Alberto Downgraded to Tropical Depression - Still Dumps Heavy Rains Across the South

Subtropical Storm Alberto made landfall Monday afternoon in the Florida Panhandle.

Florida Gov. Rick Scott issued a warning to residents in the state ahead of the storm.

"Be very very careful out there," said Scott.  "If you need to travel, just make sure you're very cautious about that."

Tropical rains extended to the Carolinas where a local news crew covering the storm was killed after a falling tree struck their vehicle.

WYFF anchor Mike McCormick and photojournalist Aaron Smeltzer died when the tree crushed their car as they drove down a highway.

Before Alberto made landfall, another system pounded Maryland with heavy rains.

Historic flooding devastated the town of Ellicott City, with more than eight inches of rain falling in three hours.

Cars, roads, homes, and businesses were washed away.  

People climbed to higher ground to escape the rushing water.
 
"The water - muddy water - is moving really quickly and there's no way to cross it," said flood victim Charlie Risselado.

Three hundred people were rescued.

Maryland National Guardsman Eddison Hermond is missing after he fell into the floodwaters trying to help a woman searching for her cat.

"He just took a couple steps in and it just swept him away," said Hermond's friend, Joseph Lopez.

The massive flooding marks the second time the city has been hit.  In 2016, it was also hammered by deadly flooding.  

Many businesses had just started recovering.

"We are going to rebuild," said one business owner.  "We've been down this road, we know the story and we're rebuilding."

Meanwhile, similar flash floods could hit the South in the coming days as drenching rains from Alberto spread over much of Alabama and Georgia as it heads to Tennessee and the Carolinas.