Tropical storm Gonzalo is expected to turn into a hurricane over the Atlantic Ocean by Thursday, the US National Hurricane Centre (NHC) said on Wednesday.
A hurricane watch has been issued for nearby Barbados, it added.
Tropical Storm Gonzalo expected to become a hurricane on Thursday. A hurricane watch has been issued for Barbados. Here is the latest forecast. Visit https://t.co/tW4KeFW0gB for details. pic.twitter.com/tpl4lL6Mpb
— National Hurricane Center (@NHC_Atlantic) July 23, 2020
Gonzalo, which is set to become the first hurricane of the season, broke the record for being the earliest seventh named storm to form over the Atlantic. The previous record was set by Tropical Storm Gert in 2005.
Gonzalo was first supposed to remain a storm, but the NHC changed its forecast, as it was moving to the west-northwest at about 12 kmh (14 mph). It is expected to reach the southern Caribbean by the end of the week.
