Tropical Storm Fay edges north from off North Carolina coast

MIAMI — Tropical Storm Fay, the sixth named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season, began to edge away from the North Carolina coast Thursday evening, its sights set on the mid-Atlantic coast and southern New England.

The National Hurricane Center in Miami said Fay was about 70 miles east of Cape Hatteras in its 8 p.m. advisory, only hours after forecasters announced the storm’s formation. The storm had top sustained wind of 45 mph and was moving to the north at 8 mph.

A tropical storm warning was issued Thursday afternoon from Cape May, N.J., to Watch Hill, R.I. The warning area includes Long Island and the Long Island Sound in New York, forecasters said.

At 5 p.m. EDT, Tropical Storm #Fay was located about 40 miles east-northeast from Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, and moving North at a speed of 7 mph with sustained winds of 45 miles per hour: https://t.co/WQnMsPxAnl pic.twitter.com/HqJVzbUfIf

— AccuWeather (@breakingweather) July 9, 2020

According to forecasters, Fay will undergo slight strengthening into Friday before the center moves inland and weakens. The hurricane center said the storm will produce between 3 and 5 inches of rain along and near its track, creating the potential for flash flooding where the heaviest rain falls.

Fay’s formation Thursday means it is the earliest sixth-named storm on record, according to Colorado State University hurricane researcher Phil Klotzbach. The previous record was Franklin on July 22, 2005, Klotzbach tweeted.

Two named storms formed before the official June 1 start of the hurricane season. None of this season’s previous five named storms strengthened into hurricanes.