NHC: Atlantic hurricane season sees above-average start with 3 tropical storms in June
CSU releases predictions for 2023 Atlantic Hurricane season
The hurricane experts at Colorado State University expect tropical cyclone activity to be slightly below average in the Atlantic basin during the 2023 hurricane season. FOX 35 Chief Meteorologist Jayme King breaks down what this could mean for Florida.
ORLANDO, Fla. - There were three tropical storms that formed in the Atlantic basin in June, marking an unseasonably active start to the 2023 Atlantic hurricane season.
Typically, June sees one named tropical storm, according to the National Hurricane Center, utilizing the last 30 years of weather data and climatology. However, June 2023 saw three named storms: Tropical Storm Arlene, Tropical Storm Bret, and Tropical Storm Cindy.
"So far, seasonal activity has been above average," the NHC said in its monthly Atlantic tropical weather summary.
Tropical Storm Arlene started as a tropical depression on June 1 and became a tropical storm on June 2 in the Gulf of Mexico – about 200 miles west of Fort Myers, Florida. It then relatively quickly weakened to a tropical depression on July 3, and eventually into a remnant low.
Arlene reached maximum wind speeds of 40 mph.
Tropical Storm Bret formed on June 19 in the tropical central Atlantic with maximum sustained winds of 40 mph, and continued traveling westward toward the Lesser Antilles Islands, prompting tropical storm watches and warnings. Heavy rains and strong winds were reported. On June 23, the tropical storm started to weaken and eventually became a trough on June 24.
Bret had maximum sustained winds of 70 mph, the NHC said.
Tropical Storm Cindy formed in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean on June 22, several hundred miles southeast of San Juan. It reached maximum sustained winds of 60 mph before eventually weakening yo an open wave on June 25. There was a possibility – albeit a low one – that Cindy could have redeveloped at it continued traveling northeastward over the Atlantic. It eventually fizzled out.
So far, there have been four tropical systems during the 2023 season, three of which received names. The NHC said a rare subtropical storm formed in mid-January north of Bermuda. That was determined during a routine re-assessment of the weather, the NHC said in May.