Tropical Storm Jerry Forms in Atlantic, Expected to Become Hurricane

A new storm has spun up in the Atlantic. Tropical Storm Jerry, the 10th named storm of this hurricane season, formed Tuesday morning over the central Atlantic Ocean and is forecast to strengthen into a hurricane by Wednesday, according to the National Hurricane Center (NHC).

As of 11 a.m. ET, Jerry was packing sustained winds of 45 mph and was located about 1,300 miles east-southeast of the northern Leeward Islands, moving west. Forecasters expect Jerry to reach Category 1 hurricane strength later this week, possibly tracking near or north of the northern Leeward Islands. Depending on its exact path, the storm could bring heavy rain and strong winds to parts of the Caribbean by the weekend. Tropical storm watches may be issued as early as Tuesday night.

This season has been unusual. After Hurricane Erin exploded into a Category 5 storm in mid-August, activity stalled. But in the past two weeks, the Atlantic has churned out three hurricanes—Gabrielle, Humberto, and Imelda—breaking the quiet spell. Both Gabrielle and Humberto underwent rapid intensification, with Humberto joining Erin as the second Category 5 of the year.