Tropical Storm Danielle forms, 1st named storm in weeks

Tropical Storm Danielle formed Thursday morning in the Atlantic, the first named storm in nearly two months, according to the National Hurricane Center.

The storm is not a threat to Florida or the United States, according to Spectrum Bay News 9.

Danielle had sustained winds of 60 mph with higher gusts, according to an update from the National Hurricane center posted at 5 p.m. EST on Thursday. The system was moving east at about 2 mph. Forecasters expect the system to meander in the Atlantic for the next few days and to intensify.

Meteorologists expect Danielle to become a hurricane in the next day or so.

Spectrum Bay News 9 tweeted Thursday morning that Danielle, which was a tropical depression early Thursday morning, is not a threat to any land mass. No tropical storm warnings or watches had been issued as of Thursday evening.

Danielle is the fourth named storm in 2022. The entire month of August went without a single named storm. But in addition to Danielle, meteorologists are watching two other tropical systems — one east of the Leeward Islands and the other north of the Cabo Verde Islands.

An area of low pressure hundreds of miles east of the Leeward Islands has gradually become more organized since Wednesday, the Hurricane Center said Thursday. Environmental conditions are marginally favorable for the system’s further development.

The tropical disturbance has a 50% chance of becoming a tropical depression in the next two days, and an 70% chance in the next five, according to an 8 p.m. update Thursday.

“Although environmental conditions remain only marginally conducive, any additional development of the system over the next few days would lead to the formation of a tropical depression,” the hurricane center said in the update.

Meteorologists also are watching a third system, a broad area of low pressure located northwest of the Cabo Verde Island. update. Forecasters said the disturbance has poorly organized showers and had only a 10% chance of strengthening over the next five days as of the 8 p.m. update.

If the storm does become a tropical depression it’s unlikely to develop further because of unfavorable environmental conditions, forecasters said.

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