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Tracking Alberto: Tropical storm watch issued for parts of Florida to Louisiana

By Irene Sans, WFTV.com, Kelly Healey, Brian Shields, WFTV.com and Kevin Williams
By Irene Sans, WFTV.com, Kelly Healey, Brian Shields, WFTV.com and Kevin Williams

ORLANDO, Fla. — 9:30 p.m.

Showers and storms have come to and end across Central Florida. The evening will remain mostly cloudy, low temperatures in the low-70s.

Saturday will start off quiet, storms will return late in the evening and Alberto's rain bands become better formed.

Alberto

Subtropical storm Alberto continues moving erratically over the extreme northwestern Caribbean. Its general movement over the Yucatan Channel.

Chief meteorologist Tom Terry will update subtropical storm Alberto's track on Channel 9 Eyewitness News at 11 p.m.

7 p.m.

A tropical storm watch and a storm surge watch have been issued from the Florida Panhandle to Louisiana. There will be a high-risk for flooding in Central Florida.

Chief meteorologist Tom Terry will update subtropical storm Alberto's track on Channel 9 Eyewitness News.

Watch: Live Doppler 9 HD radar

5 p.m. 

New tropical storm watches have been issued for part of the Gulf Coast States. From Indian Pass Florida westward to Grand isle Louisiana, including lake pontchartrain, Lake Maurepas and metropolitan New Orleans.

4 p.m.

Storms have developed over Central Florida as moisture continues to move mainly from the south.

Watch live: Doppler 9 HD

As rain chance increase (and grounds is well-saturated already) a flood watch is in effect for Sumter & Polk Co. until Monday. This area could be expanded. Still, some storms could produce some minor flooding this weekend, even if you are not under a flood watch.. stay weather aware.

Storms will linger through the afternoon, some could produce around 2 inches of rain, as they move over Central Florida.

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Subtropical Storm Alberto

Alberto is stationary over the the northwestern Caribbean. It is expected to pick up speed, a bit, tonight and move over the Gulf of Mexico overnight into Saturday.

The storm's main impact to Central Florida (and the entire State) will be heavy rains. Some periods of calm weather can not be ruled out as the rains will come in waves. Some of the showers will be very heavy producing high rainfall in a short time. Although tropical storm force winds have a very low chance to be felt in the area, some embedded storms could produce over 40 mph gusts.

From Friday through Wednesday morning totals could reach 3 to 6 inches and some isolated areas could get over 8 inches. South Florida is looking wetter with rainfall reaching up to 8 inches and some areas over 10 inches of rain.

We will continue to monitor Alberto and all of its impacts to the State and bring you the latest on wftv.com, our newscasts and on our free WFTV Weather app.

Watch Channel 9 Eyewitness News starting at 4 p.m. chief meteorologist is tracking this afternoon's storms and Alberto's track.



10:30 a.m.

Subtropical Storm Alberto has officially formed over the Caribbean.

Watch live: Doppler 9 HD

According to Channel 9 certified meteorologist Brian Shields, Alberto will stay to the west of Florida, bringing the most rain to Florida's west coast. Still, all of Central Florida should expect a wet weekend.

Shields said expect the most rain Sunday, with an 80 percent chance of rain on Memorial Day. There will be times Saturday, Sunday and Monday when it is not raining, Shields said.

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Watch Channel 9 Eyewitness News at noon to track the showers and storms with certified meteorologist Brian Shields.

Send us your weather pics using #stormalert9

5 a.m.

It will be a nice start to Friday in Central Florida, but there is a 60 percent chance that afternoon storms could move in, Severe Weather Center 9 meteorologist Brian Shields said.
It’ll be warm with a high of 87, and Friday night will be mostly cloudy with a low of 71.  
Watch live: Doppler 9 HD
If the tropical disturbance receives a name, it will likely not happen Friday morning (latest Friday afternoon), as it approaches the Yucatan Peninsula.
“The center of the tropical disturbance will stay off to the west of us this weekend, but it will wrap in a lot of tropical rain. Regardless if it becomes Alberto, our rain chance is going to go up," Shields said. "We’ll salvage much of Saturday, with some rain arriving late, but it looks really wet Sunday. Localized flooding will be possible on Sunday with a few inches of rain. On Memorial Day, the rain chance stays high, but it will be the on and off variety."

5-Day Forecast - 05/25/18

Conditions are becoming more favorable for this system to get a name, which in this case would be Alberto. 
Watch Channel 9 Eyewitness News from 5 to 7 a.m. on Channel 9 and TV 27 from 7 to 9 a.m. to get weather and traffic updates every 10 minutes with certified meteorologist Brian Shields.
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Weekend's forecast
The weekend is looking wetter as the deeper tropical moisture will enter the area mainly from the south. Saturday morning and afternoon will be mostly calm with the chance for showers and storms increasing through the afternoon into the evening hours.
Heavy showers and storms will affect Central Florida, which could lead to minor flooding during this period. Sunday will be overcast with heavier intermittent showers and storms all day. High temperatures will stay in the upper 70s to lower 80s Sunday afternoon courtesy of the deep layers of clouds, showers and storms. 
2018 Hurricane forecast: NOAA Predicts near- or above-average season
Monday will remain mostly cloudy with a good chance for rain across more than half of Central Florida. Intermittent showers and storms will continue, with increasing chances of flooding. 

Watch below: Brian Shields' 5-Day Forecast

The system might have some filtered dry slots once it gets to the Gulf of Mexico. If it moves a bit more to the east, Central Florida could see more breaks from the rain. But this is extremely hard to forecast at the moment since the systems still does not have a well-defined and is approaching land.  We will continue to monitor the tropical disturbance and bring you the latest on WFTV.com, our newscasts and through the free WFTV Weather app. 
Send us your weather pics using #stormalert9

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