MONTHLY GLOBAL TROPICAL CYCLONE SUMMARY
AUGUST, 2005
First Installment
(For general comments about the nature of these summaries, as well as
information on how to download the tabular cyclone track files, see
the Author's Note at the end of this summary.)
NOTE: The August summary will be disseminated in two installments. The
first will cover the Atlantic and Northeast Pacific basins as well as
take a brief look at a couple of Southern Hemisphere systems. The second
installment will cover the Northwest Pacific basin.
*************************************************************************
AUGUST HIGHLIGHTS
--> Hurricane causes greatest natural disaster in U. S. history
--> Western Pacific active--several typhoon strikes in China and Japan
--> Eastern North Pacific activity picks up
*************************************************************************
ACTIVITY BY BASINS
ATLANTIC (ATL) - North Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean Sea, Gulf of Mexico
Activity for August: 1 tropical depression
3 tropical storms
1 hurricane
1 intense hurricane
Sources of Information
----------------------
Most of the information presented below was obtained from the
various tropical cyclone products issued by the Tropical Prediction
Center/National Hurricane Center (TPC/NHC) in Miami, Florida:
discussions, public advisories, forecast/advisories, tropical weather
outlooks, special tropical disturbance statements, etc. Some
additional information may have been gleaned from the monthly
summaries prepared by the hurricane specialists and available on
TPC/NHC's website. All references to sustained winds imply a
1-minute averaging period unless otherwise noted.
Atlantic Tropical Activity for August
-------------------------------------
Tropical cyclone activity was above normal in August, although not at
the pace seen in July. Five tropical storms were named with two
reaching hurricane intensity--of these, one became an intense hurricane
(Category 3 or higher on the Saffir/Simpson scale). The averages for
the month of August (1950-2004) are: 2.8 named storms, 1.6 hurricanes,
and 0.6 intense hurricanes. The five August cyclones generated a Net
Tropical Cyclone Activity (NTC) of 39%, somewhat above the August average
NTC of 25%. Even though the month was more active than normal, it fell
far short of August of 2004's eight named storms, five hurricanes, three
intense hurricanes and NTC of 85%--the most active month of August on
record.
The one thing August of 2004 didn't have, however, was a Hurricane
Katrina. This awesome storm became a large Category 5 hurricane in the
central Gulf of Mexico after blasting southern Florida as an intensifying
Category 1 hurricane. Katrina's winds reached 150 kts and its central
pressure dipped to 902 mb, at the time the 4th lowest pressure measured
in an Atlantic hurricane. However, as the season progressed, two more
hurricanes would reach even lower pressures, pushing Katrina back to 6th
place. Katrina landed in southeastern Louisiana early on the morning of
29 August as a severe Category 4 hurricane and later that day made a
final landfall along the Mississippi coast as a Category 3 hurricane.
Storm surge heights exceeding 30 feet completely obliterated or very
heavily damaged all structures within several miles of the shoreline
over much of the Mississippi coast. In addition the surge in Lake
Pontchartrain broke through levees protecting the below-sea-level city
of New Orleans, resulting in 80% of that city being flooded. Some
damage estimates have exceeded a staggering $200 billion, and the death
toll will likely exceed 1300.
Of the remaining August cyclones, Tropical Storms Harvey and Lee and
the rather long-lived Hurricane Irene remained out in the Atlantic, not
affecting any land areas except for a brief brush with Bermuda by Harvey.
Tropical Storm Jose, like Bret and Gert before it, formed in the Bay of
Campeche and quickly moved westward into Mexico. Jose, however, was
slightly stronger than the two previous storms in this region. Reports
follow on all the named August systems.
One other tropical depression formed during the month and was
designated as Tropical Depression 10. This system weakened before
developing into a tropical storm, but its remnants contributed to the
formation of Tropical Depression 12, which became the catastrophic
Katrina. The history of TD-10 is included in the Katrina report.
Another well-defined tropical wave which crossed the Atlantic in late
August produced winds at times exceeding gale force, but remained highly
sheared and was not organized enough to warrant classification as a
tropical depression. This system preceded the system which ultimately
became Tropical Storm Lee and possibly had some connection with Lee.
More information on the wave can be found in the report on Tropical
Storm Lee.
Additional information, including satellite pictures and links, may
be found at the following URL:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2005_Atlantic_hurricane_season>
TROPICAL STORM HARVEY
(TC-08)
2 - 12 August
-----------------------------------------
Tropical Storm Harvey was the earliest 8th Atlantic tropical storm
on record, exceeding the previous one by about 1 1/2 weeks (15 August
1936). The cyclone formed from a tropical wave which exited the coast
of Africa on 23 July. The wave was first mentioned by TPC/NHC in a
Tropical Weather Outlook at 1530 UTC on 26 July when it was located
roughly 1200 nm east-southeast of the Windward Islands. The wave
continued westward, slowly increasing in organization. By midday on
the 29th an area of low pressure had formed in the northern Leeward
Islands in association with the wave, but upper-level winds were not
particularly favorable for development at the time. The area of low-
pressure crossed Hispaniola on the 30th and moved northward for a couple
of days, but the associated convection weakened during this period.
By the morning of 2 August a broad area of low pressure was centered
approximately 415 nm southwest of Bermuda with a large area of convection
to the north and east of an ill-defined center. Upper-level winds had
become more conducive for development, and the first advisory on Tropical
Depression 08 was issued at 2100 UTC, placing the center about 300 nm
southwest of Bermuda and moving northward at 11 kts. The discussion
bulletin noted that the system was not the most tropical of tropical
cyclones and had some subtropical features. Also, there were a number
of small swirls rotating around a common center. The cyclone still
exhibited some subtropical characteristics on the morning of the 3rd,
but the definition of the LLCC had improved over the previous day.
QuikScat data indicated several unflagged 35-kt vectors, ship W6SOT
reported 35-kt winds near the center at 1200 UTC, and Dvorak classi-
fications from TAFB had reached T2.5 by 1200 UTC, so the depression
was upgraded to Tropical Storm Harvey at 1500 UTC, located approximately
185 nm west-southwest of Bermuda, moving north-northeastward at 9 kts.
Only two aerial reconnaissance flights were made into Harvey. The
first around midday on 3 August found winds of 62 kts at 365 m in the
southeast quadrant with a minimum CP of 999 mb. Based on this, the
MSW was upped to 50 kts in a special advisory at 1800 UTC. Shortly
after being named, Harvey's trajectory turned to the east-northeast
and the cyclone passed about 40 nm south-southeast of Bermuda early on
the 4th where sustained winds to 32 kts, gusting to 44 kts, were
reported. A morning reconnaissance mission (the final one into Harvey)
found a CP of 995 mb, but the peak FLWs did not support an increase in
intensity. However, by 1500 UTC the cloud pattern had become much more
typical of a tropical cyclone with most of the subtropical features of
the previous day having disappeared. With T-numbers at 3.0 and 3.5, the
MSW was increased to its peak value of 55 kts. The cyclone was then
centered approximately 85 nm east of Bermuda and moving toward the east-
northeast at 12 kts. The 55-kt peak MSW was maintained for about
24 hours before being dropped slightly to 50 kts. Harvey's intensity
fluctuated between 45 and 50 kts for the remainder of its life as a
tropical cyclone. Vertical shear was sufficiently inhibiting to prevent
the cyclone from reaching hurricane intensity, and the LLCC for much of
the time was either fully or partially-exposed.
