Wilfred forms in eastern Atlantic; Subtropical Storm Alpha to hit Portugal; Tropical Storm Beta forms in the Gulf

ORLANDO, Fla. — Tropical Storm Wilfred formed in the far eastern Atlantic Ocean on Friday morning. Later Friday, Subtropical Storm Alpha formed near Portugal. On Friday afternoon, Tropical Storm Beta formed in the Gulf. We explain the outlook for each of the three systems below:

TD-22 now upgraded to Tropical Storm Beta pic.twitter.com/h5Udg4ZmmE
— Kassandra Crimi (@KCrimiWFTV) September 18, 2020

NOTA EN ESPAÑOL: Trópico hiperactivo: Wilfred, Alfa y otra tormenta sobre el Golfo de México

Tropical Storm Beta

Tropical Depression 22 is now Tropical Storm Beta.

This system will stay over the western Gulf of Mexico, moving very slowly through the weekend.

It is likely that this will be the next named storm of the season, and the system will slowly continue to gain strength and become better organized. By Saturday, it should be a tropical storm. The next name on the list is Beta, since Wilfred form in the far eastern Atlantic and Alpha formed near Portugal. the last time we had to use the greek alphabet for names was in 2005.

This system is forecast to move very slowly toward the northeast, coming close to the central Gulf of Mexico on Saturday. Most meteorological computer models show a turn to the west on Sunday, which could place this system as a strong tropical storm or hurricane somewhere between northeastern Mexico and the central Texas coast early next week.

Tropical Storm Wilfred

Tropical Storm Wilfred forms Friday morning over the far eastern Atlantic. This system is forecast to continue moving northwest. The National Hurricane Center’s forecast shows that this storm will dissipate this system by early next week as wind shear is expected to increase.

Short-lived storm caught in a bigger low-pressure system... Rare. #Alpha
This means that the Gulf of Mexico system will be Beta... maybe. I mean it's 2020 and something else can pop up. pic.twitter.com/lIT5Rv6PnD
— Irene Sans (@IreneSans) September 18, 2020

Subtropical Storm Alpha

A rare subtropical storm formed just off the coast of Portugal. This storm will be a remnant low by Saturday morning. The National Hurricane Center initiated advisories on this system the small system that is expected to bring rain and strong winds to Portugal during the next 24 hours.