WCF SECTION SPECIAL BULLETIN #18-3: 1200 EDT – 5/28/18

SUBTROPICAL STORM ALBERTO NOW APPROACHING THE WESTERN FLORIDA PANHANDLE.  ALL WATCHES AND WARNINGS FOR THE WCF SECTION CANCELLED.  WCF SECTION ARES LEVEL 3 ACTIVATION CANCELLED.

SITUATION: At 1100 EDT, the center of Subtropical Storm Alberto was located about 50 miles south of Panama City, Florida.  The storm is moving toward the north near 8 miles per hour.  Maximum sustained winds are near 60 mph (95 km/h) with higher gusts. Little change in strength is expected before Alberto reaches the northern Gulf Coast later today.  A faster northward or north-northwestward motion is expected during the next few days. On the forecast track, the center of Alberto will cross the northern Gulf Coast in the warning area this afternoon or this evening. After landfall, the system is forecast to move well inland into the Tennessee Valley on Tuesday and into the Ohio Valley and Great Lakes region on Wednesday and Thursday.  Steady weakening is forecast after landfall, and Alberto will likely become a subtropical depression tonight or early Tuesday, and degenerate into a remnant low by Tuesday afternoon.

As of 1100 EDT, all watches and warnings had been discontinued for the entire ARRL West Central Florida Section, except for a Flood Warning for the Myakka River at Myakka State Park in Sarasota County.

IMPACTS:  Impacts to the ARRL West Central Florida Section continue to lessen as Alberto moves inland over the Florida panhandle and weakens.  The main impact to be expect for the next few days will be localized flooding caused by additional rainfall chances over the next few days

ACTION:  Due to the fact that all tropical watches and warnings are discontinued and the diminished impact from Alberto, ARRL West Central Florida ARES will stand down from the Level 3 activation and return to a non-activation status effective at 1100 EDT.  None of our ARES groups have had any requests to activate in the West Central Florida Section from any of our served agencies.

This will be the last special bulletin for Subtropical Storm Alberto unless an unanticipated turn in Alberto’s direction is taken.

END OF SPECIAL BULLETIN