ORLANDO, Fla. – The National Hurricane Center in Miami says Tropical Storm Gonzalo has formed in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, setting a record for the earliest named seventh tropical storm of the Atlantic hurricane season.
Forecasters said Wednesday night that Gonzalo was about 1,045 miles east of the Southern Windward Islands, with maximum sustained winds of 60 mph, moving west at 12 mph.
Gonzalo is forecast to become the first hurricane of the season as early as Thursday morning.
5 p.m. advisory for Tropical Storm Gonzalo. Little change to track and intensity. pic.twitter.com/pcUG2m7p7Y
— Jonathan Kegges (@JonathanKegges) July 22, 2020
Gonzalo is on a projected path that could eventually take the storm into the lower Caribbean Sea by the weekend.
The government of Barbados has issued a Hurricane Watch for Barbados. Wednesday, forecasters said interests in the Windward Islands should monitor the progress of the system. According to the NHC’s latest advisory, Gonzalo’s center is expected to approach the Windward Islands late Friday into Saturday.
The storm’s early strengthening breaks a record set by Tropical Storm Gert, which formed on July 24, 2005.