Subtropical Storm Andrea formed off the southeastern US coast Wednesday, becoming the first named storm of the year three weeks before the Atlantic hurricane season officially starts.
On Wednesday morning, the storm was 240 kilometers (150 miles) northeast of Daytona Beach, Florida, and packed sustained winds of 75 kilometers (45 miles) per hour, according to the National Hurricane Center.
Forecasters have warned the six-month Atlantic hurricane season that starts on June 1 would be a very active one, and predicted 17 named storms would form of which nine could become hurricanes, highly likely to strike Caribbean and US coasts.
