Tropical Storm Kate formed in the Atlantic Ocean near the Central Bahamas Monday morning, though it is unlikely to directly impact the U.S., the National Hurricane Center said. As of 10 a.m. ET, the storm had a maximum sustained wind speed of 45 mph and was located 15 miles east-northeast of Cat Island in the Bahamas, reported USA Today. Kate was last seen moving to the Northwest at 15 mph.
Rain squalls accompanying Kate will graze the eastern islands of the Bahamas into Monday night, causing Tropical storm warnings to be issued for sections of the central and western Bahamas.
Seas will also build and become a concern for bathers, boathers and cruise interests from the Bahamas to Bermuda, as well as along the southern U.S. coast.
"Kate will move away from the northern Bahamas Tuesday morning and should remain over warm water to the southwest and west of Bermuda Tuesday into Tuesday night," said AccuWeather Hurricane Expert Dan Kottlowski, noting that it will begin curving away from the U.S. on Tuesday.
Kate is expected to be the 11th system to form during the 2015 Atlantic hurricane season, which ends Nov. 30.
"Besides Kate, we see no support for other tropical development across the Atlantic Basin through the middle of November," Kottlowski added.
Other than Kate, this season has seen 10 other tropical storms and three hurricanes, two of which became major hurricanes this season, according to Weather Underground. The last system to form was Joaquin, which hit the Bahamas a month ago and sent tropical moisture into the Southern states, causing massive flooding.
