Alberto's Visit

So, just over a week or two into the official 2006 hurricane season and we have our first tropical depression/tropical storm - the eponymously titled Alberto. Developing in the Gulf of Mexico towards the end of last week, he gradually began to edge his way towards the Western Florida Coastline and, wouldn't ya know it, set a course for South Carolina. Now, fear not everyone out there who may be concerned (that means you Mum) because by the time Alberto made landfall, he was barely a tropical storm - that means winds of 39-74 mph on the scale of things (and when i say barely, i mean only just over 39 mph winds). Compare this to last year's Hurricane Katrina - a category five storm with winds over 155mph and you see just how small this is. Of course, once hitting land anyhow, Alberto began to flip-flop between being a storm or just a plain old tropical depression. By the time he got here, it was definitely the latter - so winds of about 30mph which is much better on the scale of things.

Of course, this being Charleston with the downtown at sea level, just a tropical depression isn't necessarily a good thing - particularly if that means lots of rain. Sure enough, with Alberto looming in the vicinity (the 'eye' never fully passed through Charleston, we just got the outer edges), we were treated to massive downpours yesterday - suffice to say, many of the staff who live further out decided to head home early lest they get stuck - and some of those who stayed behind had rather fun times getting out of the (water-logged) car park - guess that's the price you pay for dedication. Anyhow, aside from some torrential rain and wind yesterday evening, today is completely the opposite - sun and clear skies - talk about changeable weather. But with one tropical depression/storm coming by, one wonders if Charleston has many more in store this season. And, on top of that, the predicted path of Alberto has him swinging out over the Atlantic and heading straight for the UK. Looks like you're in for some weather next week!