Forecasters watch brewing North Atlantic system

Friday, July 7, 2017, 1:45 PM - After days under the watchful eye of forecasters, with the expectation that it would become a full-fledged tropical storm, a system in the North Atlantic is now looking less likely to cross that threshold.

Initially known as "Disturbance 1," the system appeared several days ago and was forecast with a high chance to become tropical, and it has now become Tropical Depression 4.

As of 11 a.m. Friday, it was some 1,110 km east of the Lesser Antilles, with maximum sustained winds of 45 km/h, though the U.S. National Hurricane Center says it is no longer expected to become a tropical storm, and is likely to soon degenerate into a tropical depression.

Had the disturbance become a tropical storm, it would have been the fourth named storm of the 2017 Atlantic hurricane season, taking the name "Don."

The three tropical storms that have formed in the Atlantic basin so far have not achieved full hurricane status, remaining as tropical storm status for their duration. Tropical Storm Arlene mostly stayed far out in the Atlantic when it formed in April. Meanwhile, Bret skirted the coast of northern South America and Cindy made landfall on the U.S. Gulf Coast near the Louisiana/Texas border, bringing extreme rainfall.

Bret was blamed for two deaths in Trinidad and Tobago, while Cindy's impact on the U.S. Gulf resulted in at least two deaths.

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SOURCE: National Hurricane Center