Could there be a tropical storm brewing in the Atlantic?

It’s early in the season, but yes. If fact, the National Hurricane Center said it’s possible a tropical depression could form in the central tropical Atlantic next week.

The hurricane center is tracking a tropical disturbance that on Friday was close to the west coast of Africa.

As of Friday afternoon it had a 60 percent chance of becoming a tropical depression or storm in the next week.

It’s too soon to say if the system could eventually affect the U.S.

What’s unusual about this system is how far east it is. Typically this time of the year tropical systems are more likely to get their start in the Caribbean, western Atlantic or Gulf of Mexico.

It’s not until later in the season that what are sometimes called Cape Verde hurricanes (or Cabo Verde these days) are more common.

The hurricane center said the tropical wave was disorganized as of Friday afternoon. But conditions will favor it gradually getting its act together as it tracks to the west or west-northwest at 15 to 20 mph.

A tropical depression could form by the early or mid part of next week, forecasters said.

A storm has to have a defined center of circulation and winds of at least 39 mph to become a tropical storm and get a name.

The next name on the 2023 Atlantic storm list is Bret.

There have already been two storms so far in 2023. One was an unnamed subtropical system off the Northeast U.S. coast in January that didn’t affect land.

The second was Tropical Storm Arlene early this month. Arlene was a weak tropical storm that formed in the eastern Gulf and dissipated shortly thereafter. It did bring a lot of rain to parts of Florida, however.

The Atlantic hurricane season began on June 1 and will last until Nov. 30.

NOAA is forecasting a near-average season, with 12-17 named storms, five to nine hurricanes and one to four major hurricanes.