Early tropical storms form simultaneously in Atlantic, Pacific
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OAKLAND, Calif.—Tropical storms in the north Atlantic and eastern Pacific basins are marking the earliest simultaneous start of a hurricane season on record, according to catastrophe risk modeling firm EQECAT Inc.
The Oakland, Calif.-based company said Tropical Storm Aletta formed May 14 in the Pacific and Tropical Storm Alberto formed May 19 in the Atlantic. The official start of the 2012 hurricane season is June 1.
“While neither Tropical Storm Aletta nor Tropical Storm Alberto poses a threat of landfall, their pre-‘normal' hurricane season status is interesting,” EQECAT said in a statement. “This is the first year on record that a tropical storm has formed in both the Atlantic and eastern Pacific before the official start of their respective seasons.”
As of Monday, Alberto was a small storm 175 miles east of Jacksonville, Fla. Aletta was centered about 650 miles south-southwest of the southern tip of Mexico's Baja California before dissipating last week.
Likewise, Tropical Storm Bud, which was situated 485 miles south-southwest of Zihuatanejo on Mexico's Pacific Coast as of 11 a.m. EDT Wednesday, is expected to dissipate before reaching land.
