Tropical Storm Alberto, the first named storm of the 2006 hurricane season, is churning Gulf waters with 45 mph winds with higher gusts and drenching rains.

Alberto is located about 400 miles west of Key West, Fla., and is moving toward the northwest near 9 mph and a turn toward the north and northeast is expected during the next 24 hours, the National Weather Service reported at 10 a.m. Sunday. Tropical storm force winds stretch outward up to 175 miles east of the center. Some slight strengthening is possible during the next 24 hours.

Most forecast models show the system making landfall over northern Florida late Monday or Tuesday and continuing across Florida and up parallel to the East Coast of the U.S.

“It will be relatively weak in terms of wind, but that doesn’t mean it’s going to be weak in terms of rainfall,” senior hurricane specialist Stacy Stewart told the Associated Press on Saturday.

Alberto is expected to produce total rainfall accumulations of 10 to 20 inches over the western half of Cuba with isolated totals of 30 inches over the higher terrain. This could cause devastating flash floods and mud slides. Grand Cayman Island has reported 22.72 inches of rain during the Fridday and Saturday and an additional 5 to 10 inches of rainfall is possible over the Cayman Islands.

There is also the potential for heavy rainfall of four to eight inches over the Florida Keys and Western Florida from Sunday into Monday.

The first tropical activity of the 2006 season comes as many Gulf Coast communities, including Port Arthur, are still feeling the effects of the 2005 hurricane season, the most active season on record. Hurricane Rita, which slammed into the Sabine Pass coast on Sept. 24, left a path of destruction hundreds of miles into Deep East Texas.

At 10 a.m. the center of the depression was estimated near Latitude 23.9 N, Longitude 88.1 W. Estimated central pressure was 29.65 inches or 1004 MB.