Monthly Tropical Weather Summary for September

[wxmann_91]

Statement as of 8:00 am EDT on October 1, 2005



for the North Atlantic...Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico...

six tropical cyclones... five hurricanes and one tropical
depression... formed during the month of September. Thus far in
2005... there have been 17 named storms... of which 9 have become
hurricanes. These numbers are roughly double the long-term
averages of 8 storms and 4.5 hurricanes that would typically have
formed by this date. In only one other year...1933... have this
many storms formed by the end of September. The record for most
hurricane formations by the end of September is 10... set in 1893.
Tropical Storm Lee formed in August... but dissipated on 1 September
several hundred miles northeast of Bermuda.
Maria developed from a vigorous tropical wave that crossed the West
Coast of Africa on 27 August. The system became a tropical
depression on 1 September while centered about 1100 miles east of
the northern Leeward Islands. Moving west-northwestward to
northwestward... the cyclone strengthened into a tropical storm on
2 September. Maria turned north-northwestward and became a
hurricane on 4 September. Peak intensity...115 mph... was reached
early on 6 September when the cyclone was centered about 470 miles
east of Bermuda. Maria recurved northeastward and weakened to a
tropical storm before regaining hurricane intensity on 7 September.
Over the next few days the cyclone's intensity slowly decreased...
and it weakened to a tropical storm early on 9 September. Maria
became a powerful extratropical storm over the North Atlantic about
730 miles east-southeast of Cape Race Newfoundland on 10 September.
This storm caused a landslide and 1 death in Norway.
Hurricane Nate formed from a tropical wave that exited the coast of
Africa on 30 August. The northern portion of the wave broke away
and moved northwestward as it interacted with a weak upper-level
trough near Bermuda. A tropical depression formed late on 5
September about 300 miles southwest of Bermuda... and the system
quickly strengthened into a tropical storm just 6 hours later. Nate
drifted northeastward for the next 2 days and rapidly intensified
into a hurricane by 7 September. Early on 8 September... Nate
quickly accelerated east-northeastward and briefly threatened
Bermuda. However...the hurricane passed well to the southeast of
the island and gradually weakened back to a tropical storm on 9
September. Slow weakening continued as upper-level shear increased
ahead of an approaching frontal system... and Nate transformed into
a strong extratropical low pressure system on 10 September about
midway between Bermuda and the Azores Islands. Extratropical low
Nate continued to move quickly to the east-northeast and merged
with a frontal system later that day about 900 miles west-southwest
of the Azores.
Erratic Hurricane Ophelia formed from an area of disturbed weather
along the western end of an old frontal system. The cyclone began
to organize on 4 September over the central and northwestern
Bahamas... and a tropical depression formed on 6 September near
Grand Bahama Island. The depression moved erratically
north-northwestward and became Tropical Storm Ophelia on 7
September about 115 miles east- southeast of Cape Canaveral
Florida. Ophelia meandered off the central Florida coast for the
next two days... briefly becoming a hurricane on 8 September.
Ophelia began a northeastward motion late on 9 September... which
continued until it again stalled on 11 September about 235 miles
south of Cape Hatteras North Carolina. During that time... it twice
reached hurricane strength before weakening back to a Tropical
Storm. Ophelia made a slow loop on 12-13 September... moving
southwestward and northwestward before beginning a northward motion
toward the North Carolina coast. The cyclone became a hurricane yet
again late on 13 September... and maximum sustained winds reached
85 mph by the time the northern eyewall reached the North Carolina
coast near Cape Fear on 14 September. Ophelia turned slowly
east-northeastward with the center passing south of Cape Lookout
and Cape Hatteras on 15 September. It then weakened to a tropical
storm early on 16 September while again stalling about 45 miles
south-southeast of Cape Hatteras. Ophelia accelerated to the
northeast later on 16 September and passed east of Cape Cod the
next day. The storm transformed into an extratropical low near Nova
Scotia early on 18 September... passed over Newfoundland on 19
September... and reached the eastern Atlantic on 21 September.
