MIAMI — Tropical Storm Danielle strengthened into a hurricane Friday morning — the first of an unusually quiet storm season.
The storm is not currently a threat to any land.
The storm's maximum sustained winds were clocked at 75 mph (120 kph), according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center.
The storm is centered about 885 miles (1,425 kilometers) west of the Azores and is drifting west at about 1 mph (about 2 kph). The hurricane center said the storm is expected to meander in the Atlantic over the next few days.
The tropical storm comes amid what had been a calm hurricane season. It is the first time since 1941 that the Atlantic has gone from July 3 to the end of August with no named storm, Colorado State University hurricane researcher Phil Klotzbach had told The Associated Press earlier.
There are no coastal watches or warnings in effect.
In the north Pacific, Tropical Storm Javier formed overnight. Forecasters said that late Thursday it was 210 miles (338 kilometers) southwest of Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, with maximum sustained winds of 45 mph (72 kph).
Javier is moving northwest at 9 mph (about 14 kph).
There are no coastal watches or warnings in effect.
Last year's hurricane season, by contrast, was an incredibly busy one for the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico.
Meteorologists tracking the tropics noted 2021 as the third-most active Atlantic hurricane season on record, with 21 named storms. Seven of those became hurricanes, including the deadly Cat 4 Hurricane Ida.
Ida, the most destructive tropical cyclone of the season, struck southeastern Louisiana in late August, 16 years to the day after Hurricane Katrina decimated the same region.
Meteorologists predicted the 2022 season would be an above-average year for hurricanes, but so far has been one of the quietest on record — a contrast with the seven years previously, which had above-average numbers of hurricanes and tropical storms. Hurricane season ends Nov. 30.