ARRL West Central Florida Section ARES® has gone to a Level 3 activation (standby) at 1800 EDT due to the issuance of Tropical Storm Warnings in advance of Sub-Tropical Storm Alberto for coastal areas of WCF Section counties and for all of Pinellas County, which is surrounded by the Gulf of Mexico, Tampa Bay, and Old Tampa Bay.

“At this time our respective ARES groups are in stand-by mode, but we have not received any requests for assistance from their respective Emergency Management agencies,” ARRL West Central Florida Section Manager Darrell Davis, KT4WX, told ARRL.

Davis said he is posting daily special bulletins to the Section's website and Facebook page and mentioned on the Section's Twitter page. “We will continue at the Level 3 activation until the Tropical Storm warnings are discontinued for all WCF Section counties,” Davis said. The WCF Section ARES page includes an Activation Level indicator.

The National Hurricane Center reports that as of 11:00 AM EDT, Alberto was 130 miles west-southwest of Tampa with maximum sustained winds of 50 MPH, moving north at 14 MPH. A Storm Surge Watch is in effect for Crystal River to the Florida/Alabama border. A Tropical Storm Warning is in effect for Bonita Beach to the Mississippi/Alabama border. 

Alberto is the first named storm of the Atlantic Hurricane Season, which does not officially begin until June 1.