Tropical Storm Kate forms in Atlantic

Tropical Storm Kate formed Monday morning in the Atlantic Ocean near the Bahamas, the National Hurricane Center said. It is unlikely to directly impact the U.S.

As of 1 p.m. ET, the storm had maximum sustained winds of 45 mph and was located 30 miles east-southeast of Eleuthera Island in the Bahamas. Kate was moving to the northwest at 15 mph.

Rain squalls accompanying Kate will graze the eastern islands of the Bahamas into Monday night, AccuWeather said. Tropical storm warnings have been hoisted for portions of the central and western Bahamas, the hurricane center reported.

Seas will also build and become a concern for swimmers, boaters and cruise interests along the Southeast coast of the U.S. and from the Bahamas to Bermuda. Swells from Kate "are likely to cause life-threatening surf and rip current conditions" in the Bahamas, the hurricane center warned.

"Kate will move away from the northern Bahamas Tuesday morning and should remain over warm water to the southwest and west of Bermuda Tuesday into Tuesday night," according to AccuWeather Hurricane Expert Dan Kottlowski. It will begin curving away from the U.S. on Tuesday, he said.

Kate, the 11th named storm of the 2015 Atlantic hurricane season, is the first tropical system in the Atlantic since Joaquin pounded the Bahamas about a month ago.

Kate could prove to be the last gasp of the season, which officially ends on Nov. 30. "Besides Kate, we see no support for other tropical development across the Atlantic basin through the middle of November," Kottlowski added.