A set of showers and thunderstorms became more organized overnight, and Thursday afternoon the National Hurricane Center determined that a tropical depression had formed. Winds at mid-afternoon were topping out at about 35 mph.

Throughout the day today, winds held sustained at 35mph.Hurricane Hunters on their latest trip found sustained winds at 40mph, TD2 is now Tropical Storm Arlene. The first named storm of the 2023 hurricane season.

All forecast lead to the Tropical storm heading south and remain over Gulf waters. By this weekend, however, conditions should inhibit further development, the National Hurricane Center said. 

Miss our stories previewing the hurricane season? Go to WBRZ's Hurricane Center page to see them.

While this week's Gulf disturbance doesn't pose a threat to Louisiana at this time, it'd still be a good idea to review hurricane safety tips. You can start here for an overview, and the Red Stick Ready website has a checklist.

The Atlantic basin has already had its first disturbance of 2023, but the January system didn't develop into a tropical storm. The next storm that grows to tropical storm strength (39 mph winds) will be named Arlene. The full list of storm names for 2023: Arlene, Bret, Cindy, Don, Emily, Franklin, Gert, Harold, Idalia, Jose, Katia, Lee, Margot, Nigel, Ophelia, Philippe, Rina, Sean, Tammy, Vince and Whitney. 

In a typical year, the Atlantic basin has 14 named tropical storms, seven hurricanes and three major hurricanes.