Tropical Storm Zeta was a late-developing tropical storm over the central Atlantic which formed after the
2005 Atlantic hurricane seasonThe 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was the most active Atlantic hurricane season in recorded history, repeatedly shattering previous records. The impact of the season was widespread and ruinous with at least 2,280 deaths and record damages of over $128 billion USD...
had officially ended, and continued into January. It extended the record number of storms in a season to twenty-eight.
Zeta developed late on December 29 and headed to the west. Throughout the storm's lifetime, the
National Hurricane CenterThe National Hurricane Center , located at Florida International University in Miami, Florida, is the division of National Weather Service's Tropical Prediction Center responsible for tracking and predicting the likely behavior of tropical depressions, tropical storms and hurricanes.When tropical...
continually predicted it would weaken rapidly.
Tropical Storm Zeta was a late-developing tropical storm over the central Atlantic which formed after the
2005 Atlantic hurricane seasonThe 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was the most active Atlantic hurricane season in recorded history, repeatedly shattering previous records. The impact of the season was widespread and ruinous with at least 2,280 deaths and record damages of over $128 billion USD...
had officially ended, and continued into January. It extended the record number of storms in a season to twenty-eight.
Zeta developed late on December 29 and headed to the west. Throughout the storm's lifetime, the
National Hurricane CenterThe National Hurricane Center , located at Florida International University in Miami, Florida, is the division of National Weather Service's Tropical Prediction Center responsible for tracking and predicting the likely behavior of tropical depressions, tropical storms and hurricanes.When tropical...
continually predicted it would weaken rapidly. Like the previous tropical cyclone
Hurricane EpsilonHurricane Epsilon was a long lasting hurricane of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season in late November and early December over the central Atlantic...
, Zeta defied these predictions. The storm reached its peak strength on January 2, 2006 before finally dissipating on January 6. As Zeta never approached land there was no impact from the storm other than minor shipping problems.
Meteorological history
Late on December 29, 2005, a tropical depression developed in the east-central Atlantic from a
frontal--173.70.199.81 20:00, 14 October 2009 --173.70.199.81 20:00, 14 October 2009 --173.70.199.81 20:00, 14 October 2009...
troughA trough is an elongated region of relatively low atmospheric pressure, often associated with fronts.Unlike fronts, there is not a universal symbol for a trough on a weather chart. The weather charts in some countries or regions mark troughs by a line. In the United States, a trough may be marked...
and became a tropical storm early the next day. As this was more than four weeks after the official end of the season, the
National Hurricane CenterThe National Hurricane Center , located at Florida International University in Miami, Florida, is the division of National Weather Service's Tropical Prediction Center responsible for tracking and predicting the likely behavior of tropical depressions, tropical storms and hurricanes.When tropical...
didn't operationally notice the system until after it had already become a tropical storm. Initially the storm headed to the northwest but stalled late on December 31 before heading westwards, gradually strengthening to winds of 60 mph (95 km/h) as it did so. As with the previous storm,
Hurricane EpsilonHurricane Epsilon was a long lasting hurricane of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season in late November and early December over the central Atlantic...
, the
National Hurricane CenterThe National Hurricane Center , located at Florida International University in Miami, Florida, is the division of National Weather Service's Tropical Prediction Center responsible for tracking and predicting the likely behavior of tropical depressions, tropical storms and hurricanes.When tropical...
continuously forecast that Zeta would weaken in response to high level shear but Zeta held onto its strength, like Epsilon had done.
Tropical Storm Zeta weakened slightly on January 2, before intensifying further to its peak strength with 65 mph (100 km/h) winds. One of the models suggested that Zeta could strengthen further and become a hurricane but this did not occur. Tropical Storm Zeta continued to defy forecasts of weakening and on January 4 increasing frustration led NHC forecaster, Dr.
Lixion AvilaDr. Lixion Avila is a weather forecaster with the National Hurricane Center . He has been a senior hurricane specialist there since 1987 and is the longest-tenured senior specialist....
to say that he had "run out [of] things to say".
The effects of wind shear finally took their toll late on January 4, and Zeta's convection began to die down. This led to Tropical Storm Zeta weakening to a minimal tropical storm. The NHC continued to overestimate how quickly Zeta would dissipate and early on January 5 they operationally downgraded Zeta to a depression, which was later confirmed to have been an error. Zeta continued to move west-northwestward, barely holding on to tropical storm status before becoming disorganized again. Zeta weakened into a tropical depression on January 6 and dissipated into a remnant later that day, finally ending the 2005 season. The remnant low retained its identity for a further day before it dissipated 660 miles (1060 km) southeast of
BermudaBermuda is a British overseas territory in the North Atlantic Ocean. Located off the east coast of the United States, it is situated around 1,770 kilometres northeast of Miami, Florida, and 1,350 kilometres south of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada...
.
Impact and records
Several of the crews that were taking part in the 2005
Atlantic Rowing RaceThe Atlantic Rowing Race is a challenging ocean rowing race from the Canary Islands to the West Indies, a distance of approximately 2,550 nm . The race was founded by Sir Chay Blyth and early races were run by Challenge Business Ltd...
were affected with heavy seas and strong adverse winds from Tropical Storm Zeta. The ship
Liberty Star made several reports of strong winds from Tropical Storm Zeta, including one of 40 mph (65 km/h) winds early on December 31, when the ship was about 45 miles (75 km) north of the center of the storm.
Tropical Storm Zeta never threatened land so no coastal
watches or warningsWarnings and watches are two levels of alert issued by national weather forecasting bodies to coastal areas threatened by the imminent approach of a tropical cyclone of tropical storm or hurricane intensity. They are notices to the local population and civil authorities to make appropriate...
were issued. There was no reported damage or fatalities from Zeta.
When Tropical Storm Zeta formed at 0600 UTC on December 31, it became the second latest-forming tropical cyclone ever recorded in the Atlantic, forming about six hours earlier than Hurricane Alice did in 1954. Zeta is only the second
Atlantic tropical cycloneNorth Atlantic tropical cyclones usually form in summer or fall. Tropical cyclones can be broken down by intensity. Tropical storms have one-minute maximum sustained winds of at least 39 mph , while hurricanes have one-minute maximum sustained exceeding 74 mph...
on record to have existed in two calendar years (after Alice). However, lasting seven full days (six of them in 2006), Zeta is the longest-lasting tropical storm on record for the month of January. Tropical Storm Zeta also extended the record number of storms to form in the 2005 season to twenty-eight, seven more than the previous record held by the
1933 seasonThe 1933 Atlantic hurricane season was the second most active Atlantic hurricane season on record, with 21 storms forming during that year in the northwest Atlantic Ocean. The season ran through the summer and the first half of fall in 1933, and was surpassed in total number of tropical cyclones by...
.
See also
- 2005 Atlantic hurricane season
The 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was the most active Atlantic hurricane season in recorded history, repeatedly shattering previous records. The impact of the season was widespread and ruinous with at least 2,280 deaths and record damages of over $128 billion USD...
- List of tropical cyclones
- List of Atlantic hurricanes
- List of storms in the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season
- Timeline of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season
The timeline of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season documents the formations, strengthenings, weakenings, landfalls, extratropical transitions, and dissipations of the season's tropical and subtropical storms. The 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was the most active Atlantic hurricane season in...
External links
NHC Zeta Report
The NHC's archive on Tropical Storm Zeta