Tropical Storm Zeta continued to defy expectations Wednesday as it maintained strength and churned in the open Atlantic.

Zeta had top sustained winds near 65 mph early Wednesday, the same speed it's maintained for 24 hours, according to the National Hurricane Center in Miami. The 27th named storm of the record setting 2005 season was expected to turn toward the west Wednesday.

On Monday, center forecasters had predicted that Zeta would soon weaken, but they now say the storm might survive until the weekend. The 2005 season will close with the demise of Zeta, which is only the second Atlantic storm in recorded history to survive into January, joining Hurricane Alice in 1955.

"I hope we're wrong and (Zeta) will die sooner," forecaster Lixion Avila said. He said the skimpy history of January storms makes it hard to make predictions.

At 4 a.m., the storm was centered about 1,325 miles east-northeast of the northern Leeward Islands and moving southwest near 7 mph. It is not a threat to land.

The storm developed Friday, about a month after the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season officially ended. It tied a record for the latest developing storm since record keeping began in 1851.

The 2005 season featured 14 hurricanes, including Katrina, which devastated Louisiana and Mississippi in August and became the most costly disaster in U.S. history. The season also saw forecasters exhaust their list of 21 proper names and begin using the Greek alphabet to name storms for the first time.

Before Zeta, Hurricane Epsilon became only the fifth hurricane to form in December in 154 years of record keeping.

Forecasters predict that hurricane seasons will be more active than usual for at least another decade.

The 2006 season officially begins June 1, but any tropical storms that form early would be part of its tally. The first name on the list is Alberto.