Maka — 2009

A small tropical disturbance first noted about 725 nautical miles south of Lihue, Hawaii, became Tropical Depression One-C at 0000 UTC 11 August 2009 and strengthened to Tropical Storm Maka by 1200 UTC that same day. Maka moved generally west‑northwest while east of the dateline, weakened to a depression late on 11–12 August, and its remnant low crossed the dateline near 14.3°N shortly after 0600 UTC 13 August. West of 180°W the system turned northwest and north, regained tropical storm strength near 15.3°N on 15 August, and dissipated as a weak depression with the last warning from the Joint Typhoon Warning Center on 18 August. Maka did not make landfall at any time during its life. It remained well over open ocean and never passed close enough to islands to trigger tropical cyclone watches or warnings. The storm’s maximum sustained winds reached 45 knots (about 52 mph) and its lowest analyzed central pressure was 992 mb, corresponding to a weak tropical storm at peak intensity on 16 August 2009. Because Maka stayed far from land, there were no measured storm surge reports associated with the cyclone and no significant rainfall totals recorded for populated locations in the official report. There were no weather‑related deaths or damage reported anywhere in association with Maka. The Central Pacific Hurricane Center noted that the storm’s precursor was not well anticipated and that satellite fixes showed frequent swings in organization, which made initial position and intensity estimates—and the early forecasts—quite uncertain.