Tropical Storm Gordon, the seventh named storm of the extremely active Atlantic hurricane season forecast for 2024, formed far out at sea Friday morning.
As of Friday 5 p.m. ET, The storm is about 2,500 miles from the east coast of the United States and is moving west-northwest at 10 miles per hour.
The official hurricane track forecast from the National Hurricane Center shows that Gordon will slowly meander westward over the open Atlantic over the next few days and may even weaken into a tropical depression.
In addition, most computer models show that the system is spreading away from North America towards the sea.
Meanwhile, Francine weakened to a post-tropical cyclone, but remained a dangerous storm, bringing heavy rains to much of the Southeast and Tennessee Valley.
Where is Tropical Storm Gordon?
As of 5 p.m. EDT Friday, the center of Tropical Storm Gordon was located about 1,045 miles west-northwest of Cape Verde. Maximum sustained winds were about 40 mph.
The storm is moving toward the west-northwest at about 12 mph (19 km/h). A westerly turn is forecast for this evening, with the system weakening over the weekend.
The hurricane center said it is expected to strengthen slightly today before weakening on Saturday.
Gordon is the seventh named storm of the season
Gordon is the seventh named storm of the season. If it becomes a hurricane, which is not yet forecast, it would be the fifth hurricane of the season, joining Beryl, Debby, Ernesto, and Francine.
It is also only the second named storm to form since August 12. The last time a single named storm formed in the Atlantic between August 13 and September 12 was in 1997, according to hurricane researcher Phil Klotzbach of Colorado State University.
In a typical year, there are 14 named storms, seven of which develop into hurricanes; some forecasts for this year have called for as many as 33 named storms.
Spaghetti models of Tropical Storm Gordon
Special note on spaghetti models: Spaghetti model illustrations include a range of forecasting tools and models, and not all are the same. The National Hurricane Center uses only the four or five best performing models in its forecasts.
Hello, Helen?
In addition to Gordon, forecasters were also monitoring an area of unsettled weather closer to home, just off the southeast coast of the United States, where tropical or subtropical weather conditions could potentially develop over the next week.
“In a few days, a non-tropical low pressure system may form along a remaining frontal boundary several hundred miles off the southeastern U.S. coast,” the National Hurricane Center said in an online weather forecast released Friday.
“Subtropical or tropical development is possible during the first half of the week as the system moves north or northwest,” the hurricane center said.
If it gets a name, it will be Helene.
Another disturbance is also moving across the open Atlantic, but the probability of its formation is almost 0%, the hurricane center said on Friday.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Tropical Storm Gordon forms: Which path will it take?
