The tropics got excited a little early this season! The first tropical storm, Alberto, has come and almost gone already. Tropical storm Alberto formed on Saturday with moderate strength tropical storm wind speeds (~60mph at one point). The storm formed just off the coast of the Carolinas and didn't move too far over the next 2 days. As of Monday evening, the tropical storm had begun to diminish and was downgraded to a tropical depression (click here for a refresher on the difference between tropical depression, tropical storm, and hurricanes).
As of 11pm Monday, this is what the remnants of Alberto looked like on satellite (so, you are looking at clouds)
The remnants will travel to the east-northeast, getting caught up in an atmospheric trough and travel out to sea. There will be no impact on the lower 48 from Alberto, even for the upcoming holiday weekend.
The Atlantic Hurricane Season hasn't technically begun yet, accordingly to climatology. The Atlantic Hurricane Season is noted to "start" on June 1 each year as climatology shows activity picking up after this date. Clearly, as Alberto proves, storms can form before that date. The early formation of tropical storm Alberto is noteable because it is the earliest formed tropical storm in the Atlantic since 2003. According to hurricane experts at the NHC, the early formation does not prove or disprove an active hurricane season ahead.
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