MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:
We're going to start the program today with the weather. The official start of the hurricane season is still a few days away, but...
DENNIS FELTGEN: Well, the official start of the hurricane season is June 1, but we have a named storm outside of the hurricane season, so, you know (laughter), what's in a date? It's here.
MARTIN: That's Dennis Feltgen of the National Hurricane Center. Alberto is tracking toward the Gulf Coast, and states of emergency have already been declared in Florida, Alabama and Mississippi. Even though it's not a hurricane, Feltgen says the subtropical storm could be deadly.
FELTGEN: One of the biggest threats from this storm is going to be the heavy rainfall, where some areas could see a foot of rain. That's very dangerous - rainfall falling on an already saturated ground - so the water will have no place to go but up.
MARTIN: So this all comes after last year's historic hurricane season - Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, Maria and Nate caused damage from Central America to Texas and through the Caribbean - damage that is still affecting many people's lives. And that's one reason that, next weekend, we will be broadcasting this program from Puerto Rico. We'll be hearing about the lingering impact from last year's hurricane season, and we'll be asking if the island is ready for this year's.
But now we're turning to Jenny Staletovich. She covers the environment for The Miami Herald, and she's going to bring us up to date.
Jenny, thanks so much for talking with us.
JENNY STALETOVICH: Thanks for having me.
MARTIN: So what are people expecting in Florida? I understand the whole state is already under a state of emergency.
STALETOVICH: That's right. The entire state is, but the focus has really shifted more to the Panhandle and the Gulf Coast further up the state - sort of north of Tampa and Fort Myers. Because it's so low-lying over there and because of the continental shelf, there's a bigger risk of storm surge. There's actually a storm surge warning that stretches from north of Tampa all the way up into Pensacola. And then there's a tropical storm warning that goes from about Fort Myers.
MARTIN: Now, it's hard to - I understand it's hard to assess the feelings of a whole state, but are people feeling nervous - especially after what everybody went through last year?
STALETOVICH: Oh, yes, definitely (laughter). I think that people are just - it doesn't even seem like it's been a whole - well, hasn't been a whole year - but I think people are just, like, wow. We can't believe hurricane season is here already again. And people are still recovering from Irma where it hit in the Keys. People are still waiting for FEMA money. So yeah, there's definitely anxiety and aggravation.
MARTIN: Now, this named storm is happening outside of the official hurricane season, as we said. What are you hearing from meteorologists about that?
STALETOVICH: Well, it is unusual. At this point, the latest advisory from the Hurricane Center has a lot of dry air swirling around, so they don't think it's going to intensify to a hurricane. But even to get a tropical storm - or, in this case, it's still a subtropical storm - this early in the season is unusual. I think they think it's transitioning into a tropical storm now, which is just sort of technical weather-speak. But it can become a little bit more dangerous when it becomes better-defined as a tropical storm.
MARTIN: So before we let you go, what are you expecting for the rest of hurricane season? What are you thinking about so far?
STALETOVICH: Ugh (laughter). Well, I mean, I'm not looking forward to it. I don't think anybody else is either. But, last week, NOAA issued their pre-season forecast, and they're saying that it's going to be active - not as bad as last year, closer to normal but still active.
MARTIN: That is Jenny Staletovich. She covers the environment for The Miami Herald. Jenny, thanks so much for speaking with us.
STALETOVICH: Thanks for having me. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.