Story Created:
May 19, 2012 at 4:50 PM EDT
Story Updated:
May 20, 2012 at 11:43 AM EDT
Tropical Storm Alberto, the first named storm of the 2012 Atlantic hurricane season, formed Saturday off the coast of South Carolina.
(CNN) -- A large swath of coastal South Carolina is under a tropical storm watch due to Alberto, the first named tropical storm of the 2012 Atlantic hurricane season.
As of 11 a.m. ET Sunday, Alberto was about 90 miles east-southeast of Savannah, Georgia according to the National Hurricane Center in Miami. The storm carried maximum sustained winds of about 45 mph.
The tropical storm watch area stretches from the Savannah River, which separates Georgia from South Carolina, to the South Santee River in South Carolina.
Alberto was moving west-southwest at about 6 mph (9 kph), and "a decrease in forward speed is expected through Sunday," the weather agency said. It is expected to turn west-northwest and then north and northeast by Monday.
"Dangerous surf conditions are possible along the coasts of Georgia and South Carolina through Monday," the hurricane center said.
Despite being over the warm waters of the Gulf Stream, Alberto is not expected to intensify much over the next couple of days. That is due, in part, to the presence of a cool and dry air mass to the north and west of the tropical storm, CNN meteorologist Sean Morris said.
This year marks the first time in recorded history that a tropical storm has formed in both the east Pacific basin and Atlantic basin before the official start of hurricane season, the hurricane center said. The Pacific storm was called Aletta.
The Atlantic hurricane season officially begins on June 1.
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