The 2011 Pacific hurricane season sputters to a close Wednesday with only one tropical storm intruding into Hawaii waters since June.

The season has been quiet, said Ray Tanabe, director of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Central Pacific Hurricane Center and meteorologist-in-charge of the National Weather Service Forecast Office in Honolulu.

Tropical Storm Fernanda was the lone cyclone to enter the central Pacific since the season began June 1.

Fernanda formed in the eastern Pacific on Aug. 15 and crossed into the central Pacific three days later, reaching a maximum wind speed of 55 knots (63 mph).

"It was really a short-lived system," said Tanabe. "It weakened into kind of a remnant low on Aug. 19. We didn’t have any impacts. There was never any threat to the islands."

Forecasters last spring predicted few tropical cyclones in the central Pacific this year.

Tanabe attributed the subdued hurricane season to the weather phenomenon La Nina, which persisted during the summer. La Nina is associated with colder-than-normal sea surface temperatures in the eastern tropical Pacific, where many storms, which are heat-driven, arise.

More tropical cyclones are typically observed during El Nino, the opposite phenomenon, which brought seven storms into the central Pacific in 2009.

Last year no tropical cyclones approached the islands.

Tanabe said the central Pacific is in a neutral phase, with a forecast of near- to above-normal rainfall for Hawaii.

"We expect to be in a neutral-to-weak La Nina pattern in the winter months," he said.

Strong winds and gusts occurred during the weekend due to the weather pattern. Kona storms, which can bring heavy rainfall, thunderstorms and lightning, are predicted to peak in February.

While forecasters observe the bulk of tropical cyclones during the June-November season, a storm could occur any time, Tanabe said.

Last year Tropical Storm Omeka formed in the central Pacific on Dec. 20 and dissipated the next day. Heavy rain and strong winds struck Oahu, causing major power outages at Ala Moana Center, Honolulu Airport and the Blaisdell Center.

Tropical storms are defined as having winds that range from 39 to 73 mph.

Hurricane Iniki in September 1992 was the last hurricane to hit Hawaii. While almost two decades has passed since the storm devastated Kauai, Tanabe urged residents to be prepared for all types of natural disasters.

"Hurricanes are not the only thing we have to worry about in the islands. There are other natural hazards that can certainly wreak havoc in the islands. We have to be prepared for all of them," he said.