Tropical Storm Peter forms and is the 16th Atlantic storm in 2021

How are hurricanes named?

2:12

(CNN) -

This year's busy hurricane season continues as activity increases in the Atlantic.

Tropical Storm Peter is the 16th storm of the 2021 Atlantic hurricane season. Peter became a storm Sunday morning after being a tropical depression.

Lying hundreds of miles northeast of the Leeward Islands, Peter had sustained winds of 45 mph on Sunday morning.

"Some strengthening is anticipated for about the next 24 hours as Peter drifts over warmer sea surface temperatures," said the National Hurricane Center (NHC).

There are currently no tropical watches or warnings in effect, but the storm could bring flood threats to parts of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands and the North Leeward Islands earlier this week.

"Rainfall around the southern periphery of Tropical Storm Peter may cause urban floodplains and small streams from late Sunday through Tuesday," according to the NHC.

advertising

In the middle of the week, the storm is expected to slowly weaken as it enters a more unfavorable environment.

• Climate change is making hurricanes stronger, slower and wetter;

  Ida was an example of this

Peter's current track forecast indicates a northward turn around Wednesday, minimizing the impact of the storm on land as it continues to wind its way across the Atlantic towards the end of the week.

Some coastal areas in the eastern US could have return currents this week due to waves that travel hundreds of kilometers from the storm.

A second tropical system forms in the Atlantic

Ships seek to study hurricanes from the inside 2:13

Following Peter across the Atlantic, another disturbance has made its way off the coast of Africa.

"The small low-pressure system that the NHC has been tracking for the past few days has acquired a well-defined circulation and enough organized deep convection to classify it as a tropical depression," the NHC said Sunday morning.

Tropical Depression 17 is expected to head toward the northwest Atlantic throughout the week, becoming a tropical storm on Sunday or Monday.

If it becomes a tropical storm, it will be called Rose.

After the middle of the week, the disturbance will weaken as it heads out to sea.

Peter Tropical Storm