Tropical Storm Alberto rumbled toward northeast Mexico early Thursday as the first named storm of the season, carrying heavy rains that left at least three people dead but also brought hope to a region suffering under a prolonged, severe drought.
The storm is expected to get to Mexico’s Gulf coast Thursday morning, then rapidly weaken over land and dissipate later in the day, according to the National Hurricane Center in Miami.
Rain from Alberto was falling on both sides of the border, extending up much of the south Texas coast and south to Mexico’s Veracruz state.
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The hurricane center said as much as 5-10 inches of rain was expected in some areas along the Texas coast, with even higher isolated totals possible. Some higher locations in Mexico could see as much as 20 inches, which could result in mudslides and flash flooding, especially in the states of Tamaulipas, Coahuila and Nuevo Leon.
Mexican authorities downplayed the risk posed by Alberto and instead pinned their hopes on its ability to ease the parched region’s water needs.
“The (wind) speeds are not such as to consider it a risk,” said Tamaulipas state Secretary of Hydrological Resources Raúl Quiroga Álvarez during a news conference late Wednesday. Instead, he suggested people greet Alberto happily. “This is what we’ve been (hoping) for for eight years in all of Tamaulipas.”
Much of Mexico has been suffering under severe drought conditions, with northern Mexico especially hard hit. Quiroga noted that the state’s reservoirs were low and Mexico owed the United States a massive water debt in their shared use of the Rio Grande.
“This is a win-win event for Tamaulipas,” he said.
But in nearby Nuevo Leon state, civil protection authorities reported three deaths linked to Alberto’s rains. They said one man died in the La Silla River in the city of Monterrey, the state capital, and that two minors died from electric shocks in the municipality of Allende. Local media reported that the minors were riding a bicycle in the rain.
Nuevo Leon Gov. Samuel García wrote on his account on social media platform X that metro and public transportation services would be suspended in Monterrey from Wednesday night until midday Thursday when Alberto has passes.
People in Mexico expressed hope for Alberto bringing rain.
Blanca Coronel Moral, a resident of Tampico, ventured out to the city’s waterfront Wednesday to await Alberto’s arrival.
“We have been needing this water that we’re now getting, thank God. Let’s hope that we only get water,” said Coronel Moral. “Our lagoon, which gives us drinking water, is completely dry.”
Authorities closed schools for the remainder of the week in Tamaulipas since there could be localized flooding.