The east-northeastward motion continued through the 6th as Harvey was
being moved along by a shortwave trough to the north. That trough had
lifted out by the 5th and the storm's motion slowed somewhat as the
steering flow weakened. The cyclone turned more to the northeast and
began to accelerate on the 6th as the next shortwave in the westerlies
off New England continued to push eastward. Harvey moved along with
this second shortwave trough, and as it began to move into cooler waters
north of the Gulf Stream early on the 8th, the convection began to
decrease notably. The final TPC/NHC advisory on Tropical Storm Harvey
was issued at 08/2100 UTC, placing the center about 465 nm southeast of
Cape Race, Newfoundland. The cloud pattern had become asymmetric and was
beginning to merge with a mid-latitude cloud band. The remnants of
Harvey continued for several days as a large and powerful extratropical
cyclone over the North Atlantic, finally losing its identity on the 14th.
The Bermuda Naval Air Station at Kindley Field (32.4N/64.7W) recorded
117.6 mm of rain between 03/1200 and 04/1200 UTC.
A graphic displaying the track of Tropical Storm Harvey may be found
at the following link:
<http://www.tropicalcyclone2005.com/database/tc_besttracks_graphics/ATLANTIC
_NORTH/2005_08L_HARVEY.jpg>
No casualties or damage are known to have resulted from Tropical
Storm Harvey.
(Report written by Gary Padgett)
HURRICANE IRENE
(TC-09)
4 - 18 August
-----------------------------------
Hurricane Irene became the earliest 9th Atlantic tropical storm of the
year when it was named on 7 August, besting the previous record for the
earliest 9th storm set on 20 August 1936. The cyclone developed from a
tropical wave which left the west coast of Africa on 1 August. TPC/NHC
first mentioned this system in a Tropical Weather Outlook issued at
1530 UTC on 3 August when it was located a few hundred miles west-
southwest of the Cape Verde Islands. Convection gradually increased
in organization and advisories were initiated on Tropical Depression 09
at 2100 UTC on 4 August when the poorly-defined center of the system
was located about 600 nm west of the southernmost Cape Verde Islands.
The depression was large with plenty of convective bands, excellent
outflow and a burst of convection near the center.
The depression was initially forecast to move westward and strengthen
soon into a tropical storm. However, it turned northwestward, a move
which kept it over slightly cooler SSTs. Also, the northwesterly track
took the system into a region of westerly vertical shear. Convection
became very limited over the next few days due to the cooler SSTs, shear
and dry air. The depression was broad and poorly-organized, and
multiple swirls were noted at times. TD-09 continued to moved west-
northwestward through a hostile environment for the first three days of
its life as a tropical cyclone. Late on the 6th the discussion bulletin
noted that the depression was still strongly sheared and that Dvorak
classifications could hardly support a T-number based on the distance
between the center and the convection. Early on 7 August the center
reformed to the north and convection increased significantly near and
east of the center with the cloud pattern resembling that of a sheared
tropical storm. A QuikScat pass at 07/0849 UTC revealed 40-kt vectors
just outside the deep convection to the north of the center, and Dvorak
numbers from TAFB and AFWA had reached T2.5. Hence, Tropical Storm Irene
was christened at 1500 UTC with the center located about 1000 nm east of
the northern Leeward Islands. Since the deep convection near the center
as well as the organization had diminished since earlier in the morning,
the initial advisory intensity was set at 35 kts.
Irene barely held on to tropical storm intensity for 24 hours as the
shear continued unabated, but by 1500 UTC on the 8th the signature had
deteriorated to the point that the system was downgraded to a tropical
depression. Around the time of the downgrade the west-northwesterly
track flattened out to more of a straight westerly one. Irene sailed
toward the west for a couple of days as a tropical depression. Bursts
of convection occurred occasionally and kept the system alive. By the
afternoon of 9 August, the cloud structure was becoming more symmetric
and there were signs of some banding, but by early morning on the 10th
there was considerable doubt as to whether or not the system still had a
closed circulation. But as the day progressed the cloud pattern again
began to improve, and by 11/0000 UTC Dvorak estimates had reached a
consensus 35 kts from all three satellite classification agencies.
Hence, Irene was re-upgraded to tropical status at 11/0300 UTC when
located roughly 600 nm south-southeast of Bermuda, moving west-
northwestward at 11 kts.
The revived Irene continued west-northwestward, passing roughly 280 nm
south of Bermuda on the morning of 12 August. The storm's track slowly
became northwesterly, and Irene turned northward upon reaching the 70th
meridian on the 14th--at 14/0600 UTC the cyclone was located about 280 nm
west of Bermuda. After being re-upgraded to tropical storm status,
Irene slowly strengthened with the MSW reaching 60 kts by 12/1800 UTC.
A reconnaissance aircraft investigating Irene reported a peak FLW of
64 kts with a CP of 997 mb. By the time Irene had reached the 35th
parallel around 15/0000 UTC, it had begun to move toward the north-
northeast. A reconnaissance flight into the cyclone around this time
found a peak FLW of 88 kts with an attendant CP of 989 mb. This was the
basis for upgrading Irene to the season's third hurricane at 15/0300 UTC,
the center being then located about 280 nm northwest of Bermuda or about
310 nm east of Cape Hatteras.
By the morning of 15 August Irene was moving almost due eastward at
around latitude 36.5N, a motion which persisted for the next two days.
The eastward trajectory was very significant for Irene in that it kept
it away from cooler SSTs and strong westerlies just to the north. When
upgraded to hurricane intensity, Irene was forecast to peak at 75 kts and
begin to weaken after 36 hours. Instead, the storm was able to hang on
to hurricane intensity for almost three days and was able to strengthen
into a Category 2 hurricane. Irene's peak intensity was reached at
1800 UTC on 16 August when centered approximately 720 nm southwest of
Cape Race, Newfoundland. Dvorak T-numbers at that time supported a
MSW of 90 kts, and this value was reported in TPC/NHC's Monthly Tropical
Weather Summary for August. However, by advisory release time at 2100
UTC, cloud tops had warmed somewhat and the eye had become less distinct,
so the maximum advisory intensity for Irene was 85 kts.
Shortly after reaching its peak intensity, Irene began to experience
significant westerly shear, resulting in a steady decrease in intensity.
The cyclone was downgraded to a tropical storm at 2100 UTC on 17 August.
By this time Irene had accelerated toward the northeast: at 17/1500 UTC
the forward speed was 10 kts--24 hours later the storm was racing north-
eastward at 40 kts. The final TPC/NHC advisory on Irene was issued at
18/1500 UTC, placing the center about 255 nm east-southeast of Cape Race.
The storm was beginning to interact with a frontal zone and was rapidly
losing tropical characteristics. The remains of Irene were apparently
quickly absorbed by a large extratropical LOW just east of Newfoundland.
