Tropical cyclones in the month of May

[James]

So, we are about to enter the month of May, the month in which the E. Pacific season begins and the tropics prepare to awaken. So, just as a matter of interest, let's have a look at the storms that have occurred in the month of May in both the Atlantic and E. Pacific basins.

So, between the years of 1950 and 2004:

Atlantic

1951 - Hurricane Able, 15-24 May (CAT 3)
1953 - Tropical Storm Alice, 25 May-6 June
1959 - Tropical Storm Arlene, 28 May-2 June
1970 - Hurricane Alma, 17-27 May (CAT 1)
1972 - Subtropical Storm Alpha, 23-29 May
1976 - Subtropical Storm 1, 21-25 May
1981 - Tropical Storm Arlene, 6-9 May

Obviously May is not what you would consider a prime month for development in the Atlantic basin, so a system in that month may not be that likely. However, it is quite likely that we will have something to track in the E. Pacific in this coming month:

East Pacific

1951 - Tropical Storm #1 17-21 May
1952 - Tropical Storm #1 29-31 May
1956 - Hurricane #1 (CAT 1) 18-19 May
1970 - Hurricane Adele (CAT 1) 30 May-7 June
1971 - Hurricane Agatha (CAT 2) 21-25 May
1974 - Tropical Storm Aletta 28-30 May
1977 - Tropical Storm Ava 26-30 May
1978 - Hurricane Aletta (CAT 1) 30 May-1 June
1979 - Hurricane Andres (CAT 2) 31 May-4 June
1981 - Tropical Storm Adrian 30 May-4 June
1982 - Tropical Storm Aletta 20-29 May
1983 - Hurricane Adolph (CAT 2) 21-28 May
1984 - Tropical Storm Alma 17-21 May
1986 - Hurricane Agatha (CAT 1) 22-29 May
1989 - Tropical Storm Adolph 31 May - 5 June
1990 - Hurricane Alma (CAT 1) 12-18 May
1991 - Tropical Storm Andres 16-20 May
1996 - Tropical Storm #1 13-16 May
2000 - Hurricane Aletta (CAT 2) 22-28 May
2001 - Hurricane Adolph (CAT 4) 25 May-1 June
2002 - Hurricane Alma (CAT 3) 24 May-1 June
2003 - Tropical Storm Andres 20-26 May
2004 - Tropical Storm Agatha 22-25 May

So, with 23 seasons experiencing a May storm since 1950 in the E. Pacific, the prospect of something to track is not that unlikely. Time will most definitely tell with this, but it is interesting to think that the seasons are just around the corner.

[AussieMark]

interesting to note every year starting with 2000 has produced a May system in Eastern Pacific

[weatherwindow]

just an interesting aside....according to ludlum and others, a hurricane struck, of all places, st augustine in may, 1825....unlikely place at an unlikely time

[Hyperstorm]

Very interesting to also note that the Atlantic Ocean hasn't had a tropical cyclone in May in nearly 25 years! What makes it even more interesting is the fact that in the past we've had several tropical cyclones develop within a decade's time! Amazing...

[cyclonaut]

Another interesting fact abouth the EPAC is that NO storms developed in a 14 year span (56-70).Consifering that season starts in mid-May I find that odd.

[Derek Ortt]

Subtropical Storm 1 in 1997 formed on May 31; thus, 1997 is the last year that we had a May storm

[cyclonaut]

just an interesting aside....according to ludlum and others, a hurricane struck, of all places, st augustine in may, 1825....unlikely place at an unlikely time

I have heard of this & it is strange,though it is said that it was just a tropical storm & it happened on June the 2nd,I wonder from which direction it came from.

[James]

Yea, pretty perplexing. It's quite interesting, though. Although of course I can only specualte, perhaps it took a similar course to Tropical Storm Edouard in 2002. Who knows?

[Hyperstorm]

Subtropical Storm 1 in 1997 formed on May 31; thus, 1997 is the last year that we had a May storm

The subtropical storm in 1997 developed on June 1st. So, officially there has been NO May storms in nearly 25 years...

[Derek Ortt]

no, it is a may storm


the month in which the system becomes a depression is considered to be the month it formed. Just like Alex is a July storm because it formed at the very end of July. The same thing happened with the STS in 1997, it was a May storm

[Derek Ortt]

I take back what I said. Unisys where I get my best track info from is incorrect as it indicates it was a depresison in May, while the official NHc report has it at 6Z on June 1.

However, in 1993 we did have a tropical depression that was not quite able to attain tropical storm intensity in May

[donsutherland1]

Most of those early tropical storms/hurricanes that made U.S. landfall, made landfall somewhere in Florida (usually in an area running from the western Peninsula to the Panhandle).

Hurricane Alma (1970), STS Alpha (1972), and STS 1 (1976) all reached Florida at a very similar location, though only one of them retained tropical storm/hurricane status at landfall:

Hurricane Alma:


STS Alpha:


STS 1:


Others making U.S. or Canadian landfall included:

H1 (1887): Nova Scotia (extratropical)
TS1 (1934): Southwest Florida and then South Carolina (near the GA border)
TS Alice (1953): Florida Panhandle
TS Arlene (1959): Louisiana