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Tropical storm Alberto blew through the Camellia City late Monday evening and with it came TV coverage.

A crew with The Weather Channel stopped in Greenville Monday morning and reported from Commerce Street until 5 p.m.

Weather Channel meteorologist Chris Bruin, producer Ron Blome, camera operator Amy Sandefur and audio engineer David Settlemoir were set up near the Ritz Theatre reporting on Alberto as it began entering Alabama.

Bruin said the stop in Greenville happened by chance.

“We were actually on our way up to Montgomery from Gulf Shores when we decided to just stop here,” he said. “The traffic was getting really heavy as we got closer to Greenville. We just decided this would be a good place to stop and look for a shot since the city is right of the interstate.”

The Weather Channel team was happy with the decision to stop in Greenville.

“We have absolutely loved spending time here,” Sandefur said. “We’ve had so many people come by and welcome us. It’s really been a treat.”

Bruin said Greenville offers scenery that enhances the viewer’s enjoyment of covering storms like Alberto.

“Greenville has such an Americana feel with the quaint downtown, the water tower in the back ground and the train rolling along above the road,” he said. “The majority of Americans live in towns like Greenville. We’re all really happy we made the stop.”

Bruin said Alberto was an interesting storm to cover and that it’s impact would be felt throughout Alabama.

“We knew it would be a heavy rain maker before it made its way inland,” he said. “Butler County’s topography enables flooding to occur so we knew that would be a concern. It has already been a pretty wet spring. Heavy rains in a short time frame like this can be dangerous.”

Alberto is the first named tropical storm of the 2018 season. Bruin said the current outlook for more named storms is calmer than last year. However, he still expects several to form from now through fall.

Sandefur has worked as a free-lance camera operator for nearly a decade. She’s been with The Weather Channel for the last two years.

“Since I started, I’ve worked storms like Harvey and Irma as well as some winter storms,” she said. “Weather is just so fascinating and I feel lucky to be able to call this my job. Plus, we get to go out on the road and see some neat places like Greenville.”

The crew went on the Montgomery Monday afternoon. They did several live shots from the state capital before heading back to Atlanta.

“I’d like to thank Greenville for being so welcoming to us while we worked,” Bruin said. “We met some great people and had a great time. Hopefully we’ll get to visit again soon.”