CORRECTED
NWS TPC/NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER MIAMI FL
300 PM EDT FRI SEP 19 2008
..CORRECTED FOR MONTH IN GUSTAV PARAGRAPH...
FOR THE NORTH ATLANTIC...CARIBBEAN SEA AND THE GULF OF MEXICO...
TROPICAL CYCLONE ACTIVITY DURING AUGUST WAS NEAR AVERAGE...WITH FOUR
TROPICAL STORMS FORMING DURING THE MONTH. ONE OF THESE BECAME A MAJOR HURRICANE. ON AVERAGE...THREE TROPICAL STORMS FORM DURING AUGUST WITH TWO BECOMING HURRICANES.
EDOUARD WAS A SHORT-LIVED TROPICAL STORM THAT FORMED AS A DEPRESSION IN THE GULF OF MEXICO ABOUT 85 MILES SOUTHEAST OF THE MOUTH OF THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER ON 3 AUGUST. THE DEPRESSION MOVED SLOWLY WESTWARD TO WEST-NORTHWESTWARD AND STRENGTHENED INTO A TROPICAL STORM LATER THAT DAY...ITS INTENSITY REACHING 50 MPH EARLY ON 4 AUGUST.
EDOUARD WEAKENED SLIGHTLY BUT RE-STRENGTHENED LATE ON 4 AUGUST AS IT APPROACHED THE UPPER-TEXAS COAST. EDOUARD MADE LANDFALL AROUND 7 AM CDT 5 AUGUST BETWEEN HIGH ISLAND AND SABINE PASS...AT THE MC FADDIN NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE...WITH MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS ESTIMATED TO BE 65 MPH. EDOUARD MOVED INLAND AND WEAKENED TO A DEPRESSION LATE ON 5 AUGUST...BEFORE DISSIPATING OVER NORTHWEST TEXAS LATE ON 6 AUGUST. THE EFFECTS OF EDOUARD WERE RELATIVELY MINIMAL. SOME MINOR COASTAL FLOOD DAMAGE WAS REPORTED IN TERREBONNE PARISH LOUISIANA AS EDOUARD PASSED THROUGH THE NORTHERN GULF OF MEXICO.
LITTLE DAMAGE WAS REPORTED ALONG THE UPPER-TEXAS COAST...MOSTLY LIMITED TO FLOODING IN A SMALL NUMBER OF HOMES. RAINFALL AMOUNTS TO NEAR 6 INCHES WERE REPORTED...THE MAXIMUM OCCURRING IN BAYTOWN TEXAS...AND SOME ROADWAYS WERE BRIEFLY UNDER WATER. THERE WERE NO DEATHS REPORTED IN ASSOCIATION WITH EDOUARD.
FAY WAS A LONG-LIVED AND SLOWLY-MOVING TROPICAL STORM THAT SPENT MOST OF ITS LIFE CENTERED NEAR OR OVER LAND...DUMPING HEAVY RAINS THAT PRODUCED DAMAGING AND DEADLY FLOODS OVER PORTIONS OF THE GREATER ANTILLES AND FLORIDA. ORIGINATING FROM A TROPICAL WAVE...FAY FORMED ON 15 AUGUST AS A TROPICAL STORM WITH MAXIMUM WINDS OF ABOUT 40 MPH AS IT CROSSED THE EASTERN COAST OF HISPANIOLA. ITS STRENGTH CHANGED LITTLE AS IT TRAVERSED THAT ISLAND AND THE WINDWARD PASSAGE ON THE FOLLOWING DAY. THE STORM GAINED A LITTLE STRENGTH WITH MAXIMUM WINDS OF ABOUT 50 MPH ON 17 AUGUST AS ITS CENTER PASSED JUST OFFSHORE THE SOUTHERN COAST OF EASTERN CUBA.
