Sub-tropical storm likely to get a name; no impact on US, NC

By Mike Maze, WRAL meteorologist

A disturbance off the East Coast could become the first named storm of hurricane season. Although the season officially doesn’t start until June 1, the Storm Prediction Center says there is a 90 percent chance for a sub-tropical storm to form in the next five days.

A sub-tropical storm is less organized than a tropical storm or hurricane, it forms in cooler waters, and maximum winds are further from the center of the system, WRAL meteorologist Mike Maze explained.

The system, which is northeast of Bermuda, poses no threat to North Carolina, Maze said. The only likely impact is that visitors to the Outer Banks or other North Carolina beaches may see a slightly greater chance for rip currents this weekend.

The system will gradually move away from the United States to the north and east by Monday.

Storms have formed before hurricane season’s start

Should the disturbance develop, it would be Subtropical Storm Ana, and it would mark the seventh year in a row that a named storm formed before the official start of hurricane season, Maze said.

Each year, the World Meteorological Organization issues an alphabetical list of 21 names for the coming season based on location. Lists are re-used every six years.

When a storm does memorable damage, that name is “retired” or removed from the list.

The storm names for the Atlantic in 2021 are:

• Ana
• Bill
• Claudette
• Danny
• Elsa
• Fred
• Grace
• Henri
• Ida
• Julian
• Kate
• Larry
• Mindy
• Nicholas
• Odette
• Peter
• Rose
• Sam
• Teresa
• Victor
• Wanda

Last year was a record-setter, with 30 named storms. Fourteen of those gained hurricane strength and seven were major hurricanes – those of category 3 and above, or with winds exceeding 111 mph.