Extratropical Ophelia was absorbed by a larger low on 22 September.
One death was attributed to Ophelia... a drowning along the
southeastern coast of Florida. The storm caused an estimated $50
million in damage along the North Carolina coast... with
significant beach erosion noted from the North Carolina coast
southward to the central Florida coast.
Philippe formed from a tropical wave... becoming a depression on 17
September about 305 miles east of Barbados. The depression became a
tropical storm later that day. Philippe moved north- northeastward
to the east of the Lesser Antilles and strengthened... becoming a
hurricane on 19 September about 390 miles east of the Leeward
Islands. Philippe reached its peak intensity of 80 mph early the
following day. Continuing to the north- northwest over open
waters... Philippe weakened to a tropical storm late on 20
September. The cyclone turned northward and its circulation became
embedded within a larger non-tropical area of low pressure on 22
September. Rotating counter-clockwise within the larger low...
Philippe turned to the west and south... and weakened to a tropical
depression the next day. The circulation of Philippe was absorbed
by the non-tropical low early on 24 September.
Rita was an intense... destructive... and deadly hurricane that
significantly impacted the Florida Keys and devastated portions of
southeastern Texas and southern Louisiana. Rita became a
depression just east of the Turks and Caicos Islands late on 17
September. It moved westward and became a tropical storm the
following afternoon. Continuing on through the central Bahamas on
19 September... Rita approached hurricane strength with 70 mph
winds. While Rita did not strengthen during the following night...
it rapidly intensified on 20 September while moving through the
Florida Straits. It reached category two intensity as the center
passed about 50 miles south of Key West. Even though the center
did not make landfall in the Florida Keys... it downed trees and
produced storm tides of up to five feet in portions of the island
chain... flooding sections of U.S. Highway 1 and many other
streets... as well as several homes and businesses.
After entering the Gulf of Mexico... Rita intensified at an
astounding rate... from category two to category five in about 24
hours... with winds reaching 165 mph on the afternoon of 21
September. The hurricane strengthened further and reached a peak
intensity of 175 mph early on 22 September about 570 miles
east-southeast of Galveston Texas. The central pressure fell to 897
mb... the third lowest on record in the Atlantic Basin...
displacing to fifth lowest the 902 mb measurement in Hurricane
Katrina less than one month earlier. Rita began to weaken later
that day... but as it passed through the Gulf it produced storm
surge flooding in portions of the New Orleans area that had
previously been inundated by Katrina. Rita turned northwestward and
weakened to category three on 23 September. It then made landfall
around 230 am CDT 24 September just east of the Texas/Louisiana
border between Sabine Pass and johnson's bayou... still at category
three intensity with 120 mph winds. Rita caused devastating storm
surge flooding and wind damage in southwestern Louisiana and
extreme southeastern Texas. It weakened after moving inland... but
remained a tropical storm until reaching northwestern Louisiana
late on 24 September. It then turned northeastward and merged with
a frontal system two days later. A final count of the casualties
due to Rita is not yet available. Damage assessments are also
ongoing and a final cost estimate is not yet available.
Tropical Depression Nineteen formed on 30 September about 665 miles
west-southwest of the Cape Verde Islands. At the end of the
month... the depression was drifting northwestward over the open
waters of the tropical eastern Atlantic with maximum winds of 35
mph.
Summary table
Name dates Max wind deaths U.S. Damage
mph $million
----------------------------------------------------------
h Maria 1-10 Sep 115 0
h Nate 5-10 Sep 90 0
h Ophelia 6-18 Sep 85 1 50
h Philippe 17-24 Sep 80 0
h Rita 18-26 Sep 175 ** **
TD nineteen 30 Sep - 35 ** **
----------------------------------------------------------
note...dates based on coordinated Universal time (utc)
* preliminary estimate
** unknown at this time
Forecaster Pasch/Stewart/Beven/Franklin/Knabb/Avila


$$

[wxmann_91]

bump, now on the NHC's site.

[WeatherEmperor]

thats interesting. i never really read these but its nice to see it.

<RICKY>

[tornadochaser86]

so what do u guys think about this supposedly being linked to global warming?