Headed To The Beach For Memorial Day? Bring An Umbrella

GULF SHORES, AL - Memorial Day weekend is usually the time when Alabamians head to the Gulf for fun in the sun and sandy beaches of the Alabama coast and Florida panhandle. This year, those headed to the beach may want to consider packing an umbrella, because rain - and a large amount of it - is expected throughout the weekend.

The National Hurricane Center predicted a 40 percent chance of a slow-moving weather system in the Gulf of Mexico becoming a named tropical or subtropical storm over the next five days. If it forms, it would be the season's first named storm and would be called Alberto.

The center's report states, "Some gradual subtropical or tropical development is possible late this week while the system moves slowly northward into the central or eastern Gulf of Mexico."

The system is currently located east of Belize in the Caribbean Sea and is expected to slowly move north into the Gulf of Mexico and would approach land by late Saturday, according to the hurricane center. Whether the system becomes a tropical storm or tropical depression, there is no getting around the fact that rain along the Gulf coast will be heavy throughout the weekend.

A National Weather Service forecast said up to 5 inches of rain is likely in much of the Southeast over the next week.

Photo by Renee Schiavone/Patch