ALEX GROWS TO TROPICAL STORM OFF FLA. COAST

Tropical Storm Alex, which became the first named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season Sunday, headed toward Bermuda after killing three people in Cuba and causing flooding in parts of Florida.

Alex reached tropical storm force after strengthening off Florida’s east coast early Sunday.

The U.S. National Hurricane Center said Alex had maximum sustained winds of 65 mph and was centered about 325 miles west of Bermuda on Sunday evening.

It was moving to the eastnortheast at a brisk 26 mph and was expected to pass near or just north of Bermuda today. A tropical storm warning was in effect there. Forecasters said it could drop 1 to 2 inches of rain across Bermuda beginning late Sunday and into today.

National Security Minister Michael Weeks said emergency services were monitoring the storm.

In Cuba, Alex killed three people, damaged dozens of homes in Havana and cut off electricity in some areas, authorities reported.

Parts of southern Florida experienced road flooding from heavy rain and wind Saturday. Officials in Miami were towing stranded vehicles from flooded roadways.

The tropical rainstorm prompted flash flood warnings, while rain fell at up to 2 to 3 inches per hour.

Miami Beach Mayor Dan Gelber said the storm tested the system of drainage pumps the city 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.”

The National Weather Service received reports of nearly 15 inches of rain in Hollywood and Margate. Miami International Airport registered about 9 inches of rain — or roughly an entire month‘s worth.

Alex partially emerged from the remnants of Hurricane Agatha, which made landfall on on Mexico’s southern Pacific Coast last week, killing at least nine people and leaving five missing as it moved overland.

The Atlantic hurricane season officially began Tuesday. This is an unusually early start to the storm season but not unprecedented for Florida.