While the 2020 Atlantic Hurricane Season doesn’t officially begin, it appears yet another system is trying to form in the Atlantic Ocean. The Atlantic Hurricane Season officially kicks-off on Monday, June 1, and two named systems have already formed: Arthur and Bertha. Now, the National Hurricane Center is tracking another system over the central Atlantic that could develop into a tropical system over the next 48 hours.
According to the National Hurricane Center (NHC) in Miami, Florida, a broad area of low pressure appears to be developing over the central Atlantic Ocean several hundred miles east-southeast of Bermuda. This disturbance is producing a large area of showers and thunderstorms and gusty winds. The NHC says additional development of this system is possible, and a subtropical depression could form tonight or on Saturday as it moves generally northward. Beyond Saturday, though, development is not expected; atmospheric conditions will become unfavorable for further development.
Beyond the Atlantic, meteorologists are also keeping a watchful eye on the Gulf of Mexico. Computer forecast guidance has been suggesting a tropical system could develop in the Gulf later next week.
Wherever it forms within the Atlantic basin, the next tropical storm would be named Cristobal.
The Atlantic hurricane season begins on June 1 and runs through November 30; forecasters are calling for an active, above-normal hurricane season in the basin this year.