Florida slowed, not stopped, by Alberto
With Tropical Storm Alberto approaching the brink of hurricane status as it moves toward the Florida Gulf Coast Tuesday, the states ports and transportation infrastructure are soaked and slowed, but not stopped.
There are no reported port closures. The core of the storm will not make a direct hit on commercial ports, passing more than 100 miles north of the Port of Tampa and Port Manatee, and well east of the Port of Pensacola. It will come closest to Port St. Joe and the Port of Panama City, but the strongest rain bands will be east of those ports, according to weather reports. Gov. Jeb Bush ordered mandatory evacuation of low-lying areas of five Gulf Coast counties, but that only impacts the immediate shoreline areas that will experience storm surges.
The storm will still soak much of the central and northern parts of the state Tuesday as it moves inland, with the Port of Jacksonville expected to experience tropical storm conditions later in the day.
The storm will have no significant impact on the Atlantic Coast ports south of Jacksonville.
The rains will likely slow truck traffic, but there are no closures of major highways reported.
There will probably be delays for some flights at the Tampa, Orlando, and Jacksonville airports, but not all flights are expected to be affected and none of the airports will be closed.
Florida slowed, not stopped, by Alberto
