Tropical storm Otto moves into central Atlantic

October 10, 2010 has been downgraded to a, and is expected to move northeast into the over the weekend. Otto is the seventeenth Atlantic tropical cyclone and fifteenth named storm of the. It developed out of a previously subtropical storm after undergoing full.

The, which is responsible for tracking and predicting the likely behavior of tropical depressions, tropical storms and hurricanes, has reported that the storm will move away from land, lose its tropical character and decrease its speed, possibly by Sunday evening. It is expected to move across the and toward the coast of  and. At 5 pm EDT Otto was about 710 miles from and moving northeast at a speed of 32 mph. Hurricane winds are extending for approximately 35 miles, tropical winds extending 220 miles. Forecasters have reported no warnings.

The NHC said: "Gradual weakening is expected during the next couple of days. Conventional and microwave satellite imagery indicate Otto is quickly coming unraveled." Channel 6 News reported that at 11 a.m. EDT on Saturday the center of Hurricane Otto was located about 880 km (545 miles) east of the British overseas territory of Bermuda, and the storm was speeding to the northeast near 46 km (29 miles) per hour. Todd Kimberlain, a NHC forecaster, has said Otto is expected to move northeastwards as before during the next 24 to 36 hours in between a large deep-layer trough over the northwest Atlantic and a subtropical ridge to its east.

Earlier this year, hurricane expert Dr. Phil Klotzbach told Wikinews that he expected a very active hurricane season. "At this point, we expect this year will be much more active [than] last year. Last year was only characterized by nine named storms, 3 hurricanes and 2 major hurricanes. Our most recent prediction is that this year will have 15 named storms, 8 hurricanes and 4 major hurricanes," he said. "If a storm does threaten [your area] during the hurricane season, the important thing to do is to listen to local emergency management and follow their advice," he added.