© NOAA/National Weather Service
The earliest forming Central Pacific hurricane this year could be the first to cross the equator this seasonIf you were looking for a location that defined the term 'the middle of nowhere', Johnston Atoll would have a strong claim.
This uninhabited island lies 1,390 kilometres southwest of the Hawaiian Islands, themselves lying in a remote part of the Pacific.
Johnston Atoll is mentioned here because it is the closest island to what has already become a noteworthy cyclone, Hurricane Pali.
Pali is currently a Category 2 storm (on the five-point Saffir-Simpson scale), with sustained winds of 157 kilometres an hour and gusts of 195km/h.
It is unlikely to affect any inhabited islands in this part of the Pacific, and can truly be described as a 'fish storm'.
Nevertheless, Pali has already gone down in history: On Monday, it became the
earliest-forming hurricane in either the Central or Northeastern Pacific - the area between the International Dateline and the Americas.
This is 19 days earlier than the previous record holder, Ekeka in 1992. These two cyclones are the only ones to have formed in this region before May.
Comment: See also: Hurricane Pali sets Pacific record