A system off of the Carolinas strengthened into Tropical Storm Fay becoming the earliest 6th named storm of the season on record.
The previous record was held by Franklin in the 2005. That storm developed on July 22. The Atlantic season typically doesn’t get to the 6th name until Sept. 8.
Recommended Videos
The National Hurricane Center upgraded Fay to a tropical storm Thursday around 4:20 p.m.
Fay will bring heavy rain and possible flooding to the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast but is not on track for Florida. Currently the storm is located just east of North Carolina as of 5 p.m. Thursday, according to the National Hurricane Center.
Sound familiar?
You likely remember Fay from 2008 when the slow-moving tropical storm dropped upwards of 30″ of rain in spots across Central Florida. Days of heavy rain resulted in widespread flooding across Central Florida.
Because Fay was not retired by the World Meteorological Organization, it gets returned to the six year cycle of hurricane names. Fay also came around in 2014 and is now making an appearance in 2020. The only time a name on the list gets replaced is if the WMO retires the name because the storm was especially catastrophic or deadly. Andrew, Charley, Irma and Maria are just a few of the many retired storm names since naming of storms began in 1954.
[MORE STORM COVERAGE: 20 named storms? Experts predict busier hurricane season than first thought | Q&A: News 6 meteorologist Jonathan Kegges answers viewers’ hurricane questions]