Tropical Storm Gonzalo forms in the Atlantic

Associated Press- The National Hurricane Center in Miami says Tropical Storm Gonzalo has formed the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. This sets a record for the earliest named seventh tropical storm of the Atlantic hurricane season.

The U.S. National Hurricane Center said the depression was centered Wednesday morning about 1,250 miles (2,010 kilometers) east of the Southern Windward Islands, with maximum sustained winds of 45 mph (75 kph), moving west-northwest at 12 mph (19 kph).

Gonzalo remained far offshore, on a path that could eventually take the storm into the lower Caribbean Sea by this weekend.

Gonzalo’s strengthening breaks a record set by Tropical Storm Gert, which formed on July 24, 2005. So far this year, Cristobal, Danielle, Edouard and Fay also set records for being the earliest named storms of their respective place in the alphabet.