Nov. 30, 2004 – The 2004 hurricane season, officially over Tuesday, just won't quit. Tropical Storm Otto formed late Tuesday afternoon about 810 miles east of Bermuda.
It doesn't appear that it will pose any threat to the Virgin Islands since it is on a northward course and is expected to turn to the northeast later Tuesday or early Wednesday. It should eventually reach the North Atlantic.
However, Scott Stripling, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service in San Juan, said the area should see northeast swells up to six feet.
"It's already starting to reach the area this afternoon," he said.
He said Tropical Storm Otto is late in the season, but records show storms forming even later in the year.
At 4 p.m. Tuesday, Tropical Storm Otto was located at 31.8 degrees north latitude and 51 degrees west longitude.
The storm is moving north at 5 mph. Winds have reached 45 mph, with higher gusts. The storm is not expected to strengthen during the next day.
Tropical storm force winds extend outward 230 miles. The barometric pressure stands at 997 millibars or 29.44 inches.
Hurricane season officially runs June 1 through Nov. 30.
This year's season got off to a slow start with the first storm, Hurricane Alex, forming on July 31. After that, it was gangbusters all the way with storms coming one after the other through August and September.
William Gray, the Colorado State University hurricane forecaster, in his hurricane season wrap-up on Nov. 19, called it a once-in-a-lifetime hurricane season.
Although the territory was spared a direct hit, Hurricane Frances, Hurricane Ivan and Tropical Storm Jeanne caused some problems.
Florida bore the brunt of the season with direct hits by four storms, including one major storm.
The season now has recorded 15 named storms and eight hurricanes. Six of those eight hurricanes developed into intense storms with winds over 111 mph.
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