Tropics turn active in unusual spot for June

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Although it is hurricane season, it is unusual to see tropical systems forming off the coast of Africa in June.

On Monday, Tropical Storm Bret formed and it remains a low-end tropical storm in the open Atlantic. Behind this system, Invest 93L has a high chance of becoming Tropical Storm Cindy in the next two days.

Tropical activity is typically low in the month of June with most storms forming close to the U.S. coastline. The months of August and September provide better opportunities for tropical waves to become systems off of the African coastline in what is known as the “Main Development Region.”

The track of Tropical Storm Bret takes it into the Caribbean Sea by the weekend. It will be battling a good amount of wind shear, which will limit strengthening.

Invest 93L will take a more northward track that could steer the system into the open Atlantic. If it were to become a named storm, its name would be Cindy.

Despite having three tropical storms so far in 2023, the Atlantic hurricane season has only gotten to the name Bret. This is because, upon reanalysis, the National Hurricane Center went back and determined an unnamed tropical storm occurred in the open ocean in January.