Tropical Storm Chris Forms in the Atlantic

Tropical Storm Chris, the third named storm of the 2012 Hurricane Season formed Tuesday in the Atlantic Ocean, according to the National Hurricane Center.

Chris was about 560 miles south southwest of Cape Race, Newfoundland, Canada Tuesday around 5 p.m. Chris was not considered to be a threat to land and no coastal watches or warnings are in effect at this time.

Forecasts predict Chris will move east at about 8 miles an hour with an increase in the speed of its forward movement to the east coming in the next 24 hours. Wednesday night they expect Chris to turn northeast, followed by a more northerly turn on Thursday.

Maximum sustained winds are 45 mph and extend outward from the center approximately 70 miles.

Only two other times since record keeping began has the third named storm of a hurricane season formed earlier than Chris, according to the Weather Channel.