2018 Hypothetical Atlantic hurricane season (Version One)

The 2018 Atlantic hurricane season was a slightly above-average season in terms of ACE, and an average season in terms of named storms. A total of 16 tropical cyclones formed, with 13 becoming named storms and 8 becoming hurricanes. The strongest storm was Gordon, the first major hurricane of the season.

Tropical Storm Alberto
Late on June 3rd, a tropical wave with well-defined convection entered the Caribbean Sea. It gradually strengthened overnight, and based on satellite imagery indicating a well-defined center of circulation, it was upgraded to Tropical Depression One at 6:00 UTC on June 4th. After another 5 hours, the depression held sufficient strength to be classified as Tropical Storm Alberto, the first storm of the 2018 season.

Alberto tracked generally westwards across the Caribbean Sea, strengthening slowly. On June 6th, Alberto reached peak intensity with wind speeds of 55 miles per hour and a minimum central pressure of 1000 millibars. The storm maintained this intensity at a steady rate as it turned slightly more northwestwards while located north of Venezuela. The storm caused scattered showers over the northern coast of South America, but remained a little disorganized due to light easterly wind shear. Alberto weakened slightly and its wind speeds fell below 50 miles per hour on June 8th, turning westwards again towards Central America. Heavy rains led to flooding and mudslides in Honduras and northern Nicaragua, which caused $7 million USD in damages and claimed the lives of five people. Alberto rapidly weakened over land, becoming a remnant low over Central America on June 9th. However, Alberto's mid-level circulation crossed into the Pacific, leading to the formation of Tropical Storm Carlotta on June 11th.