Tropical Storm Andrea formed in the Atlantic ocean, kicking off Hurricane Season for the basin that officially started on June 1. Fortunately for the United States and other nations around the Atlantic, this first named storm of the season should be a harmless one, spinning about over open waters of the North Atlantic far from any land. Even shipping interests don’t need to worry too much; forecasts have it dissipating soon.

According to the National Hurricane Center (NHC), Andrea is located at 36.6 N 48.9 W which is roughly 1,205 miles to the west of the Azores. The tropical storm has maximum sustained winds of 40 mph and a minimum central pressure of 1015 mb or 29.95″.

 

Andrea is moving toward the east-northeast near 17 mph  and this motion is expected by the NHC to continue for the next day or so. The NHC says little change in strength is expected today but weakening is expected to begin tonight, with Andrea dissipating by Wednesday night.

The Atlantic Hurricane Season runs through to the end of November. On average, the first named storm forms on June 20, making Andrea’s formation just slightly late based on seasonal norms.

The NHC says there are no other areas of concern being watched across the Atlantic basin for tropical cyclone development and no other tropical cyclone development is expected over the next 7 days.