A graphic displaying the track of Hurricane Irene may be found at the
following link:
<http://www.tropicalcyclone2005.com/database/tc_besttracks_graphics/ATLANTIC
_NORTH/2005_09L_IRENE.jpg>
No casualties or damage are known to have resulted from Hurricane
Irene.
(Report written by Gary Padgett)
TROPICAL STORM JOSE
(TC-11)
22 - 23 August
---------------------------------------
Tropical Storm Jose continued the trend of setting a new earliest
"n-th" storm record for the Atlantic basin. The previous earliest
10th tropical storm was Tropical Storm Jerry, which became a named storm
on 23 August 1995. Jose was named on the afternoon of 22 August,
beating Jerry by one day. According to the monthly summary prepared by
the staff of TPC/NHC, Jose's origins lay in a tropical wave, but the
earliest mention of the pre-Jose disturbance in a Tropical Weather
Outlook was at 1530 UTC on 19 August, when a small area of disturbed
weather was centered just east of the northeastern tip of Honduras,
moving slowly west-northwestward. The next couple of days saw this
disturbance produce showers over the extreme northwestern Caribbean Sea
and adjacent land areas as it continued slowly west-northwestward. By
the afternoon of 21 August an area of low-pressure had formed over the
southwestern portion of the Yucatan Peninsula.
Convection increased markedly on the morning of the 22nd over the
Bay of Campeche, and upper-level winds appeared favorable for further
development. Satellite imagery, Mexican radar data, and QuikScat data
indicated that a tropical depression was forming, and advisories were
initiated on Tropical Depression 11 in a special advisory issued at
1600 UTC. The center of the developing cyclone was placed about 70 nm
east-northeast of Veracruz, moving westward at 7 kts. The initial MSW
was estimated at 25 kts, and although the depression didn't appear to
have much time over water, it was forecast to become a minimal tropical
storm before landfall. The intensity was increased to 30 kts in the
2100 UTC advisory as the system was maintaining deep central convection
and had an excellent outflow pattern aloft.
A reconnaissance aircraft reached the system about this time and
reported a maximum FLW at 305 m of 54 kts, supporting 45 kts at the
surface. The depression was upgraded to Tropical Storm Jose in a special
advisory issued at 2215 UTC. Jose's center was fixed about 50 nm east-
northeast of Veracruz, or about 140 nm southeast of Tuxpan, Mexico.
Tropical Storm Jose continued moving steadily westward and made landfall
around 23/0600 UTC about 80 nm south-southeast of Tuxpan. Data from a
radar at Alvarado, Mexico, indicated that the cyclone became better
organized in the last two hours before landfall with an eye forming.
However, the exact intensity of Jose before landfall remains unknown. An
hour or two before the eye began to form TRMM data showed that the center
was partially-exposed and aircraft data indicated that peak winds were
well below hurricane strength. The storm was downgraded to a depression
in the intermediate advisory at 23/1200 UTC, and the final advisory was
issued at 1500 UTC, placing the center inland about 110 km east-northeast
of Mexico City, moving westward at about 8 kts, or 15 km/hr.
A graphic displaying the track of Tropical Storm Jose may be found at
the following link:
<http://www.tropicalcyclone2005.com/database/tc_besttracks_graphics/ATLANTIC
_NORTH/2005_11L_JOSE.jpg>
The weakening Jose brought torrential rainfall to portions of Mexico.
Jalapa, in Veracruz State, recorded 103.8 mm between 22/1200 and 23/1200
UTC. The heavy rains triggered landslides and flooding that forced
thousands to evacuate their homes. A 59-year-old man was killed in
Jalapa when a mudslide buried his home. In Misantla, about 70 km south-
east of Jalapa, some 1500 residents were housed in seven makeshift
shelters because the Misantla River was overflowing its banks. Several
others were rescued from their cars after becoming stranded along a
flooded stretch of highway between Jalapa and Cardel.
(Report written by Gary Padgett)
HURRICANE KATRINA
(TC-12)
23 - 31 August
-------------------------------------
A. Introduction and Storm Origins
---------------------------------
Hurricane Katrina was responsible for what will likely be recorded
as the worst natural disaster in the history of the United States when it
made landfall in extreme southeastern Louisiana and western Mississippi
on the morning of 29 August. A storm surge estimated at up to 10.7 m
(35 ft) obliterated much of the signs of civilization along the coast
of Mississippi, and the resurging waters of Lake Pontchartrain after
the storm had passed broke through levees protecting New Orleans and
left up to 80% of that large city flooded with waters exceeding 6 m
(20 ft) in places. Very severe surge-related damage was also inflicted
on communities along the north shore of the large lake, including
Slidell, Louisiana. Some estimates of the economic impact of Katrina
reported in the media have exceeded $200 billion, well over twice the
damage from Hurricane Andrew and the four hurricanes of 2004 combined.
As of the time of this writing, the death toll stands at well over
1200, by far the deadliest U. S. hurricane since the great Palm Beach
and Lake Okechobee hurricane of 1928.
A tropical wave which left the coast of Africa in early August began
to show some signs of life late on 11 August when it was located about
1300 nm east of the Windward Islands. An associated low-pressure area
formed on the 12th and convection began to slowly increase as the day
progressed. By midday on 13 August satellite images indicated that a
tropical depression appeared to be forming, and advisories on Tropical
Depression 10 were initiated at 2100 UTC, placing the center about
950 nm east of the Lesser Antilles. Environmental conditions quickly
became unfavorable, however, as an unusually deep upper-level trough
developed to the west, and vertical shear had weakened the cyclone so
much that advisories were discontinued the next day. Over the next
week or so the remnants of TD-10 continued westward, occasionally
developing some convection but never really showing any signs of
redevelopment. By the afternoon of 20 August another westward-moving
tropical wave seemed to have caught up with the remnants of TD-10, and
cloudiness and showers extended from the Bahamas eastward for several
hundred miles, the heaviest concentration being north of Puerto Rico.
For the next couple of days the convective activity remained
disorganized, but by the morning of 23 August convection was becoming
more concentrated near the southeastern Bahamas. A Special Tropical
Disturbance Statement was issued by TPC/NHC at 23/1835 UTC, indicating
that a tropical depression was forming within the area of disturbed
weather. There was a debate at NHC regarding whether to re-designate
this depression as TD-10, or to give it a new number. Since the old
TD-10 LLCC had dissipated and another tropical wave had been a player,
it was decided to number the new depression as TD-12.
