Tropical Storms Josephine, Kyle Form In Atlantic As Peak Hurricane Season Looms

Meteorologists are currently monitoring two major tropical storms in the Atlantic Ocean, though neither system poses a serious threat to reach the United States mainland.

Tropical storm Josephine formed Thursday in the western Atlantic. The storm has winds of 45 mph and was located north-northeast of the northern Leeward Islands as of early Saturday. Josephine is expected to bring one to three inches of rain to parts of the northern Leeward Islands, the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico.

The Florida Public Radio Emergency Network has said Josephine will "likely not pose a threat to the U.S.”

Tropical storm Kyle made its debut off the east coast on Friday. As of 11:00 a.m. EDT on Saturday, Kyle was 280 miles southeast of Nantucket, Massachusetts, and was traveling east-northeast at around 20 mph, according to the National Weather Service Northeast River Forecast Center.

Kyle is expected to become post-tropical by late Sunday or early Monday.

Although these two storms do not pose much of a threat, forecasters warn that Atlantic hurricane activity will ramp up in the coming weeks. Peak hurricane season typically lasts between mid-August and mid-October.

Six hurricanes threatened the U.S. in 2019, down from eight hurricanes in the region in 2018. There were 10 hurricanes in 2017, with Harvey, Irma and Maria among the costliest in U.S. history.