the present progressive vs the present perfect progressive

Question

A bad storm is heading your way. It's already hitting us here.

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Already means something has happened before now or before another point in time So, I think it's compatible with the present perfect or the present perfect progressive.

But It's with the present progressive now. It's not awkward? So, Is there a big difference between when using "already" with the present perfect progressive and when using it with the present progressive?

In the situation above, the adverb "Already" made us consider the storm hitting us to start from the past and to go on even now.

When what starts From the indefinite past affects the present and doesn't finish yet, you use the present perfect progressive. Is that right? So I think the present progressive should be turned into the present perfect progressive, how about you?

Answer 1

Already does not refer to the past but to the current time: it signifies 'at reference time' (which is 'now' in a present-tense context, 'then' in a past- or future-tense context) with the additional implication of 'earlier than expected', or 'earlier than some other reference point'.

Consequently, already often appears in a perfect context, because it can relate a past event to a current state: The storm has already hit us = We are now in a state of having been hit. But it does not require a perfect to be meaningful.

The use here is unexceptionable: Here the storm is in progress, now, already, before it arrives where you are.