Tropical Storm Arlene became the first named storm of the 2023 hurricane season after forming Friday in the east-central Gulf of Mexico, according to the National Hurricane Center (NHC).
The big picture: NOAA's forecast for the season remains uncertain due to elevated temperatures in the Atlantic Ocean and a developing El Niño in the equatorial tropical Pacific Ocean.
Threats from the still-emerging Atlantic hurricane season are converging as oceanic and atmospheric trends underscore how climate change is creating unprecedented storm conditions.
The big picture: The tropical Atlantic is especially toasty, particularly temperatures in a crucial swath of the sea known as the "Main Development Region," where many tropical storms and hurricanes form and intensify.
