m. Saturday. In Broward County, Hollywood had just over 9 inches while Fort Lauderdale had more than 7 inches. In Palm Beach County, West Palm had 6.6 inches. On the Gulf Coast, Naples had close to 9 inches while Fort Myers had nearly 6.3 inches.
Miami Beach Mayor Dan Gelber said the storm tested the system of drainage pumps the city has recently installed as climate change has increasingly made flooding an issue in the low-lying area.
“We moved the water off pretty quickly, but in some areas, obviously, it was really challenging,” Gelber said. “There were some problems getting through on some streets, one of the main arteries was unpassable, but by and large water is dissipating.”
In Cuba, the storm killed three people, damaged dozens of homes in Havana and cut off electricity in some areas, according to authorities. Heavy rainfall continued Saturday, but was diminishing as the weather system moved away from the island.
June 1 marked the start of the Atlantic hurricane season, which runs through Nov. 30. Forecasters expect another above-average year for tropical system production. Last year saw 21 named storms, and 2020 had a record-breaking 30 named systems.