The National Hurricane Center is tracking the first tropical wave to come off the coast of Africa, even though it is more than three weeks until the official start of the Atlantic hurricane season, which starts on June 1.
The NHC reported Monday morning that the tropical wave emerged off the coast of Africa and was moving west at about 15 mph.
Recommended Videos
Although hurricane season is weeks away, storms can form beforehand, including Tropical Storm Ana last year and Arthur and Bertha in 2020.
[TRENDING: Rollins College valedictorian with nonspeaking autism delivers graduation address | Central Florida forecast: Not as hot and mostly dry | Become a News 6 Insider (it’s free!)]
Forecasters are calling for another above-average Atlantic hurricane season, a trend we have seen over the last four decades. Their numbers show 19 named storms, with nine of them becoming hurricanes and four gaining major hurricane strength.
If this first wave were to develop into a tropical storm it would be named Alex.
Below is a list of storm names for the 2022 Atlantic hurricane season:
- Alex
- Bonnie
- Colin
- Danielle
- Earl
- Fiona
- Gaston
- Hermine
- Ian
- Julia
- Karl
- Lisa
- Martin
- Nicole
- Owen
- Paula
- Richard
- Shary
- Tobias
- Virginie
- Walter
According to the NHC, Atlantic tropical storms have been named since 1953.
There are six lists of names that are used in a rotation and recycled every six years, the NHC said. So, the 2022 list will be used again in 2028.
“The only time that there is a change in the list is if a storm is so deadly or costly that the future use of its name for a different storm would be inappropriate for reasons of sensitivity,” the NHC’s website stated.