 Hurricane Arlene was the first named storm and longest @-@ lived tropical cyclone of the 1987 Atlantic hurricane season . Forming out of an area of low pressure associated with a decaying frontal system along the North Carolina coastline , Arlene tracked in a general eastward direction across the Atlantic Ocean , taking an erratic track with several curves . On August 13 , the storm brushed Bermuda as a weak tropical storm before continuing out to sea . On August 20 , the storm briefly stalled before becoming a hurricane two days later . Early on August 24 , the storm transitioned into an extratropical cyclone over the far north Atlantic before curving southeast and dissipating near the Iberian Peninsula on August 26 . 