B. Track and Intensity History
------------------------------
The tropical cyclone initially moved northwestward through the
western Bahamas, passing east of Nassau and west of Eleuthera Island
as it headed for a weakness in the Bermuda HIGH near the southeastern
U. S. coast. Gradual development ensued, and the depression was upgraded
to Tropical Storm Katrina in a special update issued at 1205 UTC on
24 August while located about 60 nm southeast of Nassau. The upgrade
was based on satellite imagery, Doppler radar data from the Bahamas, and
an 1153 UTC reconnaissance 925-mb FLW of 48 kts in the northeast
quadrant. Katrina continued moving northwestward until it reached the
26th parallel. At that point it turned abruptly westward as the weakness
in the HIGH was replaced by a developing ridge. The cyclone continued
to steadily intensify, becoming much better developed by the morning of
25 August. Katrina was upgraded to a hurricane in a special update
issued at 25/1935 UTC, based on NOAA reconnaissance Stepped-Frequency
Microwave Radiometer (SFMR) reports of surface winds of 64 kts as well
as NOAA-Miami Doppler radar velocities of 90 kts at 915 metres. The
storm at this time was centered only about 30 nm east-northeast of
Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, and moving westward at 5 kts.
The eye of Hurricane Katrina made landfall around 25/2300 UTC between
Hallandale Beach and North Miami Beach with the MSW estimated at 70 kts.
Shortly before reaching the coast, the cyclone turned to a west-
southwesterly heading which it followed across the extreme southern
portion of the peninsula, emerging into the Gulf of Mexico around 0700
UTC on 26 August at a point approximately 40 nm south-southeast of Marco
Island. Katrina had weakened to 60 kts crossing the southern tip of
Florida, but it quickly regained hurricane intensity--by 0900 UTC the
cyclone had been re-upgraded to hurricane status, and by early afternoon
Katrina was a Category 2 hurricane sporting 85-kt winds. The unusual
west-southwesterly motion continued through about 0600 UTC on the 27th,
at which time Katrina was located about 115 nm west of Key West, or about
390 nm southeast of the mouth of the Mississippi River. The motion
toward the southwest was apparently due to a very strong deep-layer mean
HIGH centered over Texas, but this feature was forecast to move westward
and leave a weakness over the central Gulf of Mexico.
Katrina was upgraded to a Category 3 hurricane with 100-kt winds at
27/1500 UTC, based on Dvorak intensity estimates ranging from 102 to
115 kts, plus a central pressure of 940 mb measured at 0932 UTC. The
peak FLW measured by the aircraft was 106 kts--somewhat lower than would
normally be expected for a 940-mb hurricane. Katrina's intensification
was halted by an eyewall replacement cycle which began during the morning
of the 27th. The MSW remained pegged at 100 kts for 18 hours while the
CP rose as high as 950 mb before beginning to slowly fall once more.
Very early on 28 August a reconnaissance plane found peak 700-mb winds
of 137 kts in the northwestern eyewall, along with a corresponding CP of
935 mb. Katrina was upgraded to a Category 4 hurricane with a MSW of
125 kts in a special advisory issued at 28/0600 UTC. Not only was
Katrina intensifying, its wind field was expanding also. Hurricane-force
winds now covered an area over 100 nm in diameter while gales covered
an area 240 nm across. The hurricane at this time was located about
270 nm south-southeast of the mouth of the Mississippi River, moving
west-northwestward at 7 kts.
The dangerous Katrina continued to intensify. By 28/0921 UTC the CP
had fallen to 915 mb, and to 910 mb by 1104 UTC. A reconnaissance air-
craft measured a 700-mb FLW of 153 kts, so another special advisory was
issued at 1200 UTC upgrading Katrina to a 140-kt Category 5 hurricane on
the Saffir/Simpson scale. A CP of 907 mb was measured at 1417 UTC along
with a peak FLW of 166 kts. Katrina's MSW was upped to its peak value of
150 kts in the regular 1500 UTC advisory. The minimum CP of 902 mb was
first measured at 1755 UTC and remained there for at least the next two
hours. This 902-mb pressure ranked Katrina as the fourth most intense
Atlantic hurricane on record, based on central pressure, after Gilbert,
1988 (888 mb), the Labor Day storm of 1935 (892 mb), and Allen, 1980
(899 mb). However, this was to be pushed back to 5th place in less
than a month as Hurricane Rita's CP dipped to 897 mb, and further to
6th place in late October as Hurricane Wilma bottomed out at 882 mb.
Even though Katrina's pressure continued to fall a few millibars after
the MSW had reached 150 kts, the intensity was scaled back slightly to
145 kts in the 28/2100 UTC advisory. The explanation given was that
data from the SFMR instrument on board the aircraft suggested that the
700-mb flight level to surface wind reduction ratio might not be quite
as large as the 90% value typically used for eyewall winds. However,
the TPC/NHC monthly summary for August lists the peak MSW for Katrina
as 150 kts, so it will be interesting to see what Katrina's peak MSW
is after post-storm analysis. The next discussion (at 29/0300 UTC)
raises some questions about the performance of the SFMR at such high
wind speeds, so perhaps 150 kts will stand as Katrina's peak MSW. At
2100 UTC on the 28th, the center of this large, extremely dangerous
hurricane was located approximately 130 nm south of the Mississippi
River's mouth, moving toward the northwest at 11 kts.
By 29/0000 UTC Katrina's motion had become more north-northwestward,
and by 0700 UTC the storm was headed due north at 10 kts toward the
Louisiana coast. After peaking in intensity on the afternoon of the
28th, Katrina began to slowly weaken, due in part to eyewall dynamics
and also due to some dry air entrainment on the western side. The
center of Katrina made landfall in Plaquemines Parish around 1200 UTC
on 29 August with a CP of 921 mb and MSW of 120 kts. Hurricane-force
winds covered an area 170 nm in diameter and gales extended across an
area almost 400 nm in diameter. Continuing northward, Katrina made a
second landfall near the Louisiana/Mississippi border around 1500 UTC
with the MSW estimated at 110 kts. As the storm continued northward
through Mississippi, it began to weaken rather rapidly. Winds were
down to 85 kts by 1800 UTC, and Katrina was downgraded to a 55-kt
tropical storm at 30/0000 UTC when located about 50 km (30 miles)
northwest of Meridian, Mississippi. The former Category 5 hurricane
continued to weaken as it moved north-northeastward, becoming a
tropical depression near Clarksville, Tennessee, at 30/1500 UTC. By
the afternoon of 31 August the remnants of Katrina were racing east-
northeastward near Binghamton, New York.
A graphic displaying the track of Hurricane Katrina may be found at
the following link:
<http://www.tropicalcyclone2005.com/database/tc_besttracks_graphics/ATLANTIC
_NORTH/2005_12L_KATRINA.jpg>
Another graphic depicting a zoom-in of the track across Florida to
the northern Gulf Coast landfall may be found at:
<http://www.tropicalcyclone2005.com/database/tc_besttracks_graphics/ATLANTIC
_NORTH/2005_12L_KATRINA_ZOOM.jpg>
C. Meteorological Observations
------------------------------
(1) Wind Observations
---------------------
During Katrina's traversal of South Florida, the highest wind gusts
located by the author was a gust to 76 kts at NHC and a gust of 70 kts
at Tamiami Airport.
As Katrina neared its landfall in Louisiana, Grand Isle reported
sustained winds to 76 kts, gusting to 99 kts, in the hour ending at
29/1000 UTC. During the same hour a Florida Coastal Monitoring Program
wind tower in Galliano, Louisiana, reported sustained winds of 69 kts
with gusts to 87 kts. Between 1000 and 1100 UTC the New Orleans Lake-
front Airport reported a sustained wind of 49 kts with a gust to 74 kts.
