Tropical Storm Alberto Heavy rains dumped heavy rains on northeastern Mexico on Thursday morning, killing at least three people but also bringing hope to a region long plagued by severe drought. First named storm Of the season.
Alberto is expected to reach the Gulf Coast of Mexico soon, then rapidly weaken and dissipate later in the day or night Thursday, according to the National Hurricane Center in Miami.
Rain from Alberto was falling on both sides of the border, extending along much of the southern Texas coast and south to Mexico's Veracruz state. The hurricane center said rain and strong winds were beginning to taper off the Texas coast but were forecast to continue into the morning in northeastern Mexico.
As of 5 a.m. Eastern Time, the center of Alberto was about 40 miles east of Tampico, Mexico, and 250 miles south of Brownsville, Texas, moving west at 50 mph with maximum sustained winds of 50 mph.
The center said rainfall from Alberto will begin to taper off across South Texas during the day, with rainfall amounts of an inch or less expected, though “a tornado or two may be possible across parts of deep South Texas.”
Heavy rain is expected to continue through the morning in northeastern Mexico, with another 5 to 10 inches of rain possible. Higher elevations of Mexico's Coahuila, Nuevo Leon and Tamaulipas states could see up to 20 inches of rain.
The center said it was “likely to cause flooding in a large number of urban areas, as well as new river flooding. Landslides are also possible in the higher elevations of northeastern Mexico.”
Mexican officials downplayed the threat posed by Alberto and instead pinned their hopes on it helping meet the drought-stricken region's water needs.
“The (wind) speed is not high enough to be considered a risk,” said Raul Quiroga Alvarez, hydrological resources secretary for the state of Tamaulipas, during a news conference late Wednesday. Instead, he suggested people welcome Alberto with joy. “We've been expecting this for eight years in Tamaulipas.”
Much of Mexico is suffering from severe drought conditions, especially in northern Mexico. Quiroga said the state's reservoirs are low and Mexico owes the United States a huge water debt over shared use of the Rio Grande.
“This is a win-win event for Tamaulipas,” he said.
But in nearby Nuevo Leon state, civil protection officials reported three deaths linked to Alberto's rains. They said one person was killed in the La Silla River in the city of Monterrey, the state capital, and two minors died of electrocution in the municipality of Allende. Local media reported the minors were cycling in the rain.
Nuevo Leon Governor Samuel Garcia wrote on his account on social media platform X that metro and public transportation services in Monterrey would be suspended from Wednesday night until Thursday afternoon until Alberto passes.
People in Mexico hoped Alberto would bring rain.
Tampico resident Blanca Coronel Moral arrived at the city's waterfront on Wednesday awaiting Alberto's arrival.
“We needed this water and now we are getting it, thank God. We just hope we get more water,” said Coronel Moral. “Our lagoon, which gives us drinking water, has completely dried up.”
Officials have closed schools in Tamaulipas for the rest of the week as localized flooding is expected.