Tropical Storm Kyle forms off mid-Atlantic coast

The eleventh-named storm of the 2020 hurricane season formed Friday afternoon off the mid-Atlantic coast.

Tropical Storm Kyle, with maximum sustained winds of 40 miles per hour, is located 185 miles southeast of Atlantic City, according to the National Hurricane Center. The cyclone was born from a rapidly organizing low pressure system over the warm Gulf Stream current near North Carolina.

Forecasters say Kyle will head harmlessly out the sea, although the National Weather Service anticipates a moderate risk of rip currents on Saturday with a northeasterly breeze. No tropical watches or warnings are in effect.

Kyle is the earliest eleventh-named storm on record, breaking the record set by Hurricane Katrina in 2005 by 10 days. The other active storm in the Atlantic basin, Tropical Storm Josephine, poses no threat to the Eastern seaboard.

In a regularly scheduled update to its 2020 hurricane season outlook issued last week, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration forecasters have increased the predicted number of named storms and major hurricanes, saying it could rival the busiest ever.

The updated outlook calls for 19-25 named storms (winds of 39 mph or greater), of which 7 to 11 could become hurricanes (winds of 74 mph or greater), including 3 to 6 major hurricanes (winds of 111 mph or greater). The busiest hurricane season on record, 2005, generated 27 storms, including Hurricane Katrina.

FEMA offers the following easy, low-cost steps to get prepared now:

• Have a family discussion about what you will do, where you will go, and how you will communicate with each other when a storm threatens.
• Assemble a disaster kit.
• Know your evacuation route.
• Tune into your local news radio or download the FEMA app to get alerts.
• Listen to local authorities as a storm approaches.