Gordon was a tropical storm in the northern Atlantic Ocean as of Friday morning eastern time, the National Hurricane Center said in its latest advisory.

The tropical storm had sustained winds of 40 miles per hour.

Where will it rain?

Flash flooding can occur far inland and away from the storm’s center. Even weaker storms can produce excessive rainfall that can flood low-lying areas.

What does the storm look like from above?

Satellite images can help determine the strength, size, and coherence of a storm. The stronger a storm becomes, the more likely it is that an eye will form in the middle. If the eye appears symmetrical, it often means that the storm is not encountering anything that could weaken it.

In late May, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicted there would be 17 to 25 named storms this year, a higher than normal number.

This season follows an overactive year, with 20 named storms — including an early storm that was later officially dubbed “Unnamed.” It was the eighth consecutive year that the average of 14 named storms was exceeded. Only one hurricane, Idalia, made landfall in the United States.

Normally, the El Niño pattern in effect last season would have suppressed hurricanes and reduced the number of storms in a season. But in 2023, warm ocean temperatures in the Atlantic have weakened El Niño’s usual effect of thwarting storms.

The warm ocean temperatures that fueled last year’s season warmed even more at the start of this season, giving meteorologists more confidence that more storms would form this year. The higher sea surface temperatures could also strengthen storms faster than normal.

To make matters worse, last year’s El Niño pattern is also waning, likely creating a more conducive atmosphere for storm formation and intensification.

Hurricanes need a calm environment to form, and in the Atlantic Ocean, a strong El Niño increases the amount of wind shear — a change in wind speed and/or direction with height — that disrupts a storm’s ability to coalesce. Without an El Niño this year, clouds are more likely to rise sky-high to sustain a powerful cyclone.