Tropical Storm Omeka was the latest forming Eastern Pacific named storm since reliable records began in the 1960s. The storm was part of the 2010 Pacific

typhoon A typhoon is a mature tropical cyclone that develops between 180° and 100°E in the Northern Hemisphere. This region is referred to as the Northwestern Pacific Basin, and is the most active tropical cyclone basin on Earth, accounting for a ...

and

hurricane A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system characterized by a low-pressure center, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depend ...

season. On December 18, 2010, the

Central Pacific Hurricane Center The Central Pacific Hurricane Center (CPHC) of the United States National Weather Service is the official body responsible for tracking and issuing tropical cyclone warnings, watches, advisories, discussions, and statements for the Central Pacifi ...

(CPHC) began monitoring a

subtropical cyclone A subtropical cyclone is a weather system that has some characteristics of both tropical cyclone, tropical and an extratropical cyclone. As early as the 1950s, meteorologists were uncertain whether they should be characterized as Tropical cyclo ...

near the

International Dateline The International Date Line (IDL) is an internationally accepted demarcation on the surface of Earth, running between the South and North Poles and serving as the boundary between one calendar day and the next. It passes through the Pacific O ...

for possible

tropical cyclogenesis Tropical cyclogenesis is the development and strengthening of a tropical cyclone in the atmosphere. The mechanisms through which tropical cyclogenesis occurs are distinctly different from those through which temperate cyclogenesis occurs. Tropi ...

. Over the following two days, the system tracked southwestward, entering the Western Pacific basin. It then began to transition into a

tropical cyclone A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system characterized by a low-pressure center, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depend ...

. Shortly before crossing the dateline on December 20, the CPHC assessed the system to have become a tropical storm. The storm was assigned the name Omeka several hours later as it moved into the CPHC's area of responsibility, which is from 140°W to the International Dateline. Upon doing so, Omeka attained its peak intensity with winds of 60 mph (100 km/h). Later on December 20,

wind shear Wind shear (or windshear), sometimes referred to as wind gradient, is a difference in wind speed and/or direction over a relatively short distance in the atmosphere. Atmospheric wind shear is normally described as either vertical or horizontal ...

in the region increased, causing the system to weaken. By December 21, the center of Omeka was devoid of

convection Convection is single or multiphase fluid flow that occurs spontaneously due to the combined effects of material property heterogeneity and body forces on a fluid, most commonly density and gravity (see buoyancy). When the cause of the convec ...

and dissipated on the next day. Omeka brushed

Lisianski Island Lisianski Island ( Hawaiian: ''Papa‘āpoho'') is one of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, with a land area of and a maximum elevation of above sea level. It is a low, flat sand and coral island about northwest of Honolulu, Hawaii. The isla ...

but caused no damage.

Meteorological history

The origins of Omeka were from an

extratropical cyclone Extratropical cyclones, sometimes called mid-latitude cyclones or wave cyclones, are low-pressure areas which, along with the anticyclones of high-pressure areas, drive the weather over much of the Earth. Extratropical cyclones are capable of ...

in the western

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

. The storm tracked southeastward near the

, and by December 18 it transitioned into a

kona storm Kona storms (also called Kona lows) are a type of seasonal cyclone in the Hawaiian Islands, usually formed in the winter from winds coming from the westerly "kona" (normally leeward) direction. They are mainly cold core cyclones, which places the ...

and soon into a

. A large, sprawling system, little development was initially expected to take place as the storm moved towards the southwest. As the low moved over warmer waters, the cyclone was able to maintain an area of deep

near its center. According to the CPHC, the system was nearly fully tropical early on December 19 as it moved west of the dateline. However, the

Joint Typhoon Warning Center The Joint typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) is a joint United States Navy – United States Air Force command in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. The JTWC is responsible for the issuing of tropical cyclone warnings in the North-West Pacific Ocean, South P ...

