First Named Atlantic Tropical Storm Forms After Historic Two-Month Lull

Topline

A tropical depression on a northward path hundreds of miles east of Bermuda was upgraded to a tropical storm on Thursday, making it the first named storm to form in the Atlantic since early July amid an unusually slow hurricane season, despite catastrophic forecasts earlier this year.

Key Facts

As of Thursday morning, Tropical Storm Danielle is moving east at 2 mph, with sustained winds of 40 mph, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Hurricane Center.

It’s expected to intensify into a hurricane over the next few days, but poses no threat to the east coast of the United States or Canada, according to meteorologists at The Weather Channel.

On its current track, the storm is expected to drift out to sea without making landfall.

The National Hurricane Center is also monitoring a disturbance developing west of the Caribbean Sea that is expected to head north of the Lesser Antilles islands by Saturday before turning northward to the western Atlantic, bringing high surf and rip currents to the southeast U.S. after the Labor Day weekend—forecasters give it a 60% chance of developing into a cyclone over the next two days.

Surprising Fact

Despite grim hurricane season predictions released this spring, there were no named storms in the Atlantic during the month of August for the first time since 1997, and none between July 3 and August 30 for the first time since 1941, according to Colorado State University hurricane researcher Phil Klotzbach, speaking to USA Today.

Key Background

Forecasters earlier this year predicted there could be as many as 19 named storms and four major hurricanes this year, warning the hurricane season could be the most active in history. Even though the height of hurricane season is still two weeks away, that prediction has not panned out. The last named storm in the Atlantic Ocean—Tropical Storm Colin— fizzled out after it formed off North Carolina on July 2. It was one of three tropical storms this year, compared to seven tropical storms and five hurricanes that had formed by this time last year. There have been no hurricanes so far this year. The Atlantic has typically faced roughly seven named storms by September 3, three hurricanes by September 7 and one major hurricane by September 1 on average over the past 30 years, according to the National Hurricane Center. In 2011, Hurricane Irene formed on August 21 before battering the Mid-Atlantic. Hurricane Katrina in 2005 formed on August 23, and made landfall in Louisiana and Mississippi on August 29, killing more than 1,800. Hurricane Andrew formed on August 16, 1992, devastating parts of Florida.

Further Reading

Tropical Storm Warning Issued For South Texas As Hurricane Season On Verge Of Breaking Lull (Forbes)

Hurricane Season Has Been Unusually Quiet—But Forecasters Are Watching A Potential Cyclone (Forbes)

August hasn’t been this devoid of tropical storms since 1997. Is hurricane season over? (USA Today)