Tropical Storm Gonzalo forms in Atlantic, sets yet another record for 2020 hurricane season

The seventh named tropical storm formed in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean Wednesday morning, setting yet another record for the 2020 hurricane season.

Tropical Storm Gonzalo was centered Wednesday morning about 1,205 miles east of the Southern Windward Islands, the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami said.

As of 11 a.m. ET, the strengthening system has maximum sustained winds of 50 mph and was moving west at 14 mph.

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"Additional strengthening is forecast during the next couple of days, and Gonzalo is expected to become a hurricane by Thursday," the NHC said.

Eric Blake, a senior hurricane scientist at the NHC, said on Twitter that the storm was "looking pretty impressive lately as well" as it moved over the open Atlantic, and was "one to watch" for the Winward Islands.

Gonzalo is a small tropical cyclone, with tropical-storm-force winds extending outward only up to 25 miles from the center. The storm is forecast to continue moving west, with a faster forward speed is expected during the next few days.

There are currently no coastal watches or warnings for the storm, according to the NHC.

Interests in the Windward Islands are advised to monitor this system.

Gonzalo set a record for the earliest named seventh tropical storm,  "G" storm, of the Atlantic hurricane season, the latest of storms this season to do so.

Tropical Storm Gert formed July 24, 2005, making it the previous record holder, according to Colorado State University hurricane research scientist Phil Klotzbach.

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On July 5, Tropical Storm Edouard become the earliest fifth-named storm on record. Tropical Storm Fay became the earliest sixth-named storm when it formed off the East Coast on July 9.

Klotzbach also notes that 2005, a record-breaking year, already had three hurricanes and two major hurricanes by July 21.

"2020 has yet to have a named storm reach hurricane strength," he tweeted.

While it has strengthened, Gonzalo is likely to weaken as it encounters a less favorable environment in the Caribbean over the weekend.

Separate tropical system in the Gulf of Mexico shows signs of life

A tropical wave moving through the southeastern Gulf of Mexico also could develop by Friday, when it reaches the Texas/Louisiana coast.

As of Wednesday morning, the NHC said there's a 50 percent chance over five days it forms into something more.

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As of now, the system is causing showers and thunderstorms over the eastern Gulf of Mexico, central and southern Florida, and into western Cuba.

If it develops, it likely won’t have the chance to organize into more than a tropical storm.

Regardless of development, chances of showers and thunderstorms will increase along the Gulf Coast through the rest of the week.

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An Air Force Reserve Hurricane Hunter aircraft is scheduled to investigate the system later on Wednesday, according to the NHC.

While seven named storms have developed so far, forecasts call for 13 to 19 named storms during the 2020 Atlantic hurricane season, which runs from June 1 to Nov. 30.

The 2020 Atlantic Hurricane Season will include the names: Arthur, Bertha, Cristobal, Dolly, Edouard, Fay, Gonzalo, Hanna, Isaias, Josephine, Kyle, Laura, Marco, Nana, Omar, Paulette, Rene, Sally, Teddy, Vicky and Wilfred.