RESPONDING TO A BREAK IN A SUBTROPICAL RIDGE OVER FLORIDA...FAY TURNED NORTH-NORTHWESTWARD OVER CENTRAL CUBA THE NEXT DAY. MAXIMUM WINDS INCREASED TO ABOUT 60 MPH AS THE STORM MOVED INTO THE FLORIDA STRAITS...AND THE CENTER OF THE CYCLONE PASSED OVER THE LOWER FLORIDA KEYS LATE ON 18 AUGUST. FAY TURNED NORTHEASTWARD ON 19 AUGUST...MAKING LANDFALL EARLY THAT DAY ON THE SOUTHWESTERN COAST OF THE FLORIDA PENINSULA AT CAPE ROMANO WITH MAXIMUM WINDS OF 60 MPH. AFTER MOVING INLAND...FAY UNUSUALLY STRENGTHENED...EXHIBITING WHAT RESEMBLED A CLASSICAL EYE IN RADAR AND SATELLITE IMAGERY...AND IT REACHED ITS PEAK INTENSITY OF ABOUT 65 MPH AS IT PASSED OVER THE WESTERN SHORES OF LAKE OKEECHOBEE. IN CONTRAST...DURING 20-23 AUGUST...CONTINUED INTERACTION WITH THE LANDMASS OF NORTHERN FLORIDA PREVENTED STRENGTHENING...AND FAY'S MAXIMUM WINDS REMAINED 50-60 MPH DURING MOST OF THAT PERIOD. THE CENTER OF FAY MADE TWO BRIEF REAPPEARANCES OVER WATER...OFF THE NORTHEASTERN FLORIDA COAST
ON 20-21 AUGUST...AND OVER APALACHEE BAY EARLY ON 23 AUGUST. UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF A HIGH PRESSURE RIDGE OVER THE EASTERN UNITED STATES...FAY HEADED SLOWLY WEST-NORTHWESTWARD OVER THE FLORIDA PANHANDLE ON 23 AUGUST...FINALLY WEAKENING TO A DEPRESSION EARLY THE NEXT DAY. FAY REMAINED A DEPRESSION FOR THE NEXT COUPLE OF DAYS AS IT MOVED SLOWLY OVER THE SOUTHEASTERN UNITED STATES...AND EVENTUALLY DEGENERATED INTO A REMNANT LOW OVER NORTHERN ALABAMA ON 26 AUGUST. DUE TO FAY'S VERY SLOW MOTION...STORM-TOTAL RAINFALL AMOUNTS IN SOME AREAS WERE STAGGERING...INCLUDING A FEW LOCATIONS IN EAST-CENTRAL FLORIDA THAT RECEIVED MORE THAN TWO FEET OF RAIN.
FAY'S RAIN-INDUCED FLOODS CAUSED SIGNIFICANT DAMAGES AND WERE DIRECTLY RESPONSIBLE FOR NUMEROUS DEATHS IN THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC...HAITI...AND FLORIDA. HOWEVER...FINAL FATALITY TOTALS AND DAMAGE COST ESTIMATES HAVE NOT YET BEEN COMPILED.
GUSTAV WAS A MAJOR HURRICANE ORIGINATING FROM A TROPICAL WAVE THAT EMERGED FROM THE WEST COAST OF AFRICA ON 14 AUGUST. THE WAVE FIRST SHOWED SIGNS OF ORGANIZATION ON 18 AUGUST. HOWEVER...DEVELOPMENT DID NOT BEGIN IN EARNEST UNTIL THE SYSTEM WAS OVER THE SOUTHEASTERN CARIBBEAN SEA ON 24 AUGUST. A TROPICAL DEPRESSION FORMED ON 25 AUGUST ABOUT 260 MILES SOUTHEAST OF PORT AU PRINCE HAITI.
