First named hurricane of Atlantic season emerges

The National Hurricane Center announced on Saturday that Tropical Storm Don had intensified into a hurricane

The first hurricane of the 2023 Atlantic season has emerged with winds of up to 75mph, the National Hurricane Center said on Saturday.

“Hurricane Don is not a threat to land, and is forecast to become post-tropical over the central-north Atlantic early next week,” the center tweeted.

The Atlantic hurricane season runs from 1 June until 30 November. Don had strengthened from a tropical storm and was preceded by named storms Arlene, Brett and Cindy so far in 2023. Storms are given names when they reach or exceed 39mph, and they are categorized as hurricanes once they reach winds of at least 74mph.

In May, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) predicted a “near-normal” Atlantic hurricane season with a range of “12 to 17 named storms.”

“Of those, 5 to 9 could become hurricanes (winds of 74 mph or higher), including 1 to 4 major hurricanes (category 3, 4 or 5; with winds of 111 mph or higher),” the center said in a release.

“The upcoming Atlantic hurricane season is expected to be less active than recent years, due to competing factors — some that suppress storm development and some that fuel it — driving this year’s overall forecast for a near-normal season,” NOAA continued.

After three hurricane seasons with La Nina present, the emerging El Nino warming pattern this summer could suppress Atlantic hurricane activity.

There were eight hurricanes during the 2022 Atlantic season, including two major events – constituting a Category 3 or higher storm.