Danielle becomes the first Atlantic hurricane of the season, NOAA says

• Danielle is the first hurricane of the 2022 Atlantic hurricane season.
• The last time there were no named storms between July 3 and August 30 was 1941, a researcher told The Associated Press.

The first Atlantic hurricane of the season is here, and its name is Danielle.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Hurricane Center officially moved Danielle from tropical storm to hurricane on Friday as its maximum wind gusts increased to 75 miles per hour.

On Friday, NOAA said Danielle is forecast to continue strengthening, with winds expected to hit 100 miles per hour over the next 48 hours, making it a Category 2 storm.

"The hurricane is forecast to meander over the open Atlantic during the next couple of days, then slowly turn toward the northeast early next week," according to NOAA. The storm is now about 885 miles west of the Azores, an island chain to the west of Portugal, and is crawling west at a speed of about 1 mile per hour.

Satellite images from the Cooperative Institute for Research in the Atmosphere at Colorado State and NOAA, above, show Danielle strengthening into a hurricane.

Danielle is the first hurricane in an unusually quiet Atlantic hurricane season, which runs from June 1 through November 30. The last time there were no named storms between July 3 and August 30 was 1941, Phil Klotzbach, a Colorado State University hurricane researcher, told The Associated Press.

In March, AccuWeather forecasters anticipated an abnormally active hurricane season this year, predicting between 16 to 20 tropical storms would form between June and November.

Warmer ocean waters fuel storms

The latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report said warming waters due to human-caused climate change are leading to more frequent and severe hurricane seasons. Rising global temperatures warm up ocean waters, intensifying how much heat gets transferred into the air. As a storm system travels across warm oceans, it pulls in more water vapor and heat, fueling faster wind speeds and heavier rainfall once the storm hits land.

The 2021 Atlantic hurricane season was the third-most active Atlantic hurricane season on record with 21 named storms. With 30 named storms, the 2020 season was the most active on record, according to NOAA.

So far, though, there are currently no coastal watches or warnings in place for Hurricane Danielle, according to NOAA. The next named storms that take shape in the Atlantic will be called Earl and Fiona.