MACON, Ga. — June 2, 2023 2:00 PM Update: Tropical Storm Arlene has now formed in the Central Gulf of Mexico. Arlene has maximum sustained winds of up to 40 MPH. The pressure has dropped, which strengthened the pressure gradient which resulted in the stronger wind speeds compared to this morning.
This system is still moving southward at 5 MPH. This is the first named Tropical Storm in the 2023 Atlantic Hurricane Season. The mainland is not expected to feel any impacts.
The area of low pressure will be significantly weaker as it tracks over the western half of Cuba.
June 2, 2023 - 5 AM Update: Tropical Depression Two is located in the Gulf of Mexico just west of the Florida peninsula with maximum sustained winds of 35 mph.
Two is moving slowly at 5 MPH southward away from the United States. The mainland is not expected to feel any impacts.
The National Hurricane Center forecasts this system to weaken and will not exceed winds of 40 mph to achieve "tropical storm" criteria. Although if it were to be a named storm, the first name on our 2023 Atlantic Hurricane Names List is Arlene.
It has the "two" designation because the National Hurricane Center retroactively classified a system from January.
The area of low pressure will be significantly weaker as it tracks over the western half of Cuba.
