Danielle sets record early in the Hurricane season

When the government issued its annual hurricane outlook at the end of last month, forecaster Gerry Bell raised the question of whether the Atlantic Basin had entered a lull period.

Lulls have alternated with active periods in 20- to 40-year cycles in the basin, which includes the Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico, the result of the complex interplay between the bodies of water and the atmosphere.

In the early going, however, the 2016 hurricane season isn't making much of a case for a lull.

At 7 a.m. Monday, a tropical depression off the eastern coast of Mexico gained sufficient strength to earn a name, Danielle.

It became the fourth named storm of the season, marking the first time in records dating to the 19th Century that four named storms had formed in the basis before the summer solstice.

The previous record was held by 2012, when Debby formed on June 24. We probably need not remind loyal readers that 2012 was the year of Sandy.

And that year, the names got all the way to "Tony;" nothing personal.