(JTWC) considered the low to be fully subtropical as a cold-core was present over the center of circulation. At this time, the storm had an eye-like feature, and attained its peak strength with winds of 60 miles per hour (100 km/h) and a

barometric pressure Atmospheric pressure, also known as barometric pressure (after the barometer), is the pressure within the atmosphere of Earth. The standard atmosphere (symbol: atm) is a unit of pressure defined as , which is equivalent to 1013.25 millibars, 7 ...

of . Later on December 19, the

Japan Meteorological Agency The , abbreviated JMA, is an agency of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism. It is charged with gathering and providing results for the public in Japan that are obtained from data based on daily scientific observation an ...

(JMA) classified the system as a tropical depression as the low turned towards the southeast. Early on December 20, the JMA issued their final advisory on the depression as it moved east of the dateline and reentered the CPHC's area of responsibility. 98C dec 19 2010 0000Z

Already classifying it as a tropical storm, the

(CPHC) issued their first advisory on the system at 0900 UTC on December 20, at which time it was situated roughly 505 miles (815 km) south of

Midway Island Midway Atoll (colloquial: Midway Islands; haw, Kauihelani, translation=the backbone of heaven; haw, Pihemanu, translation=the loud din of birds, label=none) is a atoll in the North Pacific Ocean. Midway Atoll is an insular area of the Unit ...

. Upon issuing this advisory, they designated the system as Tropical Storm Omeka, the first

named storm Tropical cyclones and subtropical cyclones are named by various warning centers to simplify communication between forecasters and the general public regarding forecasts, watches and warnings. The names are intended to reduce confusion in the ...

of the Central Pacific season. The storm generally tracked towards the northeast, in response to a mid-level low to the west, throughout the remainder of its existence. Traversing an area of decreased

sea surface temperature Sea surface temperature (SST), or ocean surface temperature, is the ocean temperature close to the surface. The exact meaning of ''surface'' varies according to the measurement method used, but it is between and below the sea surface. Air mass ...

s and increasing

, Omeka quickly weakened to a minimal tropical storm later on December 20, with winds of 40 miles per hour (65 km/h). Intermittent bursts of

allowed the system to maintain gale-force winds through December 21; however, persistent shear finally took its toll later that morning. Between 0700 and 0800 UTC, Omeka brushed Lisianski Island. Around 0900 UTC, the CPHC issued their final advisory on Omeka, as it transitioned into an

roughly east-southeast of Midway Island, near Lisianski Island. Omeka's extratropical remnant dissipated on December 23.

Impact and records

On December 21, the center of Omeka brushed Lisianski Island, with winds of 40 miles per hour (65 km/h). However, no tropical storm watches or warnings were issued since the CPHC anticipated weakening prior to the storm passing the island. At the time, Omeka was judged to have existed in the northeast Pacific later than any other storm since the 1960s, when reliable records begin in the basin. However, according to the CPHC's database, there are two possible tropical cyclones in 1903 and 1904 which developed on December 23. In addition, even though it did not strengthen into a tropical storm, Tropical Depression Nine-C of the

2015 Pacific hurricane season The 2015 Pacific hurricane season is the second-most active Pacific hurricane season on record, with 26 named storms, only behind the 1992 season. A record-tying 16 of those storms became hurricanes, and a record 11 storms further intensifie ...

formed later in the calendar year than Omeka, forming on December 31, 2015 and dissipating the next day. Omeka was the first December storm in the Central Pacific since Tropical Storm Paka in

1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of t ...

. Throughout 2010, the entire Pacific Ocean experienced record-low tropical cyclone activity due to a strong 2010–12 La Niña event. Since Omeka was the first storm in the Central Pacific during the year, it marked the latest start to a season since reliable records began, excluding seasons with no storms.

References

External links

The Central Pacific Hurricane Center's Advisory Archive for Tropical Storm Omeka
{{DEFAULTSORT:Omeka 2010 Pacific hurricane season Eastern Pacific tropical storms Off-season Eastern Pacific tropical cyclones

Omeka Omeka (also known as Omeka Classic) is a free, open-source content management system for online digital collections. As a web application, it allows users to publish and exhibit cultural heritage objects, and extend its functionality with the ...

Meteorological history

Impact and records

See also

References

External links