The Naval Air Station in Belle Chasse, Louisiana, reported sustained
winds of hurricane force with a peak gust of 83 kts. During the
following hour this station reported a gust of 91 kts.
Between 1300 and 1400 UTC the Pascagoula, Mississippi Civil Defense
Office reported a gust of 103 kts, and the Gulfport Emergency Operations
Center reported sustained winds of 82 kts with a peak gust of 87 kts.
Farther from the center, Dauphin Island, Alabama, reported peak sustained
winds of 66 kts with a gust to 89 kts. Mobile reported a peak gust of
72 kts, and Pensacola, Florida, reported sustained winds of 45 kts with
a gust to 60 kts.
There was a report circulating that a gust of 117 kts had been
recorded at Slidell, Louisiana, but Scott Spratt of the Melbourne NWS
office, who was detailed to the NWS office in Slidell for Katrina's
landfall, states that the 117-kt report was erroneous. Scott did
indicate that a peak gust of 99 kts was recorded at mid-lake on the
Pontchartrain Causeway, but the elevation was unknown.
(2) Rainfall Observations
-------------------------
There was initially a report of 840 mm in 20 hours at a location in
the Everglades in southern Florida, but according to David Roth of HPC,
this was later discounted as it was out of tolerance with other reliable
reports in the area. The peak storm-related rainfall available to the
author from southern Florida was 415 mm near Perrine, located between
Miami and Homestead.
HPC's Katrina rainfall report can be accessed at the following link:
<http://www.hpc.ncep.noaa.gov/tropical/rain/katrina2005rain.gif>
In the Bahamas, Katrina caused a 24-hour rainfall of 100.9 mm at the
Nassau Airport (WMO 78073, 25.1N/77.5W) between 25/1200 and 26/1200 UTC.
In Cuba, Bahia Honda in Pinar del Rio Province (WMO 78318, 22.9N/
83.2W) reported a peak 24-hourly total of 147.3 mm between 27/0000 and
28/0000 UTC. Some locations in the province experienced between 200
and 300 mm of storm total rainfall as Katrina passed westward to the
north of Cuba.
The remnants of Katrina were responsible for some significant rains
in the Canadian Province of Quebec. Charlevoix (WMO 71319, 47.3N/70.6W)
reported a peak 24-hourly total of 177.8 mm between 31/0600 and 01/0600
UTC on 1 September. Several other locations logged over 100 mm of rain
associated with Katrina.
(3) Surge Observations
----------------------
Bill McCaul relates in an e-mail that well-known storm chaser Tim
Marshall made a preliminary ground-level survey of the devastated areas
along the Mississippi coast. Mr. Marshall estimated that the surge
reached 5.5 m (18 ft) in Pascagoula, 6.1 m (20 ft) in Ocean Springs,
6.4 m (21 ft) in Biloxi, 7.0 m (23 ft) in Gulfport, 7.9 m (26 ft) in
Long Beach-Pass Christian (essentially equal here to Hurricane Camille's
surge), 8.5 m (28 ft) in Bay St. Louis, and 9.8 m (32 ft) in Waveland.
The NWS Slidell also performed some surveying in Hancock County, MS,
and estimate that the maximum storm surge may have reached 10.7 m (35 ft)
in Waveland. This is based on the fact that the Hancock County Emergency
Operations Center is at an elevation of 30 ft, and personnel reported
wading through chest-deep water while evacuating.
Pat Fitzpatrick reported that the surge in Slidell, LA, along the
northeastern shore of Lake Pontchartrain was between 6.1 and 7.6 m
(20-25 ft). In one instance a two-story apartment with a base about
8 ft in elevation showed a waterline near the roof. Mr. Fitzpatrick
also noted that the twin-span Interstate 10 bridge across the lake
resembled a jig-saw puzzle.
(4) Miscellaneous
-----------------
Rich Henning, a member of the 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron
(the Hurricane Hunters) reports that the crew on a NOAA reconnaissance
mission measured an eye temperature of 29 C, which may be a record warm
eye measurement for the Atlantic basin. A few Western Pacific super
typhoons have been found to have eye temperatures of 30 and 31 deg C.
D. Storm Effects
----------------
Everyone around the globe who has access to the international cable
TV news channels saw many, many pictures of the indescribable destruction
wrought by Katrina. The damage and casualty figures quoted in the
introductory paragraph are preliminary--it will likely be months before
an accurate death toll is known, and the overall economic effects of
Katrina, including direct damage, recovery costs, upped gas prices,
increased insurance rates, loss of tourism dollars, etc may never be
accurately known.
In the 1960s, the two great north-central Gulf Coast hurricanes of
of that decade, Betsy and Camille, were the first two U. S. hurricanes
to cause direct damages in excess of $1 billion, in terms of current
dollar values. These two storms have become legendary in the annals
of Gulf Coast hurricane history. Betsy struck southeastern Louisiana,
the eye passing very near Grand Isle and later just south and west
of New Orleans. Camille's eye moved northward just east of the
Mississippi River delta and made landfall along the western Mississippi
coastline, the eye passing over Clermont Harbor, Waveland and Bay St.
Louis. Katrina combined the worst effects of both those famous storms
and far exceeded them. Betsy reportedly flooded 20% of New Orleans;
Katrina left 80% of the Crescent City under water. Camille obliterated
much of southern Mississippi with a storm surge ranging from 11.2 feet
at Pascagoula to 24.2 feet at Pass Christian; Katrina obliterated even
more with a surge ranging from an estimated 18 feet at Pascagoula to
35 feet at Waveland.
With all the focus on the catastrophe in Louisiana and Mississippi,
it is easy to overlook the fact that Katrina hit southern Florida with
a pretty good punch. There are 11 confirmed deaths from the storm
during its passage across the southern Florida Peninsula with about
half of these involving falling trees. There have been reports in
the media about many Floridians in Katrina's path not taking the
storm perhaps as seriously as they should nor seeking appropriate
shelter. A lesson to be learned from Katrina in south Florida is that
even a Category 1 hurricane is capable of easily bringing down trees
and persons should not be out in the open or driving in their cars
unless it is absolutely necessary.
(Report written by Gary Padgett)
TROPICAL STORM LEE
(TC-13)
28 August - 2 September
-------------------------------------------
Tropical Storm Lee was a one-hit wonder, being reported at tropical
storm intensity for only one warning cycle, i.e., a 6-hour period. In
contrast to the previous 8 tropical storms of the 2005 season, Lee was
not the earliest tropical storm of its rank to form. Cyclones Dennis
through Katrina became the earliest 4th through 11th Atlantic storms on
record, respectively, but Lee was not the earliest 12th tropical storm
of the season. That distinction is held by mighty Hurricane Luis of
1995, which became a named storm on 29 August (Lee was named on
31 August).
A large tropical wave left the coast of Africa the last week of
August, and by midday on the 26th was located some 600 nm southwest of
the Cape Verde Islands, accompanied by a low-pressure area. Convection
had become better organized and the system was mentioned in the 1530 UTC
Tropical Weather Outlook issued by TPC/NHC. Convective organization
gradually improved as the disturbance continued westward across the
tropical Atlantic, and by the afternoon of the 28th had reached the point
that advisories were initiated on Tropical Depression 13, located about
840 nm east of the Lesser Antilles. Only slow intensification was
forecast, and even this failed to materialize. The depression was
located within an environment of moderate easterly shear, and by the
next morning visible satellite images and a few surface observations
indicated that it had degenerated into a broad area of low pressure.
