Tropical Storm Sally could bring 'life threatening storm' along Gulf Coast on Monday

The peak of hurricane season is upon us and the tropics are as active as ever.

Sept. 11 was one of the most active points in the annual hurricane season. This year's hurricane season is on pace to be the most active of all time, so it's no wonder that the tropics remain very busy.

The National Hurricane Center now says seven tropical waves have formed in the Atlantic storm basin.

Tropical Depression 19 has formed into Tropical Storm Sally early Saturday afternoon. As of 8 p.m., Sally is traveling west-northwest at 8 mph with maximum sustained winds of 40 mph.

The system is expected to strengthen to a hurricane by late Monday and potentially bring "life-threatening storm surges and hurricane-force winds" along portions of the Gulf of Mexico.

Sally is the earliest "S" storm in recorded history.

Tropical Depression 19 formed near the Bahamas Friday afternoon.

Preparing your hurricane kit during COVID-19

Since we are still dealing with COVID-19 during hurricane season your hurricane kit might look a little different this year.

Next up is Paulette, which is now a category one hurricane, with maximum sustained winds of 75 miles per hour. Paulette is moving west-northwest at 14 mph.

Paulette is expected to approach the Bermuda beginning Sunday evening. A hurricane warning is currently in effect for the island.

After hitting Bermuda, the storm is expected to turn north and stay away from the United States. Swells from Paulette are expected to impact parts of the Leeward Islands, the Greater Antilles, the Bahamas, Bermuda and the southeastern United States.

Rene is currently a tropical depression out in the Atlantic Ocean moving northwest at 13 mph with maximum sustained winds of 35 mph.

What happens when we run out of letters of the alphabet for hurricane names?

It turns out the list starts over, with the Greek Alphabet. We'll look at the first six names on that list:

The west coast of Africa is busy; there are two tropical waves developing near the continent.

One tropical wave located several hundred miles southwest of the Cabo Verde Islands has an 80 percent chance of formation in the next 48 hours.

The other wave off Africa's coast has a 30 percent chance of formation in the next 48 hours but a 60 percent chance through the next five days.

The next storm to become a tropical storm will be named Teddy, meaning there are only three more letters in the alphabet for storm names this year (Teddy, Vicky, Wilfred). Here's what happens if we run out of names.

The last time that happened was 2005--which is the current record holder for the most active hurricane season ever.