Tropical Storm Josephine has formed in the Atlantic, continuing this hurricane season record-setting pace.
What was tropical depression eleven increased in intensity with winds of 45 mph, said the National Hurricane Center (NHC) in their 11 a.m. EDT advisory.
This increased intensity was strong enough for the NHC to call it a tropical storm and give it a name, making it the earliest “J” named storm to form in the Atlantic ever.
The previous record-holder was Jose, which formed on Aug. 22 during the historic 2005 hurricane season.
Josephine is located about 975 miles east of the Leeward Islands and is tracking to the west-northwest.
“The storm will likely continue to strengthen but is expected to track north of the Leeward Islands, Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico over the weekend,” CNN meteorologist Dave Hennen says.
Josephine will begin to encounter an unfavorable environment over the weekend. It will likely weaken to a depression as it turns north into the Atlantic’s open waters next week.
This storm comes on the heels of NOAA’s updated forecasts for the season. They are now predicting up to 25 named storms—something they have never done before.
An average season produces 12 named storms.
Josephine is the 10th named storm, and we are only two months and 13 days into the 6-month season.
