Tropical Storm Cindy, the third named storm of the 2017 Atlantic Hurricane Season, made landfall between Cameron, LA and Port Arthur, TX early Thursday morning. It battered the area with heavy rain and winds measured up to 40 mph.
With rainbands spreading out across the Gulf Coast, flash floods were reported from New Orleans, LA to Pensacola, FL. The storm also downed trees and knocked out power to more than 32,000 customers across six states.
Moving inland, the storm was soon downgraded to a tropical depression. However, it still spawned a destructive tornado in Fairfield, AL. The NWS has given the twister a preliminary rating of EF-2.
The remnants of Cindy are expected to travel northeast over the next several days, unleashing even more torrential rain as it moves along.
Tropical Storm Cindy in the Gulf of Mexico. Credit: NOAA/NWS
Today is the first day of the Atlantic Hurricane Season. Although one named storm – TS Arlene – already formed this year, the season officially runs from June 1st to November 30.
Since 1950, each tropical storm or hurricane to form in the Atlantic has had a unique name. They come from a set of six rotating lists produced by the World Meteorological Organization. A name is retired only when a storm was particularly noteworthy – causing a large number of fatalities or an extraordinary amount of damage. Some retired Atlantic Basin names include Andrew, Katrina, and Sandy.
The names for this year’s storms are listed below.
Tropical cyclones, known as hurricanes in the United States, develop around the globe at different times of the year. In this country, we are most impacted by the Atlantic hurricane season, which affects the North Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean Sea, and the Gulf of Mexico. It runs from June 1 through November 30.
Overall, NOAA predicts a 70% likelihood of eleven to seventeen named storms forming this season, of which five to nine could become hurricanes, including two to four major hurricanes. A major hurricane is one that is rated category 3 or higher on the Saffir-Simpson scale.
The numbers for this season’s outlook include Tropical Storm Arlene, a rare pre-season storm that developed in April.
According to NOAA, “The outlook reflects our expectation of a weak or non-existent El Niño, near or above-average sea surface temperatures across the tropical Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, and average or weaker-than-average vertical wind shear in that same region.” El Niño conditions in the Pacific tend to cause increased wind shear in the Atlantic, which suppresses tropical development.
Regardless of the number of storms that actually form, it is important to remember that it only takes one land-falling system in your community to make it a memorable season.
The 2016 Atlantic Hurricane Season officially ends today. Not only was it above average, as predicted, it was the basin’s most active season since 2012.
According to NOAA, there were fifteen named storms this season. Of these, seven developed into hurricanes and three – Gaston, Nicole, and Matthew – were major hurricanes with ratings of category 3 or higher on the Saffir-Simpson Scale. An average season produces twelve named storms, six hurricanes, and three major hurricanes.
This season’s Accumulated Cyclone Energy (ACE), which measures the intensity and duration of storms, was also above normal. On average, a season will post an ACE of 104 in the Atlantic. This year, according to hurricane researchers at Colorado State University, it was 134.
Officially running from June 1 to November 30, the 2016 season got off to an unusually early start. Hurricane Alex developed in January and made landfall in the Azores. It was the first Atlantic hurricane to occur in January since Hurricane Alice in 1955.
Of the season’s 15 named storms, five made landfall in the US – Bonnie, Colin, Julia, Hermine, and Matthew. Hermine was the first hurricane to make landfall in Florida in 11 years, ending the Sunshine State’s so called “hurricane drought”. The biggest headliner of the season, however, was Hurricane Matthew.
Matthew was the first storm to reach category-5 strength in the Atlantic in nine years. It weakened as it moved northward parallel to the US coast, but unleashed powerful winds and a damaging storm surge in Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina. The storm officially made landfall in South Carolina as a Category-1 hurricane, but its rain bands reached well inland and caused catastrophic river flooding in both North and South Carolina. In Fayetteville, NC – 100 miles from the coast – 14.82 inches of rain was reported.
This active hurricane season was largely the result of above average sea surface temperatures in the Atlantic and ENSO neutral to cool La Niña conditions in the Pacific. With warm water to fuel storms coupled with reduced wind shear across the Gulf of Mexico, tropical development in the Atlantic basin was essentially unhindered.
Despite this busy season, the US has luckily not been hit by a major hurricane since Wilma in 2005. With records dating back to 1851, it is the longest such stretch on NOAA’s books.
Hurricane Matthew, the 13th named storm of the Atlantic Hurricane Season, hammered the southeastern United States this weekend from Florida to Virginia.
Tearing up the coast as it trekked northward, Matthew made landfall near McClellanville, SC on Saturday as a category-1 hurricane with 75mph winds. It had reached category-5 status in the Caribbean – the first storm to do so since Hurricane Felix in 2007- but weakened as it moved toward the US.
Despite this downgrade, Matthew still packed a powerful punch. Its strong winds, flooding rains, and storm surge caused significant property damage and widespread power outages throughout the region. The death toll from this storm currently stands at 26 people from across five states and is expected to increase in the coming days.
