Atlantic storm could become Pablo, Arthur — or a nobody

MIAMI — Will it become the last named storm of 2007 or the first named storm of 2008 — or will it fizzle into nothing more than a meteorological curiosity?

A disturbance in the distant Atlantic could be developing into a rare, post-Christmas named storm, forecasters said Saturday.

Rick Knabb, a senior hurricane specialist at the National Hurricane Center in Florida, said the system was gathering itself in the eastern Atlantic, thousands of miles from land.

"It's mostly a concern for the marine community," Knabb said, noting that high-seas warnings had been issued for ships.

"This system ... could become a subtropical storm later today or tomorrow," he said Saturday.

But what name would it be given? That depends on when — or if — it develops sustained winds of at least 39 mph.

If that happens before 12:01 a.m. Tuesday, when the new year arrives, it will be called Pablo, the next name on the 2007 list. If it happens after that, it will be called Arthur, the first name on the 2008 list.

The official hurricane season begins June 1 and ends Nov. 30.

On another weather front, air travel in the Midwest returned to normal Saturday after a storm that blanketed the Great Lakes region with several inches of snow.

Only 24 flights were canceled Saturday morning at Chicago O'Hare International Airport, aviation officials said. Across town, Midway Airport officials reported no cancellations.

That was in sharp contrast to Friday, when nearly 300 flights were canceled at O'Hare because of the weather and delays averaged 30 to 45 minutes.

Material from The Associated Press is included in this report.