The Atlantic has set yet another record for the earliest named storm: this time, the earliest 11th tropical storm: Kyle. Kyle formed Friday afternoon off the United States east coast, and could strengthen a little before losing tropical characteristics on Sunday or Monday. In addition to Kyle, Tropical Storm Josephine remains active as a minimal tropical storm over the western tropical Atlantic. Josephine is likely to dissipate at some point during the next few days as it encounters strong westerly wind shear, and should not pose any threat to land. The Atlantic has now passed the halfway point of the naming list, and only 10 more tropical storms would need to develop to exhaust the naming list for only the second time on record. It appears increasingly likely 2020 will be the second-most active Atlantic hurricane season in terms of total named storms, and reaching the Greek alphabet is an increasingly likely possibility.

As of 5:00 p.m. EDT Friday, Tropical Storm Josephine was centered near 17.8°N 56.1°W, and was moving west-northwestward at about 16 mph. Maximum sustained winds were 35 knots (40 mph), with an estimated minimum pressure of 1004 mb. An Air Force Hurricane Hunter aircraft investigated Josephine Friday afternoon, and found that the low-level circulation remains well-defined and was farther north than anticipated. It is interesting to note, however, that the aircraft did not sample the strongest convection, so stronger winds may be present. Although Josephine is still a tropical storm, strong westerly shear is likely to cause Josephine to dissipate at some point during the next few days. Although the National Hurricane Center (NHC) forecast calls for Josephine to remain a tropical cyclone for the next three days, it is a distinct possibility the cyclone could dissipate sooner than that.

As of 5:00 p.m. EDT Friday, Tropical Storm Kyle had developed near 37.7°N 71.7°W, and was moving east-northeastward at about 17 mph. Maximum sustained winds were 35 knots (40 mph), with an estimated minimum pressure of 1008 mb. Kyle is a sheared somewhat tropical cyclone without a classic appearance, with the low-level center partially exposed to the west of the convective mass due to moderate southwesterly shear. This shear is likely to persist through the next few days, but the cyclone is expected to remain over warm waters during that time and some slight intensification appears likely. By late Sunday or early Monday, Kyle should move over cooler waters and and lose tropical characteristics as it accelerates east-northeastward.

The record for the earliest “L” named storm is currently held by Hurricane Luis of 1995, which developed on August 29. It remains a strong possibility that record will be broken, since the majority of Atlantic hurricane seasons have at least one tropical storm form in the last third of August.