With just over two weeks before the start of the 2020 Atlantic hurricane season, forecasters are monitoring an area off Florida and the Bahamas where the first named storm is forecast to develop by this weekend.

The National Hurricane Center (NHC) has started issuing tropical outlooks for an area of low pressure expected several hundred miles northeast of the Bahamas late this week.

The National Hurricane Center anticipates either a tropical or a subtropical storm to form this weekend. As of last night, the NHC said that environmental conditions appear conducive for its gradual development.

Forecasters have said there is a 70 percent chance that a subtropical depression or storm forms through the next five days while the system moves northeastward over the western Atlantic away from the U.S.

If the system acquires enough tropical characteristics to become a tropical or subtropical Storm, forecasters will name it “Arthur.”

The 2020 Atlantic Hurricane Season runs from June 1 to Nov. 30 and will include the names: Arthur, Bertha, Cristobal, Dolly, Edouard, Fay, Gonzalo, Hanna, Isaias, Josephine, Kyle, Laura, Marco, Nana, Omar, Paulette, Rene, Sally, Teddy, Vicky and Wilfred.