CEDAR KEY, Fla.-
Windows were boarded up and the streets on this island in the Gulf of Mexico were desolate as the first tropical storm of the 2006 Atlantic hurricane season started moving over Florida early Tuesday, but forecasters said they didn't expect Alberto to strengthen into a hurricane.
National Hurricane Center director Max Mayfield said his staff would likely downgrade the hurricane warning it had issued Monday to a tropical storm warning.
"The big concern now is going to be shifting to the rainfall and the tornado threat as it moves along the southeastern (U.S.) coast line," Mayfield said Tuesday.
Florida's gulf coast between Tampa and the Panhandle could see a storm surge of 7 to 9 feet from Albert, and more than 20,000 people, particularly in low-lying areas, were ordered to evacuate.
At 5 a.m. EDT, Alberto was centered about 65 miles west of Cedar Key, and was moving northeast at about 9 mph toward an expected landfall in the area around midday, the Hurricane Center said. Its top sustained winds were at 65 mph; the minimum for a hurricane is 74 mph.
A large chunk of the storm was already over Florida and its outer rain bands stretched into southeastern Georgia, where forecasters warned of a threat of tornadoes. A flood watch was issued for noon Tuesday for 18 southeastern South Carolina counties and rain totals exceeding five inches were possible in the area.
The top wind gust hit 60 mph early Tuesday in Tampa, and about 4 to 6 inches of much-needed rain had fallen in areas that had been dry, said Charles Paxton, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Ruskin. There were reports of limited power outages, minor damage and fallen trees in the Tampa Bay area.
Forecasters said Tuesday that the storm's chances of growing were "evaporating," because dry air was being sucked into its center. Storms need abundant supplies of warm, moist air to fuel their growth.
"There are no signs that Alberto is strengthening right now, so that's good news," said James Franklin, a senior hurricane specialist.
A hurricane warning was still posted for the Gulf Coast and a tropical storm warning was extended from Flagler Beach, Fla., northward to South Santee River, S.C. Gov. Jeb Bush signed a declaration of emergency allowing him to call up the National Guard and put laws against price gouging in place.
The tropical depression that produced Alberto formed Saturday, nine days after the June 1 start of the hurricane season. The storm's winds accelerated with startling speed Monday from 50 mph to 70 mph in just three hours. The minimum for a named storm is 39 mph.
Evacuation orders were posted for people in mobile homes or low-lying areas in at least five coastal counties stretching more than 100 miles. Those ordered evacuated included about 21,000 residents of Citrus, Levy and Taylor counties.
Forecasters said it could bring 4 to 10 inches of rain to central Florida and southeastern Georgia. Rain started falling Monday and at least two tornadoes had formed, though there were no reports of any injuries or damage.
In Florida, homeowners gassed up their vehicles and stocked up on chain saws, plywood and other emergency supplies. Workers at a marina in St. Petersburg said they planned to work through the night securing more than 600 boats.
"This is a little earlier than I expected," said marina manager Walter Miller. "But we've had a bad couple of years, so it's not entirely unexpected."
Alberto also prevented the crew of space shuttle Discovery from flying Monday to the Kennedy Space Center from Houston for several days of dress rehearsals for their expected launch in July.
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. ramped up its emergency operations center Monday for the kind of disaster relief effort that won it praise for responding faster than the government last year after Hurricane Katrina.
On Monday, Alberto drenched western Cuba after a weekend of heavy rains prompted evacuations, caused some dilapidated buildings to collapse and flooded low-lying areas in Havana. There were no reports of other major damage or injuries.
Scientists say the 2006 season could produce as many as 16 named storms, six of them major hurricanes. Last year's hurricane season was the most destructive on record and the busiest in 154 years of storm tracking, with a record 28 named storms and a record 15 hurricanes.
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Associated Press Writers Phil Davis in Tampa, Fla., Michelle Spitzer in Miami, Andrea Rodriguez in Havana, Cuba, and Jennifer Kay in Miami contributed to this report.
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