Storm season opens

Tampa

Within days of the June 1 start of the 2006 hurricane season, the year’s first named storm hit Florida this week without doing much damage. Packing maximum winds of about 50 miles per hour, Tropical Storm Alberto caused some disruptions along the Gulf Coast, flooding streets, knocking down tree limbs, and leaving about 11,000 Floridians without power. “This is a good lesson, I think, in preparedness,” said Gov. Jeb Bush, whose orders to evacuate low-lying areas were largely ignored. U.S. meteorologists predict that the 2006 storm season will be busy, with eight to 10 hurricanes forming in the Atlantic.

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