When Cyclone Arlene began to build on April 20, 2017, it was an unusual earlybird. Churning in the middle of the ocean, the storm kicked off the 2017 Atlantic hurricane season before promptly winding down on April 21. Hurricane season officially begins on June 1, but meteorologists have noted a fair amount of variability in recent years.

The Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) on the Suomi NPP satellite captured this natural-color image around midday on April 20.

NASA image by Jeff Schmaltz, LANCE/EOSDIS Rapid Response. Caption by Pola Lem.