Tropical Storm Omeka forms far west of Hawaii, no threat to land

Tropical Storm Omeka forms far west of Hawaii, no threat to land

2010-12-20 15:58:30 GMT+7 (ICT)

HONOLULU (BNO NEWS) -- Out-of-season Tropical Storm Omeka formed in the Central Pacific on late Sunday evening, forecasters said, but there was no immediate threat to land.

As of 11 p.m. Hawaii Time (0900 GMT Monday), the center of tropical storm Omeka was located about 505 miles (812 kilometers) south of Midway Island, or about 1,210 miles (1947 kilometers) west of Lihue, Hawaii.

"Satellite imagery indicates that Tropical Storm Omeka, which moved east of the International Dateline during the last six hours, has assumed a sheared pattern with a well defined low level circulation center west of a dense thunderstorm cluster," said Craig, a forecaster at the Central Pacific Hurricane Center.

Craig said Omeka is moving toward the northeast near 14 miles (22 kilometers) per hour and is forecast to turn to the north by Wednesday. The storm has maximum sustained winds near 50 miles (80 kilometers) per hour, with higher gusts.

As tropical storm force winds extend only about 50 miles (80 kilometers) outward from the center of Omeka, no land is being affected. The storm is expected to weaken to a tropical depression over the next few days, and eventually into a post-tropical depression before dissipating in a low pressure area.

The formation of Omeka was unexpected as the 2010 Pacific hurricane season officially ended on November 30 with only seven named storms, a record low. Omeka is now the eighth named storm.

The last storm as part of the Pacific hurricane season was Georgette, which formed off the coast of Baja California in Mexico on September 21. It eventually dissipated over northern Mexico, leaving no casualties.

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