The remaining area of disturbed weather moved northward and by the
morning of the 30th was located several hundred miles southeast of
Bermuda. The 30/1530 UTC Tropical Weather Outlook referred to it as
"a complex area of disturbed weather, which includes the remnants of
Tropical Depression Thirteen." The system began to show some signs of
redevelopment later in the day, and at 1500 UTC on 31 August was
re-upgraded to tropical depression status about 775 nm east-southeast
of Bermuda. The upgrade was based on Dvorak classifications of T2.0
from TAFB and SAB, and SSM/I image around 1000 UTC which showed a
convective ring associated with the center. Six hours later Dvorak
T-numbers from the two agencies had reached T2.5, so based on these,
and also AMSU estimates, the depression was upgraded to Tropical Storm
Lee. However, no sooner had Lee been named than the cloud pattern
began to deteriorate, so the minimal tropical storm was downgraded to
depression status at 0300 UTC on 1 September.
Following the downgrade, Tropical Depression Lee, which had been
moving northeastward, turned back to the northwest. The system
continued to weaken, taking on a more subtropical appearance, and the
final advisory was issued at 0300 UTC on 2 September. According to
David Roth, the remnants of Lee were absorbed into another system which
had originated in the deep tropics and subsequently moved northward.
That particular tropical wave had been very impressive when it had moved
off the coast of Africa on 20 August--indeed it had been very well-
organized even while crossing the African continent, and it was thought
it might have a good chance of becoming the season's first intense Cape
Verde hurricane. However, the wave moved into an environment of fairly
strong vertical shear as it crossed the eastern Atlantic. QuikScat data
revealed the existence of 35+ kt winds on the northern side, but the
system remained highly sheared while in the deep tropics with the deep
convection being well-removed from the weak LLCC. David's e-mail
suggests that it's open to question as to whether the development which
produced the ephemeral Lee was really a revival of TD-13 or due more to
the earlier system.
A graphic displaying the track of Tropical Storm Lee may be found at
the following link:
<http://www.tropicalcyclone2005.com/database/2005/atlantic/BT-IMAGES/2005_13
L_LEE.jpg>
No casualties or damage are known to have resulted from Tropical
Storm Lee.
(Report written by Gary Padgett)
*************************************************************************
NORTHEAST PACIFIC (NEP) - North Pacific Ocean East of Longitude 180
Activity for August: 1 tropical depression
2 tropical storms
2 hurricanes
Sources of Information
----------------------
Most of the information presented below was obtained from the
various tropical cyclone products issued by the Tropical Prediction
Center/National Hurricane Center (TPC/NHC) in Miami, Florida (or the
Central Pacific Hurricane Center (CPHC) in Honolulu, Hawaii, for
locations west of longitude 140W): discussions, public advisories,
forecast/advisories, tropical weather outlooks, special tropical
disturbance statements, etc. Some additional information may have
been gleaned from the monthly summaries prepared by the hurricane
specialists and available on TPC/NHC's website. All references to
sustained winds imply a 1-minute averaging period unless otherwise
noted.
Northeast Pacific Tropical Activity for August
----------------------------------------------
Five tropical cyclones formed in the Northeast Pacific basin during
the month of August with four becoming named tropical storms or
hurricanes. Averages for August over the period 1971-2004 are: 4.0
named storms, 2.4 hurricanes, 1.1 intense hurricanes and a NTC of 25%.
Two of the August, 2005, storms became hurricanes but neither became
an intense hurricane. These storms resulted in a somewhat below average
NTC of 16%. None of the storms made landfall in Mexico, and only one
produced any effects along the coastline. Reports follow on Hurricanes
Fernanda and Hilary and Tropical Storms Greg and Irwin.
Additionally, another system was classified as a tropical depression
by the Central Pacific Hurricane Center in Honolulu, Hawaii. This weak
depression (TD-01C), which never generated winds exceeding 25 kts, formed
around 1800 UTC on 3 August when it was located approximately 885 nm
east-southeast of Hilo, Hawaii. It subsequently moved westward, then
west-southwestward over the next day or so, losing its identity about
630 nm east-southeast of Hilo by 0300 UTC on 5 August.
Additional information, including satellite pictures and links, may
be found at the following URL:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2005_Pacific_hurricane_season>
HURRICANE FERNANDA
(TC-06E)
9 - 16 August
--------------------------------------
Hurricane Fernanda was the second hurricane of the 2005 Northeast
Pacific tropical cyclone season and the first hurricane in the basin
in almost three months. A westward-moving area of disturbed weather
was located about 650 nm south-southeast of the southern tip of Baja
California on 7 August. This disturbance gradually became better
organized and advisories were initiated on Tropical Depression 06E
at 1500 UTC on 9 August. The depression was then centered roughly
600 nm south-southwest of Cabo San Lucas, moving west at 12 kts.
Intensification continued as the tropical cyclone turned to more of a
west-northwesterly track on the 10th, and Tropical Storm Fernanda was
christened at 10/0300 UTC based on 35-kt satellite intensity estimates
from TAFB and SAB. Fernanda steadily increased in intensity as it
continued west-northwestward, and the storm became the season's second
hurricane at 0900 UTC on 11 August while located about 700 nm southwest
of Cabo San Lucas.
Hurricane Fernanda reached its peak intensity at 1500 UTC on the 12th
with the MSW estimated at 75 kts and a CP of 979 mb. The cyclone at the
time was located a little over 800 nm west-southwest of the tip of the
Baja California Peninsula. Peak intensity was maintained for 18 hours
and then the MSW began to slowly decline as the environment became more
hostile and the SSTs along its path cooled. Fernanda was downgraded
to a tropical storm at 14/0900 UTC, and around this time the cyclone's
track became west-southwesterly. The weakening trend continued and
Fernanda was downgraded to a tropical depression at 15/2100 UTC. The
final TPC/NHC advisory at 16/0300 UTC placed a weak 25-kt remnant LOW
approximately 1150 nm east-southeast of Hilo, Hawaii.
No deaths or damages have been attributed to Hurricane Fernanda.
