Tropical Storm Peter Weakens Into Depression In Atlantic

Tropical Storm Peter weakened into a tropical depression in the Atlantic Wednesday morning and would likely dissipate during the day, forecasters said.

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At 4 a.m. EST, Peter had maximum sustained winds of 35 mph, which is 4 mph below the threshold for a tropical storm.

Forecasters said Peter may have briefly reached hurricane strength of at least 74 mph Tuesday afternoon. The last December hurricane was Lili in 1984, the National Hurricane Center said.

Peter was the second named storm to form since the hurricane season ended Dec. 1.

The depression was in the far eastern Atlantic, centered about 1150 miles south-southwest of Lajes in the Azores, forecasters said. It was moving north at about 12 mph.

Peter followed Tropical Storm Odette, which flooded portions of the Dominican Republic last weekend, killing eight.

This is the first time since 1887 that two tropical storms have formed in the Atlantic basin during December, the hurricane center said.

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