Hurricane Season Unofficially Kicked off with Andrea

Monday evening, Subtropical Storm Andrea formed in the Atlantic Ocean, making it the first named storm of the 2019 Atlantic Hurricane Season.

The storm, which had peak winds around 45 mph, has already weakened to a post-tropical cyclone. It's expected to continue to weaken in the next day or two.

Even though this storm did not have an impact on the mainland U.S., it serves as a reminder that the Atlantic Hurricane Season is upon us. The "official" start date of hurricane season is June 1 and goes through the month of November, but we've certainly seen storms form outside of those months. The peak activity for tropical activity is in the months of August and September.

The National Hurricane Center is expected to release its seasonal outlook on May 23. The averages show around 12 named storms each year, with 6 reaching hurricane strength, and 3 being Major hurricanes, classified as Category 3 or higher. As soon as the National Hurricane Center releases their outlook, we'll be sure to post that here.