A graphic depicting the track of Hurricane Fernanda may be found
at the following link:
<http://www.tropicalcyclone2005.com/database/tc_besttracks_graphics/PACIFIC_
EAST/2005_06E_FERNANDA.jpg>
(Report written by Gary Padgett)
TROPICAL STORM GREG
(TC-07E)
11 - 15 August
---------------------------------------
A westward-moving area of disturbed weather located approximately
425 nm south of Manzanillo, Mexico, was mentioned in the 10 August
1700 UTC Eastern Pacific Tropical Weather Outlook issued by TPC/NHC.
The disturbance was located in an environment of marginally-favorable
upper-level winds so it was anticipated that any future development
would be slow to occur. However, early on the morning of 11 August
the system began to quickly organize as deep convection increased
markedly just over and south of the LLCC. Advisories were initiated
on Tropical Depression 07E with a special release at 11/1100 UTC, the
center being located roughly 600 nm south-southeast of Cabo San Lucas,
moving west-northwestward at 10 kts. The initial MSW was set at 25 kts,
but by 1500 UTC the satellite signature had improved to the point that
TAFB was rating the system at T2.5, so it was upgraded to Tropical
Storm Greg at that time.
Tropical Storm Greg quickly reached its peak intensity of 45 kts at
0300 UTC on 12 August while located about 575 nm south-southwest of
Cabo San Lucas. The storm weakened slightly thereafter, but then main-
tained an intensity near or slightly above minimal tropical storm
strength for several days. Northerly shear was the primary inhibiting
influence on Greg, preventing it from intensifying. The cyclone
initially moved toward the west, then turned northwestward on the 12th,
then back to the west on the 13th. After this a developing ridge between
Greg and Hurricane Fernanda farther west forced the cyclone to drift to
the south and southwest while northerly shear caused the system to weaken
to depression status. The final TPC/NHC advisory on Greg, issued at
15/2100 UTC, placed the weakening center approximately 650 nm to the
southwest of Cabo San Lucas.
No deaths or damages have been attributed to Tropical Storm Greg.
A graphic depicting the track of Tropical Storm Greg may be found
at the following link:
<http://www.tropicalcyclone2005.com/database/tc_besttracks_graphics/PACIFIC_
EAST/2005_07E_GREG.jpg>
(Report written by Gary Padgett)
HURRICANE HILARY
(TC-08E)
19 - 25 August
------------------------------------
Hurricane Hilary formed much farther to the east than most of the
season's tropical cyclones. On the morning of 17 August the Eastern
Pacific Tropical Weather Outlook indicated that an area of disturbed
weather about 250 nm south of El Salvador was gradually becoming better
organized as it moved westward. The disturbance was south of Guatemala
the next day and its organization was still slowly increasing. The
first advisory on Tropical Depression 08E was issued by TPC/NHC at
1500 UTC on 19 August placing the center approximately 375 nm southeast
of Acapulco, Mexico, south of the Gulf of Tehuantepec. The intensity
was assessed at 25 kts and the depression was moving west-northwestward
at 12 kts. Although satellite intensity estimates from SAB and TAFB
were 30 kts at 20/0000 UTC, by advisory time at 0300 UTC the cloud
pattern had increased in organization with banding and cloud tops colder
than -80 C south of the center, so at that point the depression was
upgraded to Tropical Storm Hilary.
For the next couple of days Hilary followed a west-northwesterly
trajectory roughly parallel to the Mexican coastline about 225 nm
offshore. Hurricane intensity was reached at 21/0000 UTC with the center
located approximately 300 nm south of Manzanillo. An expanding wind
field brought tropical storm-force winds to the coast near Manzanillo
later that day, requiring the issuance of a tropical storm warning for
portions of the Mexican coastline. This was cancelled the next day
as the storm began to pull away from the coastline. Hurricane Hilary
reached its peak intensity of 90 kts (with a CP of 970 mb) at 0600 UTC
on 22 August while located approximately 300 nm due south of Cabo San
Lucas. Thereafter the winds began to slowly decline as the storm
continued to move to the west-northwest, bringing it into increasingly
cooler water. Hilary was downgraded to a tropical storm at 24/2100 UTC
and to a tropical depression 24 hours later. The final advisory on
Hilary was issued at 25/2100 UTC and placed the non-convective remnant
LOW about 625 nm west-northwest of Cabo San Lucas.
Although tropical storm-force winds and heavy rains were experienced
along the Mexican coastline, no deaths or damage have been reported in
association with Hurricane Hilary.
A graphic depicting the track of Hurricane Hilary may be found at
the following link:
<http://www.tropicalcyclone2005.com/database/tc_besttracks_graphics/PACIFIC_
EAST/2005_08E_HILARY.gif>
(Report written by Gary Padgett)
TROPICAL STORM IRWIN
(TC-09E)
25 - 28 August
----------------------------------------
A Tropical Weather Outlook issued by TPC/NHC on the afternoon of
23 August indicated that an area of disturbed weather had formed within
a couple hundred miles of the Pacific coast of Mexico between Manzanillo
and Acapulco, moving westward at around 12 kts. By the next afternoon
the system had exhibited increased organization and conditions were
favorable for a depression to form within the next day or two. Showers
and thunderstorms continued to increase on the morning of the 25th and
advisories were initiated on Tropical Depression 09E at 2100 UTC that
day. The depression's center was located approximately 150 nm southwest
of Manzanillo and moving slightly north of due west at 10 kts. The
MSW was estimated at 30 kts, based on Dvorak classifications of T2.0
from SAB and T1.5 from TAFB, and the depression was forecast to soon
increase to tropical storm intensity.
Tropical Storm Irwin was christened at 0900 UTC on 26 August, and
reached its peak intensity of 45 kts six hours later while located about
325 nm south-southeast of Cabo San Lucas on the southern tip of the Baja
California Peninsula. The peak intensity was maintained for 18 hours as
Irwin sailed westward, and then a slow decline set in. Irwin had
weakened to a tropical depression by 0300 UTC on 28 August, and had
become a swirl of low-level clouds devoid of deep convection by 1500 UTC
that day. The final TPC/NHC advisory at 1500 UTC placed the LOW center
approximately 475 nm southwest of Cabo San Lucas.
No deaths of damages have been attributed to Tropical Storm Irwin.
A graphic depicting the track of Tropical Storm Irwin may be found at
the following link:
<http://www.tropicalcyclone2005.com/database/tc_besttracks_graphics/PACIFIC_
EAST/2005_09E_IRWIN.gif>
(Report written by Gary Padgett)
*************************************************************************
NORTHWEST PACIFIC (NWP) - North Pacific Ocean West of Longitude 180
Activity for August: 3 tropical depressions **
1 tropical storm
3 typhoons
2 super typhoons
** - treated as tropical depressions by various Asian warning centers
but not by JTWC
NOTE!!! The Northwest Pacific basin will be covered in the second
installment of the August summary.
*************************************************************************
NORTH INDIAN OCEAN (NIO) - Bay of Bengal and Arabian Sea
Activity for August: No tropical cyclones
*************************************************************************
SOUTHWEST INDIAN OCEAN (SWI) - South Indian Ocean West of Longitude 90E
Activity for August: No tropical cyclones
*************************************************************************
NORTHWEST AUSTRALIA/SOUTHEAST INDIAN OCEAN (AUW) - From 90E to 135E
Activity for August: No tropical cyclones
*************************************************************************
NORTHEAST AUSTRALIA/CORAL SEA (AUE) - From 135E to 160E
Activity for August: No tropical cyclones
Northeast Australia/Coral Sea
Tropical Activity for August
-----------------------------
The Brisbane TCWC issued gale warnings on 9 August for a LOW which at
09/1000 UTC was located near 14S/155E, moving slowly eastward. Gales of
35-40 kts were forecast for the southeastern sector of the LOW up until
10/0000 UTC, when the gale warning was cancelled. This system was never
referred to as a tropical LOW, even though it was in the tropics, but
given the time of year was likely non-tropical or hybrid at best. The
gales were no doubt due to a tight pressure gradient with a HIGH to the
south or southeast.
