Tropical Storm Nana Forms in Atlantic
Date: 13-Oct-08
Country: US
It said the storm was likely to be short-lived as it curved west-northwest over open waters in the Atlantic over the next day or two, well away from the small and vulnerable islands of the Caribbean and from the US mainland.
At 5 p.m. EDT (2100 GMT), Nana was centered 925 miles (1,485 km) west of the Cape Verde Islands with top sustained winds of 40 mph (65 kph), the Miami-based hurricane center said.
It said the storm was expected to weaken to a tropical depression late on Sunday or Monday and had only a "bleak" prospect of longer-term survival.
The six-month hurricane season, which runs from June 1 to Nov. 30, has been a busy one although it has lapsed into a recent lull.
Of the 14 tropical storms that have formed to date, six have become hurricanes. The long-term Atlantic season averages are about 10 tropical storms and six hurricanes.
It has also been a deadly and damaging season.
More than 800 people were killed in Haiti, mostly by floods, as the impoverished Caribbean nation was swamped by Fay, Gustav, Hanna and Ike in a month.
Gustav and Ike disrupted US oil and natural gas production in the Gulf of Mexico before slamming ashore in Louisiana and Texas, respectively.
(Reporting by Tom Brown; Editing by Philip Barbara)
