(CNN) — A weakened Subtropical Storm Alberto made landfall Monday afternoon in the Florida Panhandle, showering the Southeast with rain and killing at least two people.
The storm is threatening the Southeast with flooding as it is expected to spread moisture across the region into the middle of the week.
Alberto’s winds continued to slow down throughout Monday, reaching maximum sustained winds of 45 mph as it made landfall in Laguna Beach, west of Panama City on the northern Gulf Coast, according to the National Hurricane Center. The winds decreased to 40 mph by Monday night, when the storm was moving north at close to 10 mph.
In Polk County, North Carolina, news anchor Mike McCormick and photojournalist Aaron Smeltzer, of Greenville, South Carolina-based CNN affiliate WYFF, were killed Monday when a tree fell on their SUV as they covered the hazardous weather, the station said.
North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper said the two died due to storm-related conditions. “North Carolina needs to take Alberto seriously,” Cooper said in a news release.
Alberto also disrupted Memorial Day plans in Alabama, Florida and Mississippi as it moved into the Southeast.
Instagram user Melody Kay Carroll posted a video clip of wind and rain in a Panama City parking deck. “Strong squalls off and on” had kept her inside, she said.
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