MIAMI, FL (WCBD) – The National Hurricane Center (NHC) said Thursday an area of low pressure that formed in the Atlantic earlier this year was a subtropical storm.

Forecasters made the determination through what they said was a typical re-assessment of weather systems in the NHC’s area of responsibility.

Based on data and facts, hurricane specialists said the low-pressure system formed off the northeastern coast of the United States in mid-January should be designated as a subtropical storm.

“Specific information on the justification for the subtropical storm designation, as well as the system’s synoptic history and impacts, will be available in a Tropical Cyclone Report, which will likely be issued during the next couple of months,” said NHC forecasters.

While the storm is being numbered as the first cyclone of 2023, it will not be retroactively named. The next system would technically become the second storm of the year.

“If the system begins as a tropical depression, then it would be given the designation ‘TROPICAL DEPRESSION TWO’, and if it becomes a tropical storm, it would be given the name ‘ARLENE,’” explained forecasters.

The 2023 Atlantic Hurricane Season begins June 1^st and runs through the end of November.