TS Zeta Approaching Hurricane Strength, Moving West - Reuters

[hatrack]

MIAMI - Tropical Storm Zeta maintained its strength over the open Atlantic on Tuesday as the 27th named storm of a record-breaking hurricane season drifted slowly westward.

Zeta, a laggard storm that formed a month after the Nov. 30 official end of the 2005 Atlantic and Caribbean Basin hurricane season, was about 1,395 miles (2,250 km) east-northeast of the northern Leeward Islands by 10 a.m. EST (1500 GMT), the US National Hurricane Center said.

The Miami-based center said the storm bore maximum sustained winds of 65 mph (100 kph).

Zeta capped a record hurricane season that forced forecasters to choose storm names from the Greek alphabet after exhausting their annual list of 21 names.

EDIT

Note: Its maximum sustained winds yesterday were about 50 mph, and now it needs only four more MPH for hurricane status. WTF?


http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/34311/story.htm

[marmar]

1. In January?

The world is really climatologically screwed up!

:crazy:

[dennisnyc]

2. OMG, they were just pooh, poohing this one as nothing much yesterday.

[soothsayer]

3. So will it be the first of 2006 or the last of 2005? I mean, it had

already started last year. Ok, mebbe it's the last TS of 2005 and first hurricane of 2006 (if it becomes one)?

[htuttle]

4. It's just a precursor to Earth's Great White Spot

Seriously -- if the atmosphere gets energetic enough (ie., warm enough), I wouldn't be surprised to see multi-year duration hurricanes bouncing around the Atlantic.

[zapp]

5. Everyone move to Kansas! (My 500th post)

Sorry it wasn't more thoughtful and interesting.