 Hurricane Omar was a strong hurricane that took an unusual southwest to northeast track through the eastern Caribbean Sea during October , 2008 . Forming out of a tropical disturbance on October 13 , Omar initially moved slowly in the eastern Caribbean Sea . By October 15 , Omar began to quickly intensify as deep convection developed around the center of circulation . Later that day , an eye developed and the storm began to accelerate to the northeast . Early on October 16 , Omar reached its peak intensity with winds of 130 mph ( 215 km / h ) and a barometric pressure of <unk> mbar ( hPa ; 28 @.@ 29 inHg ) . Shortly after , the hurricane rapidly weakened to Category 1 intensity . After slightly re @-@ strengthening the next day , Omar weakened to a tropical storm before degenerating into a non @-@ convective low pressure area . The remnants of Omar persisted until October 21 at which time it dissipated to the west of the Azores . 