With successive bands of heavy rain, Matthew also caused catastrophic inland flooding. In Fayetteville, NC – 100 miles from the coast – 14.82 inches of rain was reported. As a result, several rivers in the region rose to record or near-record levels and overflowed their banks, inundating communities.
All told, Matthew dumped 13.6 trillion gallons of water on Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Virginia before heading out to sea as a post-tropical storm. That is enough water to fill over 20 million Olympic-size swimming pools. The highest rainfall total, 17.49 inches, was reported near Savannah, GA.
The damage caused by Matthew is currently estimated at $6 billion.
Hurricane Matthew batters the southeastern US. Credit: NOAA/NASA
It is mid-September and hurricane season is in full swing in both the Atlantic and Pacific. With these mighty oceans bordering both sides of the US, have you ever wondered why hurricanes only make landfall on the east coast?
The answer is two-fold, involving the direction of prevailing winds in the tropics and the difference in water temperature in the two basins.
In the Atlantic, storms traveling west-northwest often run into the east coast or Gulf Coast of the US. There, the warm waters of the Gulf Stream that flow along the eastern seaboard sustain them as they move northward.
In the Pacific, storms tend to be pushed out to sea by the Trade Winds. Any hurricanes that manage to move north quickly dissipate when they encounter the cooler waters of the California current that flows southward along the west coast from Canada.
Only two tropical systems have ever made landfall on the west coast of the US. A hurricane slammed San Diego, CA in 1858 and a tropical storm battered Long Beach, CA in 1939. That said, hurricanes and tropical storms generally have indirect impacts on the western states. When a named storm makes it as far north as Baja California, remnants of it can travel across the border and cause heavy rain and flooding in parts of the American southwest.
All North Atlantic and Eastern North Pacific hurricanes, through 2013. Credit: NOAA/NWS
Hurricane Hermine, the eighth named storm and fourth hurricane of the 2016 Atlantic Hurricane Season, made landfall in the Big Bend region of Florida early Friday morning. It slammed the Sunshine state’s west coast from Tampa to Tallahassee with heavy rain and winds measured up to 80 mph.
The category-1 hurricane generated a 9-foot storm surge in Cedar Key and dumped more than 22 inches of rain in parts of Pinellas County, flooding many communities. The storm also downed trees and knocked out power to over 250,000 people. Only one storm related death was reported.
Traveling across Florida, Hermine was downgraded to a tropical storm. It is now in the Atlantic moving north along the eastern seaboard. Impacts such as powerful winds, heavy rain, coastal flooding, and dangerous rip currents are expected to be felt from Georgia to Connecticut this holiday weekend.
Hermine was the first hurricane to make landfall in Florida in eleven years.
Hurricane Hermine makes landfall in Florida on September 2, 2016. Credit: NOAA
Tropical Storm Colin, the third named storm of the 2016 Atlantic Hurricane Season, made landfall in the Big Bend region of Florida on Monday. It slammed the northern part of the Sunshine state with heavy rain and sustained winds measured up to 50 mph.
According to the NWS, more than 10 inches of rain fell in the Tallahassee area and Gainesville posted its second wettest June day on record with 5.65 inches of rain reported. All this precipitation in such a short period of time caused widespread flash flooding. Storm surge flooding was also an issue for communities along the state’s Gulf Coast.
The storm, according to FEMA officials, downed trees and knocked out power to more than 45,000 people between Tampa Bay and Jacksonville.
Traveling across Florida, the storm transitioned to a “post-tropical” cyclone on Tuesday as it moved up the east coast and out to sea.
Colin was the first named storm to hit the Sunshine state since Andrea in 2013. It was also the earliest “C” storm on record to form in the Atlantic Basin.
Tropical Storm Colin over the Gulf of Mexico on June 6, 2016. Credit: NASA
Today is the first day of the Atlantic Hurricane Season. Although two named storms – Alex and Bonnie – have already formed this year, the season officially runs from June 1st to November 30th.
Since 1950, each tropical storm or hurricane to form in the Atlantic has had a unique name. They come from a set of six rotating lists produced by the World Meteorological Organization. A name is retired only when a storm was particularly noteworthy – causing a large number of fatalities or an extraordinary amount of damage. Some retired Atlantic Basin names include: Andrew, Katrina, and Sandy.
The names for this year’s storms are listed below.
According to the NWS, Bonnie was categorized as a tropical storm on Saturday with winds as high as 45mph. But by the time it came ashore, its winds had fallen below 39mph – the threshold for a tropical storm – and was downgraded to a tropical depression. Despite this reduced status, the storm still brought heavy rain, flash flooding, and dangerous rip currents to the area.
Rainfall totals, according to the Charleston NWS office, reached as high as ten inches in some spots. Flash flooding in Jasper County even caused sections of Interstate 95 – one of America’s busiest highways – to close.
Remnants of Bonnie are expected to linger over the southeastern US for the next several days, bringing even more rain to the region.
The Atlantic Hurricane Season official begins on June 1st.
Bonnie makes landfall as a tropical depression near Charleston, SC. Credit: NASA
