There’s a new named storm in the Atlantic — Subtropical Storm Patty.

Patty is in the northern Atlantic and will move close enough to the Azores that tropical storm warnings have been issued for the islands.

Patty is a subtropical storm, which means it has some of the characteristics of a fully tropical system but not all of them. Patty is the first subtropical storm of the season in the Atlantic.

The National Hurricane Center also continued to watch a system in the western Caribbean Sea that was widely believed would get the name Patty before it was beaten to the punch by the north Atlantic storm.

The Caribbean system could become a tropical depression in the next few days, and if it becomes a tropical storm it will get the name Rafael.

SUBTROPICAL STORM PATTY

Patty got its name earlier today and will bring wind and rain to the Azores over the weekend, according to the hurricane center.

As of 4 a.m. CDT, Subtropical Storm Patty was located about 420 miles west-northwest of the Azores and was tracking to the east-northeast at 7 mph.

Patty had sustained winds of 50 mph. The hurricane center doesn’t expect Patty to get much stronger, and it should be a short-lived storm.

The hurricane center said tropical storm conditions will be possible in the Azores over the weekend, including 1-2 inches of rain, rough seas and rip currents.

WESTERN CARIBBEAN

The hurricane center also continued to track an area of low pressure in the southwestern Caribbean Sea.

Forecasters expect it to continue to get more organized, and it could become a tropical depression in the next few days.

It is forecast to track to the north or northwest in the western Caribbean and could bring heavy rain to several areas including Jamaica, Hispaniola and Cuba.

It’s too soon to say if it could eventually make it into the Gulf of Mexico and become a concern for the U.S.

A system 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 list is Rafael.

The hurricane center on Saturday was also tracking a second disturbance near Puerto Rico and Hispaniola. It could also slowly develop as it tracks to the west-northwest.

However, forecasters think it will merge with the western Caribbean system early next week, and it has only a 10 percent chance of becoming a tropical depression.

It could bring heavy rain to Puerto Rico, the Leeward Islands, Hispaniola, the Bahamas and eastern Cuba.

The Atlantic hurricane season still has a few weeks to go. The last day will be Nov. 30.