Tropical Storm Bret Forms Near Bahamas

Tropical Storm Bret is the second named storm of the 2011 Atlantic storm season. The National Hurricane Center reports wind speeds as high as 50 mph, and the storm is expected to intensify for the next 36 hours, but is expected to remain at tropical-storm strength.

Tropical Storm Bret will track up and away from the U.S. East Coast over the next two days and isn’t expected to pose much of a risk for landfall, according to Risk Management Services (RMS). However, RMS notes that there is still a high degree of uncertainty about the storm’s potential for intensification and the track it will ultimately take. Moderate rainfall will likely affect the Bahamas today, bringing total rain accumulations of 2-4 inches.