Florida

Tropical Storm Beta Forms in Gulf of Mexico

Beta formed just hours after Alpha did

NBC Universal, Inc.

What to Know

  • A Hurricane Watch was issued for parts of Texas as Tropical Storm Beta moved through the Gulf of Mexico
  • Subtropical Storm Alpha, the first name in the Greek alphabet, made landfall in Portugal, and later dissipated late Friday
  • Wilfred joined Hurricane Teddy in the Atlantic, but neither was expected to impact South Florida

Tropical Storm Beta has formed in the western Gulf of Mexico, the third storm that formed in just a few hours Friday in a record-setting Atlantic hurricane season.

Beta was located 305 miles east of the Mouth of Rio Grande and had winds of 60 mph, according to the latest advisory from the National Hurricane Center in Miami. It was moving north-northeast at 12 mph.

A Tropical Storm Watch was issued for parts of Texas, including a Hurricane Watch for Port Aransas to High Island.

Just hours before, Alpha formed and made landfall in Portugal before weakening to a post-tropical cyclone Friday night.

Wilfred, which was the last name on the Hurricane Center's list of storm names for the season, was "poorly organized" Friday. It's located 830 miles west-southwest of the Cabo Verde Islands with maximum sustained wind speed of 40 mph.

“Get out the Greek alphabet,” the National Hurricane Center tweeted Friday morning after using up traditional storm names.

The only time they had done this before was in the deadly 2005 hurricane season, during which Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans.

The prior record for the earliest 21st named storm was Wilma on October 8, 2005, according to Colorado State University hurricane researcher Phil Klotzbach.

Meanwhile, Hurricane Teddy was churning in the Atlantic Ocean as a Category 4 storm, but the system was not expected to impact South Florida and could make landfall in Canada.

The latest advisory from the NHC had the system with winds of 130 mph while moving to the northwest at 13 mph about 730 miles southeast of Bermuda. A Tropical Storm Watch was issued for Bermuda.

Steve MacLaughlin has the latest on the tropics and a cold front hitting South Florida next week.

Another system in the Atlantic basin could develop into a named storm later Friday. There's also another system coming off the coast of Africa.

NBC 6 and AP
Contact Us