Tropical Storm Cindy has gained some strength over the Atlantic Ocean.

As of the advisory on Friday at 11 p.m., Cindy was 735 miles east of the Lesser Antilles and had maximum sustained winds of 50 mph. The storm was moving west-northwest at 15 mph.

"A west-northwestward to northwestward motion is expected over the next few days. On the forecast track, the system is expected to remain well east and northeast of the northern Leeward Islands through early next week," the National Hurricane Center said.

Forecasters say gradual strengthening is expected in the next couple of days. However, beyond the next 48 hours, the deep-layer shear will combine with dry air, and likely weaken Cindy early next week.

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Tropical Storm Cindy forms behind Bret in an early and aggressive start to Atlantic hurricane season

Cindy is on Tropical Storm Bret's heels. Forecasters say it is the first time there are two storms in the tropical Atlantic in June since record keeping began in 1851.

The historic event signals an early and aggressive start to the Atlantic hurricane season that began on June 1 and that usually peaks from mid-August to mid-October. Some forecasters blamed unusually high sea temperatures for the rare development.

“The Atlantic is awfully warm this year,” said Kerry Emanuel, a meteorologist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, adding that it’s partly a result of global warming, natural variability and the ocean’s recovering from sulfate aerosols pollution that cooled it decades ago.

Studies show that a warmer world is producing wetter and more intense hurricanes, with scientists still trying to figure out if climate change alters how many storms brew. Because of more early and pre-season storms, the National Hurricane Center has started issuing advisories earlier in the year, with experts recently discussing the idea of declaring the start of the hurricane season earlier.

Emanuel noted that in the entire Atlantic Ocean, not just the tropical Atlantic, it’s not unusual to have storms in June. It has happened 34 times — including this year — since 1851, he said.

Cindy is expected to remain a tropical storm as it heads northeast into open waters.

Meanwhile, Bret brought winds, heavy rain and swells of up to 15 feet early Friday to islands in the eastern Caribbean that shut down to prepare for potential landslides and flooding. Officials in the French Caribbean island of Martinique said they were searching for four people who apparently were aboard a lifeboat after their catamaran sank during the storm.

The National Hurricane Center announced Monday that Tropical Depression 3 has progressed into Tropical Storm Bret.

As of Monday night, Bret was 1,210 miles east of the Southern Windward Islands and had maximum sustained winds of 40 mph. It was moving west at 18 mph.

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According to NHC, Bret could strengthen into a hurricane.

"This motion is expected to continue for the next several days. On the forecast track, the system should be approaching the Lesser Antilles late this week," the NHC said. "Strengthening is forecast, and Bret could become a hurricane in a couple of days."

Forecasters expect Bret to strengthen over the next two days, reaching Category 1 hurricane strength of 74 mph by Wednesday night. Because of wind shear, the storm is not expected to strengthen into a Category 2 storm.

Bret “is forecast to strengthen and move across the Lesser Antilles as a hurricane on Thursday and Friday, bringing a risk of flooding from heavy rainfall, hurricane-force winds, and dangerous storm surge and waves,” the center said.

There is a possibility the storm could turn north or continue west into the Caribbean and threaten the Dominican Republic, Haiti and other islands.

'Everyone in the Lesser Antilles, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands should closely monitor updates to the forecast for this system and have their hurricane plan in place," the center said.

Tropical Storm Arlene, the first storm of the 2023 season, formed earlier this month. It petered out after two days, never threatening landfall.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.