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High chance of tropical development this weekend

Hurricane season officially begins June 1.

COLUMBIA, S.C. — The Atlantic hurricane season does not officially begin until June 1, but an area in the tropics is being watched for potential development this weekend.

The area of concern is northeast of the Bahamas. The National Hurricane Center gives the system a 70% chance of further development over the next five days.

An area of low pressure is expected to form over the weekend in the Atlantic off the coast of the Southeast.

Conditions are favorable for this system to get a little stronger, possibly becoming a subtropical storm.

A subtropical storm has some characteristics of a tropical storm, but it has a different structure. Its strongest winds are located farther from the center than a typical tropical storm.

The system is expected to move northeastward through Sunday and stay off the coast of the Southeast.

If the storm gets strong enough, it will be called Arthur. 

Early tropical and subtropical systems have been common over the last five years.

Early tropical activity does not mean it will be a busy season. However, seasonal outlooks have indicated this hurricane season may be more active than normal.

The NHC will issue its 2020 seasonal outlook on May 21.

Credit: WLTX

The Atlantic has had six storms form before the official start of hurricane season since 2015, four of those have developed off the coast of the Southeast.

Last year, Subtropical Storm Andrea formed on May 20.

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