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Storm gives Lowcountry a lashing

Three tornados reported in the area as Alberto headed north

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Tropical Storm Alberto crept toward South Carolina on Tuesday, producing strong winds, dumping inches of needed rain and spawning a few tornados in the Lowcountry.

Though weaker than predicted, the first named storm carried something stronger to emergency management officials -- a reminder that the hurricane season is upon us.

And they hope that isn't lost on area residents.

"This adds a little seasoning to the soup, so to speak," said Thomas Watson, Jasper County's deputy administrator who oversees the county's emergency management. "Hopefully, this wakes people up ... that this is for real."

At least three tornados were reported in the Lowcountry on Tuesday, according to the National Weather Service in Charleston.

Mike Emlaw, a weather service meteorologist, said the only tornado statewide that caused damages was in downtown Charleston. Some garage doors were wrecked and some windows were broken out on a few police cruisers, Emlaw said.

The center of the storm was just north of Valdosta, Ga., Tuesday night; it was expected to be somewhere near Orangeburg this morning.

Chances are that it will have weakened to a tropical depression at that time, Emlaw said. A tropical depression has wind speeds of less than 38 mph, while a tropical storm's winds are between 38 mph and 74 mph.

The main impact of the storm Tuesday could be seen on area roadways with traffic moving slower due to constant downpours.

"For the most part, this was a rainstorm," Emlaw said.

Emlaw said that the storm's progression through South Carolina likely would only produce an additional inch of rain. However, the Palmetto State remained under a tropical-storm warning Tuesday night.

"I think the outskirts of the storm produced more (rain) because there's deeper moisture streaming up the east side of the system," Emlaw said. "We had been several inches below normal since January 1, and this will get us at least fairly close to normal for the year."

Though Alberto had been predicted to make landfall on the Gulf Coast of Florida as a Category 1 hurricane, it still provided a strong kick-off to the hurricane season, Emlaw said.

"We're getting the chance to put all of our tropical-storm actions into practice," he said. "I'm hoping we don't have to do this again this year."

Emergency management officials kept in touch with the weather service, emergency response leaders and state and local leaders as they monitored the storm on Tuesday.

"A June storm is rare," said William Winn, emergency management director for Beaufort County. "But they do happen. You just take them in stride. It's the same planning strategy no matter when they arrive.

"No emergency actions to discuss," he said. "This time."

Alberto, with maximum sustained winds of about 50 mph, made landfall early Tuesday afternoon near Adams Beach, Fla., about 50 miles southeast of Tallahassee.

Residents in Crystal River, Fla., were forced to sandbag homes and businesses as waters reached thigh-high in some neighborhoods. But many people seemed to accept flooding of that sort as part of coastal life -- and sighed with relief that it wasn't worse.

"We probably got about 2 inches in the house," said Scott Faulkenberg, 39, the owner of a scuba-diving shop in Crystal River. He said it was the fourth time in six years his home had flooded, but he had no plans to move.

"We need a new carpet anyway," he said.

The prospect of a hurricane hitting the state less than two weeks into the season threw a brief scare into Florida, and more than 20,000 were ordered evacuated as Alberto closed in.

If Alberto had struck as a hurricane, it would be have been an alarming start to the season. No hurricane has hit the United States this early in the hurricane season in 40 years.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Contact Ben Crites at 706-8138 or . To comment on this story, please go to islandpacket.com.

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