Wow! That was sudden!

Alberto increased rapidly in strength this morning, and has maintained sustained 70 mph winds throughout the day, to remain just shy of a hurricane. With all the forecasters concentrating on the unfavorable shear, I'd been lulled a bit. However, in retrospect, this wasn't very unpredictable. The big blowup occurred just as Alberto was crossing the Gulf Loop Current (remember that?) and was aided by the old center of the storm breaking free, and a new center forming 60 miles east. All of this has brought a much stronger storm to Florida much more quickly. Tropical storm force winds are already hitting Florida. With Alberto's winds only 4 mph below the threshold, a Hurricane Warning is now in effect. In addition, Tropical Storm Warnings are now up for the Atlantic Coast of northern Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina, as storm force winds could reach those areas before Alberto's expected degeneration back to a tropical depression as it moves inland.