Tropical storm Fiona just formed in the Atlantic Ocean

The Associated Press reports a depression off the coast of Africa has evolved into Tropical Storm Fiona, the sixth named storm of this hurricane season.

According to meteorologist Brian McNoldy, writing for the Washington Post earlier today when the storm was still a depression, Fiona is not likely to strike land.

The storm is still well over 1600 miles east of the Lesser Antilles - the farthest reach of the Caribbean - and likely to veer into the North Atlantic, according to weather models.

It's not unheard-of for such far-flung storms to strike land, McNoldy notes. Of the 69 that have formed in the last 30 years, five have made landfall: Gloria in 1985, Hugo in 1989, Georges in 1998, Ivan in 2004, and Ike in 2008.

The NOAA advisory reports that the storm has maximum wind speeds of 50 miles per hour right now, and could strengthen significantly in the next few days.

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