Aug. 24 (UPI) — The season’s sixth named storm, Tropical Storm Fernand, gained a bit of strength Sunday night in the Atlantic Ocean but is not expected to make landfall before dying out next week.

The tropical storm had maximum sustained winds of 50 mph while located about 320 miles east of Bermuda and moving north-northeast at 13 mph, the National Hurricane Center said in its 11 p.m. EDT advisory.

Tropical storm-force winds extend outward about 60 miles from the storm’s eye, the NHC said.

“On the forecast track, Fernand should move across the open waters of the subtropical central Atlantic well east and northeast of Bermuda,” it said.

No coastal watches or warnings were in effect, and the storm likely will remain at sea throughout its life.

The forecasters said in a discussion on the storm that they expect it to continue to increase in strength over the next 12 to 24 hours as it moves over warm water, though it should weaken starting late Monday or Tuesday as it travels over a sea surface where temperatures are expected to decrease significantly.

“This will cause the system to weaken, and become post-tropical on Wednesday,” the NHC said.

The storm system began forming as Hurricane Eric affected areas along the East Coast without making landfall last week. The hurricane was the season’s first and briefly reached Category 4 status with maximum sustained winds of up to 150 mph.

Colorado State University climatologists in April predicted this year’s storm season will produce 17 named storms, including nine hurricanes.

The climatologists predicted four hurricanes would reach “major” Category 3 storm status with maximum sustained winds of at least 111 mph.

The annual Atlantic storm season runs from June 1 to Nov. 30. Last year produced 18 named storms, including 11 hurricanes.

Five hurricanes became major hurricanes of Category 3 or higher, including the highly destructive Hurricanes Helene and Milton.