TAMPA, Fla. - Within the past day, two tropical depressions formed and both have since strengthened into tropical storms.
Tropical Depression 17 formed in the Central Atlantic, and became Tropical Storm Paulette late Monday morning. It's the 16th named storm this season.
The storm will move slowly over the open Atlantic during the week.
Paulette won’t be an issue for the U.S. as the first cold fronts of the season are forming through the eastern U.S. and general troughing over this area should persist over the next seven to 10 days. This sets up a steering flow that acts to keep any tropical threats out to sea.
LINK: Track the tropics on MyFoxHurricane.com
Early Monday morning, Tropical Depression 18 formed over the far eastern Atlantic. By Monday afternoon, it too had grown to a tropical storm with winds of 40 mph.
Rene is expected to strengthen and bring tropical storm conditions to the Cabo Verde Islands.
Both Paulette and Rene set records for the earliest named 'P' and 'R' storms, respectively.
The NHC skips the letter 'Q' in the rotating name list.
LINK: Track the tropics on MyFoxHurricane.com