*************************************************************************
SOUTH PACIFIC (SPA) - South Pacific Ocean East of Longitude 160E
Activity for August: No tropical cyclones
South Pacific Tropical Activity for August
------------------------------------------
No tropical cyclones formed in the South Pacific east of 160E during
August, but the Fiji TCWC did issue gale warnings on a system which was
referred to as a depression. This LOW was located on 25 August well to
the east of Tahiti and quickly moved off to the east-southeast, the last
warning being issued at 26/0600 UTC. Gales to 40 kts were forecast from
the northern quadrant around the eastern side to the southwestern sector.
This depression was never referred to as a tropical depression so
undoubtedly was non-tropical or hybrid in character.
*************************************************************************
SPECIAL FEATURE - SOURCES OF TROPICAL CYCLONE INFORMATION
The purpose of this section is to list some websites where many and
varied types of tropical cyclone information are archived. Many readers
will know about these already, but for the benefit of those who don't,
I wanted to include them.
(1) Aircraft Reconnaissance Information
---------------------------------------
Various types of messages from reconnaissance aircraft may be
retrieved from the following FTP site:
<ftp://ftp.nhc.noaa.gov/pub/products/nhc/recon/>
Information regarding how to interpret the coded reconnaissance
messages may be found at the following URL:
<http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/reconlist.shtml>
Links are also included to websites with further information about the
U. S. Air Force 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron and the NOAA Air-
craft Operations Center.
(2) Archived Advisories
-----------------------
All the advisory products (public advisories, forecast/advisories,
strike probabilities, discussions, various graphics) issued by TPC/NHC
are archived on TPC's website. For the current year (using 2004 as an
example), the archived products can be found at:
<http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/archive/2004/index.shtml>
Links to tropical products archives for earlier years are available at
the following URL:
<http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/pastall.shtml>
JTWC warnings for past storms are archived on the NRL Monterry website:
<http://www.nrlmry.navy.mil/tc_pages/tc_home.html>
On the NRL site, the link to past years can be found in the upper left
corner of the screen.
I am not aware at the moment of any other TCWC which archives all
its tropical cyclone warning/advisory products for public access, but
if I learn of any, I will add them to this list.
(3) Satellite Imagery
---------------------
Satellite images of tropical cyclones in various sensor bands are
available on the NRL Monterrey and University of Wisconsin websites,
courtesy of Jeff Hawkins and Chris Velden and their associates. The
links are:
<http://www.nrlmry.navy.mil/tc_pages/tc_home.html>
<http://cimss.ssec.wisc.edu/tropic/tropic.html>
On the NRL site, the link to past years can be found in the upper left
corner of the screen. For the CIMSS site, a link to data archives is
located in the lower left portion of the screen.
Additional tropical satellite imagery, along with looping ability for
composite microwave imagery for the Western Hemisphere north of the
equator, can be found at:
(1) For the Eastern North Pacific:
<http://www.ssd.noaa.gov/PS/TROP/trop-epac.html>
(2) For the Atlantic, Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea:
<http://www.ssd.noaa.gov/PS/TROP/trop-atl.html>
I'm sure there are other sites with available imagery available, and
as I learn of them, I will add the links to this list.
*************************************************************************
EXTRA FEATURE
In order to shorten the amount of typing in preparing the narrative
material, I have been in the habit of freely using abbreviations and
acronyms. I have tried to define most of these with the first usage
in a given summary, but I may have missed one now and then. Most of
these are probably understood by a majority of readers but perhaps a
few aren't clear to some. To remedy this I developed a Glossary of
Abbreviations and Acronyms which I first included in the August, 1998
summary. I don't normally include the Glossary in most months in
order to help keep them from being too long. If anyone would like to
receive a copy of the Glossary, please e-mail me and I'll be happy
to send them a copy.
*************************************************************************
AUTHOR'S NOTE: This summary should be considered a very preliminary
overview of the tropical cyclones that occur in each month. The cyclone
tracks (provided separately) will generally be based upon operational
warnings issued by the various tropical cyclone warning centers. The
information contained therein may differ somewhat from the tracking and
intensity information obtained from a "best-track" file which is based
on a detailed post-seasonal analysis of all available data. Information
on where to find official "best-track" files from the various warning
centers will be passed along from time to time.
The track files are not being sent via e-mail. They can be retrieved
from the archive sites listed below. (Note: I do have a limited e-mail
distribution list for the track files. If anyone wishes to receive
these via e-mail, please send me a message.)
Both the summaries and the track files are standard text files
created in DOS editor. Download to disk and use a viewer such as
Notepad or DOS editor to view the files.
The first summary in this series covered the month of October,
1997. Back issues can be obtained from the following websites
(courtesy of Michael Bath, Michael V. Padua, Michael Pitt, Chris
Landsea, and John Diebolt):
<http://australiasevereweather.com/cyclones/>
<http://www.typhoon2000.ph>
<http://mpittweather.com>
<ftp://ftp.aoml.noaa.gov/hrd/pub/landsea/padgett/>
<http://www.tropicalcyclone2005.com/>
Another website where much information about tropical cyclones may
be found is the website for the UK Meteorological Office. Their site
contains a lot of statistical information about tropical cyclones
globally on a monthly basis. The URL is:
<http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/weather/tropicalcyclone>
TROPICAL CYCLONE REPORTS AVAILABLE
JTWC now has available on its website the Annual Tropical Cyclone
Report (ATCR) for 2004 (2003-2004 season for the Southern Hemisphere).
ATCRs for earlier years are available also.
The URL is: <http://199.10.200.33/jtwc.html>
Also, TPC/NHC has available on its webpage nice "technicolor"
tracking charts for the 2004 Atlantic and Eastern North Pacific
tropical cyclones; also, storm reports for all the 2004 Atlantic
and Eastern North Pacific cyclones are now available, as well as
track charts and reports on storms from earlier years.
The URL is: <http://www.nhc.noaa.gov>
A special thanks to Michael Bath of McLeans Ridges, New South Wales,
Australia, for assisting me with proofreading the summaries.
PREPARED BY
Gary Padgett
E-mail: garyp@alaweb.com
Phone: 334-222-5327
Kevin Boyle (Northwest Pacific Basin)
E-mail: newchapelobservatory@btinternet.com
Huang Chunliang (Assistance with Northwest Pacific Basin)
E-mail: huangchunliang@hotmail.com
Simon Clarke (Northeast Australia/Coral Sea, South Pacific Basin)
E-mail: scla4255@bigpond.net.au
*************************************************************************
*************************************************************************
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This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Fri Dec 05 2008 - 02:15:09 EST
