16:24 29Nov2005 RTRS-Another tropical storm, Epsilon, forms in Atlantic

MIAMI, Nov 29 (Reuters) - Just when the Atlantic hurricane season
was supposed to end, Tropical Storm Epsilon formed in the central
Atlantic on Tuesday but posed no immediate threat to land, U.S. weather
forecasters said.
Epsilon, named after the fifth letter in the Greek alphabet, was the
26th named storm of a record-breaking season and was around 845 miles
(1,360 km) east of Bermuda by 10 a.m. EST (1500 GMT), the U.S. National
Hurricane Center said.
The storm bore maximum sustained winds of 45 mph (75 kph) and was
moving westward at 8 mph (13 kph), the Miami-based center said. It was
not expected to reach hurricane strength, with winds of at least 74 mph
(119 kph).
The 2005 Atlantic hurricane season, which officially ends on
Wednesday, has been a record-breaker in several ways.
It has seen the most storms on record, beating the previous record
of 21 named storms set in 1933. It has scored the most hurricanes at 13,
beating the previous record of 12 set in 1969.
It has also seen the most Category 5 hurricanes, the top-ranked
storms on the five-step Saffir-Simpson scale of hurricane activity.
Of the 3 Category 5 storms this year, Katrina devastated New Orleans
and killed over 1,200 in Louisiana and Mississippi, Rita pounded the
Texas-Louisiana border and Wilma briefly became the most powerful
Atlantic hurricane on record before ravaging the Mexican resort area
around Cancun.
Epsilon followed closely on the heels of Tropical Storm Delta, which
left hundreds of thousands without power in Spain's Canary Islands on
Tuesday and killed seven in and around the popular tourist destination
before dissipating over Morocco.
The last five named cyclones of the season have been named after
letters in the Greek alphabet because the official list of storm names
for 2005 was exhausted.