The first named storm of the hurricane season made landfall in Mexico on Thursday, bringing heavy rain and flooding to the country's Gulf Coast and Texas.
Alberto weakened as it moved over Mexico.
The system, which was blamed for four deaths in Mexico, brought rain and gusty winds to the Texas coast.
A tropical storm warning that had been in effect for the Texas coast from San Luis Pass southward to the mouth of the Rio Grande was lifted early Thursday.
Already Wednesday, parts of Texas had experienced at least moderate flooding, with streets transformed into waterways.
Gov. Greg Abbott issued a disaster declaration for 51 Texas counties Wednesday as the storm advanced “to ensure Texans and at-risk regions have the resources and personnel needed to respond to this storm,” he said in a statement.
The Texas A&M Forest Service mobilized at least four teams comprising 100 personnel and 24 vehicles, while the Texas National Guard had three platoons with a total of more than 40 personnel, along with 20 vehicles, including Chinook helicopters, at the ready.
The National Weather Service had advised residents in areas expected to be affected by the storm to have at least five to seven days' worth of food, water and other essential supplies on hand.
In Surfside Beach in Brazoria County, cars drove down flooded roads.
The storm is hitting in a heat wave expected to last through at least Friday, with more than 82 million people under some form of heat advisory Wednesday.
The system was linked to deaths in Mexico, with civil protection authorities in the northern state of Nuevo León saying one man died in the La Silla River in the state’s capital, Monterrey. They said two minors also died from electric shocks in the municipality of Allende.
A fourth man in the community of El Carmen, Nuevo León, was electrocuted when he tried to repair wires in the rain, civil officials said.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has predicted that the hurricane season, which began June 1 and runs through Nov. 30, is likely to be well above average, with as many as 17 to 25 named storms.
Its forecast also calls for as many as 13 hurricanes, four of them major.
