Tropical Storm Humberto has formed in the Eastern Atlantic, clocking winds as high as 40 mph.

Currently located near the Cape Verde Islands, The Weather Channel cautions that Humberto could strengthen to the first Atlantic hurricane of 2013 by Wednesday.

While current forecasts indicate that Humberto will move towards the northwest later this week, the storm is expected to stay east of Bermuda and away from both the Caribbean and mainland U.S., according to The Weather Channel.

Humberto is now 85 miles south-southeast of the Cape Verde Islands and Maio, Santiago, Fogo, and Brave are under a tropical storm warning, according to the USA Today.

The hurricane season in the Atlantic begin on June 1 and continues until the very end of November, as per the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's definition. The first storm of the 2013 season came in early June when Tropical Storm Andrea made landfall in Florida.

Despite the nine tropical storms since June, a full-fledged hurricane has yet to develop. The Weather Channel states that the average date for the year's inaugural hurricane is Aug. 10 but in can be as late as Sept. 10 (as with 1984's Diana).

However, as the category 5 Diana proved, a slow start to the season does not foretell a mild season.