Tropical Storm Gabrielle formed Sept. 17 in the central Atlantic Ocean, far from land, the National Hurricane Center said.
Gabrielle is the 7th named storm to form in the Atlantic basin this year. It's the first named storm in the Atlantic since Aug. 28, an "unprecedented dry spell" in the heart of what's typically the most active part of the hurricane season, according to WPLG-TV hurricane specialist Michael Lowry.
Most of the computer models that meteorologists use to forecast storms show Gabrielle staying far out to sea and not directly affecting U.S. shores. Forecasters warn that it could impact Bermuda by later next week, however.
As of 5 p.m. ET Sept. 17, the center of Tropical Storm Gabrielle was located about 990 miles east of the Northern Leeward Islands in the Caribbean, the hurricane center said. It had maximum sustained winds of 50 mph and was moving to the northwest at 14 mph.
Tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 205 miles from the center, primarily in the eastern semicircle of the storm.
