May 9, 2007, 19:11 GMT
Washington - Three weeks before the official start of hurricane season, Subtropical Storm Andrea on Wednesday became the year's first named storm.
The weak, slow-moving storm was about 190 kilometres off the coast of northeast Florida and southeast Georgia, the National Hurricane Centre in Miami said.
The storm was moving at about 5 kilometres per hour with maximum winds of 72 kilometres per hour and was expected to remain well off shore through at least Thursday morning.
Rains were expected to stay off shore, with only two to four centimetres of rain falling on area beaches. The rains were unlikely to help quell wildfires in parts of northern Florida, the National Weather Service said.
The hurricane season will officially begin June 1 and last through November.
The 2006 season saw nine named storms, following an especially harsh season in 2005 with 27 named storms.
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