Meet Humberto, the First Hurricane of the Season

Late for the first hurricane, but not the latest

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Early Wednesday morning, scientists at the National Hurricane Center in Miami upgraded Tropical Storm Humberto to hurricane status, making it the first of the year during a season when hurricanes generally occur earlier and more frequently.

In fact, Humberto fell just a few hours short of setting the record for the latest first hurricane to form in the Atlantic Ocean during the hurricane season, which runs from June through November. If Humberto had been declared a hurricane after 8 a.m. Wednesday, it would have been officially ranked the latest inaugural hurricane on record, CNN reports.

Despite its 75 mph winds, Humberto isn’t likely to cause major damage, scientists say. The storm, which on Wednesday morning was some 300 miles off the coast of the Cape Verde Islands near Africa, is expected to weaken into a tropical storm over the weekend.

[CNN]