The center of Subtropical Storm Alberto arrived just west of Panama City Monday afternoon, bringing with it 45 mph winds.
The National Hurricane Center in Miami said in an advisory that the storm's center made landfall just before 5 p.m. at Laguna Beach, about 15 miles west of Panama City. Maximum sustained winds were clocked at 45 mph.
By then, the Hurricane Center had suspended tropical storm warnings east of the Aucilla River, at the crux of the Big Bend region. It remains in effect for the area west of there to the border of Alabama and Mississippi.
A storm surge watch remains in effect for much of northern Florida. A storm surge watch means life-threatening inundations are possible from rising water moving inland from the coast.
Florida Public Radio Emergency Network Meteorologist Cyndee O'Quinn says there is a concern for locally heavy rain today.
“Scattered to numerous showers a are expected today across the area as Subtropical Storm Alberto continues to move north towards the panhandle. Thunderstorms that develop will be capable of producing gusty winds, locally heavy rains of 2 to 3 inches, and dangerous cloud to ground lightning strikes,” she said.
O’Quinn said the flood risk will be highest in areas that have already received heavy rain and near creeks and rivers that are still high.
