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By CHRIS CHMURA
cchmura@tbo.com
This isn’t Florida’s first bout with a storm named Alberto.
Just as the state was set to celebrate Independence day 12 years ago the original Alberto came calling.
Here’s a look at what The Tampa Tribune wrote that weekend in 1994:
“Tropical Storm Alberto bore down on the Florida Panhandle on Saturday, forcing some residents to retreat from their homes and emergency officials to evacuate coastal areas packed with tourists for the July 4th holiday weekend.
Image from NOAA
“Forecasters expected Alberto to reach the minimal Category 1 hurricane status, with sustained winds of at least 74 miles per hour, by the time it reached the coast. Landfall was expected by mid-morning today somewhere in the northwest Panhandle.
“Gov. Lawton Chiles declared a state of emergency for west, north and central Florida as the State Emergency Operations Center in Tallahassee scrambled to prepare for Alberto’s arrival.
“The tropical storm warning from the National Weather Service extended from Cedar Key to Gulfport, Miss.
‘It’s a far cry from Hurricane Andrew, but it’s nothing to sneeze at,’ said Mike Rucker, spokesman for the state Division of Emergency Management.”
1994’s Alberto eventually came ashore as a strom tropical storm, just shy of hurricane strength. Florida’s panhandle was battered by the winds and rain, but the real story unfolded elsewhere and afterward.
Record-breaking rainfall occurred after landfall. The storm inched northward for four days and stalled, dumping feet of rain well inland. The National Weather service described its remnants as ‘deadly and devastating.’
“More than 50,000 people were evacuated, 18,000 homes were damaged or destroyed, 900,000 acres of crops were destroyed, 1,000 roads washed out, and more than 200 small dams were damaged or destroyed,” cites a weather service report. 78 counties in Georgia, Alabama, and Florida were declared federal disaster areas.
All that came from the landfall of a tropical storm, not a hurricane.
Image From NOAA
The human toll, say forecasters, underscores the importance of inland residents tracking storms just as closely as coastal residents. National National Weather Service records say 33 deaths were blamed on Alberto. Most victims drowned in flood waters, and all casualties came in the four days after landfall.
Not a single person was killed as the eye came ashore. That’s the way it is with most tropical storms and hurricanes, say forecasters.
The National Weather Service has already posted a flood watch for much of Florida as Alberto ‘06 approaches.
Stay with TBO.com for developments, and track Alberto’s progress in the Storm Center.
Information from Tampa Tribune archives was used in this report.
I live in souht tampa the only problem is I dont own a truck. This is just another rainy day in tampa but in south tampa any rainy day can be a flooded one and yet they will never fix it.
Hey Dominick sounds like you’ve got a bit of attitude there. However I got on that road out of FL last year. I give you my word that those storms look much prettier from here in GA. Good luck to the people who find themselves in natures path this year 
A “Good ‘ole Ohio Thunder Clapper” will not push up to 10 feet of additional water into the Bay, potentially flooding homes and streets. Unless you have experienced this, you really have no understanding of what these storms (even just tropical storms) can do.
I’ved lived here all my life, been thru Donna, Cleo,and all the others including Andrew,riding it out in Homestead I,m now in Central Florida,been here for 20 plus yrs.and it still baffels me how wrong we can be about the track and degree of intensity of theses storms all the new radar tecnology and this fooled the weather guru,s again .. I told my wife when this thing hit the warm waters of the gulf it would become a hurricane before it made land fall.Low and behold look what we got now .. so much for tecnolgy
I’m not to worried about Alberto. Compared to everything last year this storm is just another rainy day around here. I’m sure I’ll still be at work tomorrow…
WHOO-HOO.....here we go again!
The thing that never ceases to amaze ME is how nieve & over-confident(invincible) some people in the Tampa Bay area are. Even though Alberto(as of right now) is pretty much a wuss of a storm...it IS STILL DANGEROUS & BEARS COSE WATCHING! That’s just my 2 cents, and it comes from being a Florida native & growing up in St.Petersburg!
Hey I have lived in Florida all my life and I have learned you must always watch closly to your local weather during the season… And if you dont like that then Florida my not be the place for you to live.
Those who do not know their history are doomed to repeat it! Per history, forever and 8th grade American history. I am an Ohio Girl and tropical storms are really nothing more than a good ole Ohio thunder clapper. We dont get any doppler warnings, we watch our nature, and our animals, and we duck and cover when called for. I think that most folks are too busy to take a good look at WHAT is going on. They are too busy to look at nature. The bay will get good rain with Alberto, stay off the roads if you dont have to. Have emergency batteries and candles and supper. Stay in spend time with your family and you will be allright with this one. If you are in a flood zone, well then go visit a friend on higher ground and bring a dish!
Hey Richard- The road you came to Florida on goes both directions.
Going through the teeth of Charley in August of 2004 I now realize the hurrican itself was the easy part, its dealing with the insurance companies and the poor workmanship of you typical Florida contractor that keeps the pain lingering for years after a storm.
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Posted by Jean Gardner, Tallahassee, Florida on 06/14 at 10:16 AM
Well at this point Tallahassee is very lucky we have not seen any storm or hurricane. I thank God for that. I am very thankful for the rain. Well I don’t think Tallahasse well be that lucky this year we might see a hurricane this time. I have never seen a hurricane.