As quickly as it came, Arlene is gone.
Tropical Storm Arlene, only the second named Atlantic tropical system to form in April since the advent of the satellite era (1960), formed Thursday in the central Atlantic, about midway between Bermuda and the Azores Islands. It was 2,300 miles east northeast of Jacksonville and grew to have 50 mph sustained winds Thursday night and Friday morning.
The storm was downgraded to a post-tropical cyclone Friday morning as it became embedded within a larger extratropical cyclone.
At the start of April, Colorado State University offered an early season hurricane forecast prediction that 2017 will be just shy of average. They think there will be 11 named storms, of which, four will become hurricanes, and two will become major hurricanes (Category 3 or stronger).
An average season in the Atlantic consists of 12 named storms, six hurricanes and two major hurricanes. The group’s predictions will be updated on June 1, July 3 and Aug. 2.
Hurricane season runs from June 1 to Nov. 30, but last year two storms formed before the official start. The first Atlantic storm of 2016 was Hurricane Alex, which made an unseasonable debut in January over the far eastern Atlantic. Tropical Storm Bonnie formed in May 2016 off the South Carolina coast.