MIAMI (AP) — A tropical depression in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean is close to tropical storm strength, though forecasters weren’t predicting a landfall location.
The U.S. National Hurricane Center said the depression was centered Wednesday morning about 1,285 miles (2,068 kilometers) east of the Southern Windward Islands. At 5 a.m. EDT, it had maximum sustained winds of 35 mph (56 kph) and was moving west-northwest at 12 mph (19 kph).
Forecasters said it could reach tropical storm status sometime on Wednesday. There were no coastal watches or warnings for the depression.
The depression could set a record for the earliest named seventh tropical storm of the Atlantic hurricane season if it strengthens into Tropical Storm Gonzalo before Friday. Tropical Storm Gert formed on July 24, 2005, making it the current record holder. So far this year, Cristobal, Danielle, Edouard and Fay have all set records for being the earliest named storms of their respective place in the alphabet.
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