A Hurricane in December? Epsilon Churns the Atlantic

The hurricane “season” is largely expected to come to a finish by the end of November, and for the Caribbean and U.S. coastal regions hopefully it has. However, Hurricane Epsilon, the 29th named storm of this extraordinary season, is currently churning up the waters of the mid-Atlantic with maximum sustained winds near 75 mph (120 km/hr) with higher gusts.

Epsilon doesn’t pose much of a threat, except to shipping and the fish in the vicinity – about 590 miles (950 kms) west-southwest of the Azores. But the fact that an actual hurricane can form this late in the year is troubling news.

Miami’s National Hurricane Center, which has been tracking the storm for over a week, said it is “maintaining strength over the cool waters of the Eastern Atlantic.” However, the NHC expects it to gradually lose strength over the next 24 hours.

Tropical cyclones in December are unusual, and take different directions from their summer and autumn predecessors. The last one, Tropical Storm Delta, actually came ashore on the coast of Africa in Morocco. Before that it swept through the Canary Islands, causing widespread damage and knocking out power lines.