Newly-formed Tropical Storm Francine was named in the Gulf of Mexico Monday morning.
Francine had maximum sustained winds of 60 mph as it moved north-northwest at 5 mph about 450 miles south-southwest of Cameron, Louisiana, according to the National Hurricane Center in Miami.
A hurricane watch was issued from Cameron eastward to Grand Isle in Louisiana.
Francine is expected to be just offshore of the northern Gulf Coast of Mexico through Tuesday, and approach the Louisiana and Upper Texas coastline on Wednesday.
The storm is expected to gradually strengthen over the next few days and was likely to become a hurricane before it reaches the northwestern U.S. Gulf Coast on Wednesday.
While it’s the sixth system of the season, the name may strike you as unfamiliar. If so, you’re correct.
This is the first time that Francine has appeared on the World Meteorological Organization’s list for Atlantic basin storm names.
It replaced Florence from the 2018 season due to its noteworthy impacts to North and South Carolina.
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Florence was retired at the end of that season, replaced with Francine.
The WMO names are used in six year cycles, thus making 2024 Francine’s debut.
Barring any extreme outcomes, the name will stay with the 2024 group and repeat again in 2030.
Ever wonder how hurricanes are named? The tradition can be traced back to the 1800s, when storms were named to honor Catholic saints, and evolved over the years.
