Tropical storm Debby has developed in the eastern Atlantic 500 kilometers (300 miles) west of the Cape Verde Islands, the Miami-based National Hurricane Center said Wednesday, adding that it was the fourth named storm of the 2006 season.
With wind speeds clocking near 65 kilometers (40 miles) per hours, Debby was not posing any immediate threat to populated areas and was moving west-northwestward at about 30 kilometers (18 miles) per hour.
Weather forecasters have predicted Debby's path will take it over the Atlantic Ocean, far from the Caribbean Islands and the US mainland.
The 2006 hurricane season, which began on June 1, has got off to a comparatively quiet start from the 2005 season, when, by August 23, there had been six tropical storms and five hurricanes, including Katrina which on August 29 devastated the US Gulf Coast and New Orleans, killing an estimated 1,500 people.
Despite the quiet start, US weather authorities have predicted an above-normal number of storms by the time the 2006 season ends November 30.
An average hurricane season has 11 named storms, including six hurricanes. In 2005, there were a record-breaking 28 named storms, including 15 hurricanes, seven of which were major.
Source: Agence France-Presse
