Tropical Storm Alberto Causes Heavy Rainfall and 3 Deaths in Texas and Mexico as the First Named Storm of the Season

TAMPICO, Mexico—Tropical Storm Alberto headed towards northeast Mexico early Thursday as the first named storm of the season, bringing heavy rains that resulted in three fatalities but also brought hope to a region struggling with a prolonged, severe drought.

Mexican authorities played down the threat posed by Alberto and instead focused on its potential to alleviate the water shortage in the parched region.

“The wind speeds are not high enough to be considered a significant risk,” stated Tamaulipas state Secretary of Hydrological Resources Raúl Quiroga Álvarez during a late Wednesday press conference. He encouraged people to welcome Alberto with joy. “For eight years, this is what we have been waiting for in Tamaulipas.”

Mr. Quiroga highlighted the severe drought affecting much of Mexico, especially northern regions. He mentioned the low levels of the state’s reservoirs and Mexico’s substantial water debt owed to the United States for their shared use of the Rio Grande.

“This is a beneficial event for Tamaulipas,” he expressed.

However, in the neighboring state of Nuevo Leon, authorities reported three deaths linked to the rains brought by Alberto. One man died in the La Silla River in Monterrey, the state capital, while two minors succumbed to electric shocks in Allende municipality. Reports indicated that the minors were cycling in the rain.

Governor Samuel García of Nuevo Leon announced on his social media account that metro and public transportation services in Monterrey would be suspended from Wednesday night until noon on Thursday until Alberto passes.

As of late Wednesday, Alberto was positioned about 40 miles east of Tampico, Mexico, and approximately 250 miles south-southeast of Brownsville, Texas, with maximum sustained winds of 50 mph, as reported by the U.S. National Hurricane Center. The storm was moving west at 13 mph.

By Alfredo Peña and Mariana Martínez Barba