While the Atlantic hurricane season doesn’t officially begin for another three weeks, there is a possibility of a system developing this weekend off the southeastern U.S. that could produce dangerous rip currents.
The National Hurricane Center issued a special tropical weather outlook on Tuesday morning about an area of low pressure is expected to develop during this weekend over the Atlantic Ocean a couple hundred miles northeast of the Bahamas.
Environmental conditions appear conducive for the system to acquire some subtropical characteristics as it moves northeastward through Sunday, and it has a 50 percent chance of formation during the next five days.
If the disturbance were to reach at least subtropical or tropical storm status, with sustained winds of greater than 35 mph, it would be named Arthur.
There has been at least one named tropical system ahead of June 1 in each of the last five years.
Forecasters at N.C. State University are calling for an active 2020 hurricane season in the Atlantic.
