FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – So much for the end of hurricane season.
Tropical Storm Epilson popped up in the central Atlantic on Tuesday and was expected to reach near hurricane strength today – the official end of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season.
Practically speaking, Epsilon likely will extend the season for a few more days; it was expected to make a hairpin turn northeast and fizzle before threatening any land.
That it even formed makes it something of a scientific marvel, considering it was the fifth storm to be named under the Greek alphabet – during what has become by far the most active hurricane season on record.
Epsilon was the 26th named storm since the season began on June 1, shattering the previous record of 21 named storms set in 1933. Late on Tuesday, it was 750 miles east of Bermuda, moving west at 8 mph with sustained winds of 50 mph.
Max Mayfield, director of the National Hurricane Center in Miami-Dade County, said don’t be surprised if even more storms form in December. For example, in 1984, Hurricane Lili formed in the Atlantic 800 miles east of Bermuda on Dec. 20 and swirled around until Christmas Eve, he said.
“It’s just a season to remember,” Mayfield said. “We’re making history here.”
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(c) 2005 South Florida Sun-Sentinel.
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AP-NY-11-29-05 1950EST
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