Forecasters issued a storm warning for much of Florida’s west coast yesterday as the first tropical storm of the 2006 Atlantic hurricane season, Alberto, strengthened and brought heavy rains towards the state.

The storm, centered near latitude 26.2 north and longitude 87.2 west in the Gulf of Mexico, was about 275 miles (445 km) south-southwest of Apalachicola, in Florida’s northwestern panhandle, at 5 a.m. EDT (0900 GMT), according to the US National Hurricane Center (http://www.nhc.noaa.gov). Alberto dumped heavy rain on Cuba and was predicted to make landfall in heavily populated Florida today, cross the state, and then enter the Atlantic.

Tides were already above normal and rain was starting to fall on Florida’s west coast. Forecasters said 4-8 inches (10-20 cm) would be possible through today across parts of Florida and Georgia.

Although it was not expected to become a hurricane, Alberto was an unmistakable reminder that a new hurricane season had begun. Much of the US Gulf Coast is still recovering from last year’s Hurricane Katrina, the costliest and one of the deadliest natural disasters in US history.

Alberto’s maximum sustained winds had increased to near 50 mph (85 kph), and further strengthening was expected during the next day, the forecasters in Miami said. Tropical storm-force winds, or at least 39 mph (63 kph), extended 230 miles (370 km) to the northeast and southeast.

Forecasters said the storm, moving north-northeast near 8 mph (13 kph), would turn northeast in the next 24 hours. They posted a tropical storm warning, meaning tropical storm conditions are expected within 24 hours, for the Florida coast from Indian Pass, near Apalachicola, to Englewood, south of Tampa.

Alberto was expected to miss Gulf oil platforms. “I don’t think it’s really that much of a concern right now,” said John Brady, an energy broker at ABN Amro in New York. “All it does is tell us we really are in a hurricane season”.

Alberto formed on Sunday off Cuba, and civil defense officials there reported the storm had forced 26,000 people to evacuate low-lying areas in the Caribbean island’s westernmost province of Pinar del Rio, where 16 to 20 inches (40-50 cm) of rain fell in 24 hours.

There was some minor flooding, but no deaths, injuries or significant damage to housing or agriculture were reported.

Tropical storms do not present a significant threat to developed nations, but can cause deadly floods in low-lying areas and destroy ramshackle buildings.