Cristobal Forms, Three Systems Are Now Brewing in the Atlantic at Once
Christy Bowen
2 hours agoTropical Storm Cristobal is here. After a calm few weeks, the third named feature of the 2026 Atlantic season came to life in an area northeast of Bermuda. While Cristobal poses no threat to land, forecasters warn that a developing storm to the south could impact parts of the Caribbean this weekend.
Cristobal Could Impact Western Europe
A gale center spinning in the central Atlantic about 1,000 miles from Bermuda took on tropical characteristics to become the first named feature since Tropical Storm Bertha fell apart in mid-July. As of late Wednesday, Cristobal was packing maximum sustained winds of 45 mph as it roared to the east at a fast clip of about 25 mph. Meteorologists are warning that although Cristobal poses no threat to Bermuda or the U.S., some parts of Europe may be dealing with its indirect impacts in the coming days.
There is a small chance that what is left of Cristobal could merge with another storm and dump rain across Ireland and the United Kingdom early in the week. It has been an extremely hot and dry summer for much of Europe, meaning that any moisture would be a welcome sight. A large portion of western Europe notched its hottest June and July on the record books.
While Cristobal is nothing to be concerned about in the Caribbean and the U.S., the same cannot be said about a tropical wave that is coming in behind this feature. This wave, currently churning well east of the Caribbean, is entering a zone that is favorable for further development later in the week. As such, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) has assigned this system a high chance of development.
The next name up on the list of 2026 names in the Atlantic is Dolly.