The storm is forecast to grow into a hurricane, but posed no immediate threat to land.
Tropical Storm Margot formed in the North Atlantic Ocean on Thursday, becoming the 13th named storm of the 2023 Atlantic hurricane season.
The National Hurricane Center estimates that the storm had sustained winds of 40 miles per hour and would most likely grow into a hurricane by the weekend, but posed no immediate threat to land. Tropical disturbances that have sustained winds of 39 m.p.h. earn a name. Once winds reach 74 m.p.h., a storm becomes a hurricane, and at 111 m.p.h. it becomes a major hurricane.
Margot is currently one of two active tropical cyclones in the Atlantic. Hurricane Lee became a Category 4 storm Thursday afternoon, according to the Hurricane Center.
The Atlantic hurricane season started on June 1 and runs through Nov. 30.
In late May, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicted that there would be 12 to 17 named storms this year, a “near-normal” amount. On Aug. 10, NOAA officials revised their estimate upward, to 14 to 21 storms.
There were 14 named storms last year, after two extremely busy Atlantic hurricane seasons in which forecasters ran out of names and had to resort to backup lists.
