Tropical Storm Franklin Forms in the Atlantic

Photos

Debris from Hurricane Jeanne (2004)

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uploaded by debwire

Yes folks, there's another storm brewing and as of a 6:55 p.m. EST update, it's been upgraded from Tropical Depression #6 to Tropical Storm Franklin:

Some helpful links:

Gulf of Mexico Visible Loop

Western Atlantic Visible Loop

National Hurricane Center 

Tropical GOES

And a serious weather enthusiast site: Central Florida Hurricane Center

Skeetobite Maps

As a side note, the projected circular path of Franklin is a little reminiscent of Hurricane Jeanne's little dance in the Atlantic last year before heading across the state of Florida.

Forming in the Southwestern Caribbean is another system that is expected to become Tropical Depression #7.

And if that's not enough, there's a system forming off the coast of Africa that we will begin watching next week.

This is a record-breaker . . . never before have there been 6 named storms this early in hurricane season. So far this month, July 1st has been the only day we haven't been tracking either a tropical depression, tropical storm or actual hurricane.

Models are all over the place with this one. Example (from this source):

The National Hurricane Center's current (July 22nd) 5-day map indicates that Franklin may target Bermuda and then be nothing more than a fish spinner: