FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Tropical Storm Danielle formed Thursday in the central Atlantic, just one day after August came and went without a named storm for only the third time since 1961, according to the National Hurricane Center.
The storm had intensified by Friday morning and is expected to become a hurricane in the open Atlantic, the center said in its 5 a.m. update.
Danielle formed from Tropical Depression Five near the Azores. It was moving east as of 5 a.m. Friday at 3 mph about 890 miles west of the Azores, with maximum sustained winds of 70 mph.
The system is expected to grow into a Category 1 hurricane later Friday morning. Tropical-storm-force winds reach up to 70 miles from Danielle’s center.
It appears to be no threat to land as it drifts in the open Atlantic Ocean the next few days, ultimately toward the northeast. Forecasters said Danielle is expected to reach its peak strength in the next four days.
Danielle is the first named storm to form in the Atlantic since early July, when Tropical Storm Colin formed offshore of the Carolinas.
National Hurricane Center forecasters are monitoring two other systems, one of which is near the Caribbean.
That system is gradually developing but is expected to remain outside of the Caribbean Sea as it moves generally toward the U.S. East Coast. Forecasters said though the environmental conditions are marginally favorable for development, the system only needs to slightly develop over the next few days in order to become a tropical depression.
As of 8 a.m. Friday, National Hurricane Center forecasters said it has a 50% chance of developing in the next two days and a 70% chance over the next five days.
The presence of wind shear near the Caribbean could be a hindrance to further development beyond a tropical depression, according to AccuWeather, the private forecasting service.
A third system in the far eastern Atlantic near Africa has a low chance of strengthening into a tropical depression as it gets further into the central Atlantic. It is moving into an unfavorable environment, the center’s 2 a.m. update said, and is not expected to significantly develop.
The next named storm to form will be Earl.
There have only been three other named storms so far this season — Alex, Bonnie and Colin — with the last one, Colin, dissipating on July 3, meaning this 60-day streak is the second-longest time in Atlantic hurricane season history without a named storm since 1995.
Only Alex made its presence known in South Florida by dumping as much as 12 inches of rain in some areas.
“It looks like September could really kick off an active period in the tropics. A steady wave train of energy rolling off Africa into the tropical Atlantic is expected to keep things active for a while across the Atlantic basin,” said AccuWeather meteorologist Brandon Buckingham.
The most active part of hurricane season is from mid-August to the end of October, with Sept. 10 the statistical peak of the season.
Forecasters say dry air, Saharan dust and wind shear have been among the reasons there haven’t been more storms this year.
Hurricane season ends Nov. 30.
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