Tropical Storm Lorenzo is expected to take an unusual path in the Atlantic — avoiding US landfall

MIAMI – Tropical Storm Lorenzo is beginning to weaken after it formed early Monday in the central tropical Atlantic, according to the National Hurricane Center (NHC).

The NHC said that Tropical Storm Lorenzo currently has maximum sustained winds of 45 mph.

A tropical storm has maximum sustained winds between 39 and 73 mph.

Lorenzo is more than 1,300 miles west of the Cabo Verde Islands, located off the western coast of Africa, and is moving northwestward at 15 mph.

According to the FOX Forecast Center, Lorenzo will likely perform an elongated clockwise loop in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, getting wrapped around a large area of high pressure, rather than tracking straight out to sea.

The system is expected to move northwestward on Tuesday before turning northward Tuesday night and then moving toward the northeast Wednes⁠⁠day and Thursday, remaining over the open waters of the Atlantic without posing a threat to land.

According to the NHC, Lorenzo will gradually weaken over the next few days.

Lorenzo developed from an area of thunderstorms that the NHC designated as Invest 97L over the weekend.

This development comes as a La Niña weather pattern emerges for a second consecutive year, which could have a noticeable impact on seasonal weather patterns.

Tropical Storm Lorenzo is the 12th named storm of the 2025 Atlantic hurricane season. 

Four of those storms became hurricanes, three of which reached major hurricane status of a Category 3 or higher on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale. 

The Atlantic hurricane season runs from June 1 to Nov. 30.