THE DEPRESSION STRENGTHENED RAPIDLY AS IT MOVED NORTHWESTWARD... BECOMING A TROPICAL STORM LATER THAT DAY. GUSTAV BECAME A HURRICANE EARLY ON 26 AUGUST AND MADE LANDFALL LATER THAT DAY ON THE SOUTHWESTERN PENINSULA OF HAITI AS A CATEGORY 1 HURRICANE. THE CYCLONE MOVED SLOWLY WESTWARD JUST NORTH OF THE SOUTHWESTERN PENINSULA OF HAITI ON 27 AUGUST...THEN TURNED WEST-SOUTHWESTWARD EARLY ON 28 AUGUST. GUSTAV RESUMED A WESTWARD MOTION LATER THAT DAY AND MOVED OVER JAMAICA AS A TROPICAL STORM. ON 29 AUGUST...GUSTAV TURNED NORTHWESTWARD AND RE-INTENSIFIED INTO A HURRICANE AS IT APPROACHED THE CAYMAN ISLANDS.
THE CYCLONE PASSED THROUGH THE CAYMAN ISLANDS EARLY ON 30 AUGUST AS A CATEGORY 1 HURRICANE...AND RAPIDLY INTENSIFIED INTO A MAJOR HURRICANE LATER THAT DAY. GUSTAV MADE LANDFALL IN THE CUBAN PROVINCE OF PINAR DEL RIO NEAR PUNTA CARRAGUA LATE ON 30 AUGUST AS A STRONG CATEGORY 4 HURRICANE WITH MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS NEAR 150 MPH. GUSTAV EMERGED INTO THE SOUTHEASTERN GULF OF MEXICO EARLY ON 31 AUGUST AS A CATEGORY 3 HURRICANE AND ACCELERATED NORTHWESTWARD ACROSS THE GULF.
IT MADE ITS FINAL LANDFALL NEAR COCODRIE LOUISIANA ON 1 SEPTEMBER AS A CATEGORY TWO HURRICANE. AFTER LANDFALL...GUSTAV WEAKENED TO A TROPICAL DEPRESSION OVER NORTHWESTERN LOUISIANA ON 2 SEPTEMBER...THEN BECAME EXTRATROPICAL OVER THE MID-MISSISSIPPI VALLEY ON 4 SEPTEMBER. THE GUSTAV REMNANT LOW WAS ABSORBED OVER THE CENTRAL GREAT LAKES ON 5 SEPTEMBER.
GUSTAV LEFT A LONG TRAIL OF DEATH AND DESTRUCTION. MAJOR WIND AND STORM SURGE DAMAGE OCCURRED DURING GUSTAV'S LANDFALL IN CUBA... WHILE HEAVY RAINS IN HAITI CAUSED DESTRUCTIVE MUDSLIDES. STRONG WINDS...HIGH STORM SURGES...AND HEAVY RAINS ALSO CAUSED DAMAGE IN LOUISIANA...ALTHOUGH MONETARY ESTIMATES ARE NOT AVAILABLE AT THIS TIME. THE CURRENT ESTIMATE OF THE DEATH TOLL FROM GUSTAV INDICATED BY MEDIA REPORTS IS 122...OF WHICH AT LEAST 75 OCCURRED IN HAITI.
HOWEVER...THIS ESTIMATE IS HIGHLY UNCERTAIN DUE TO THE SUBSEQUENT EFFECTS OF HANNA AND IKE ON THE AREAS AFFECTED BY GUSTAV...AND THE DIFFICULTIES OF DISTINGUISHING BETWEEN DIRECT AND INDIRECT DEATHS.
HANNA FORMED FROM A TROPICAL WAVE THAT MOVED OFF THE WEST COAST OF AFRICA ON 19 AUGUST. ASSOCIATED SHOWER AND THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY GRADUALLY INCREASED AS THE WAVE PROGRESSED WESTWARD ACROSS THE ATLANTIC...AND ON 26 AUGUST THE WAVE SPAWNED AN AREA OF LOW PRESSURE ABOUT 550 MILES EAST-NORTHEAST OF THE NORTHERN LEEWARD ISLANDS.
ADDITIONAL DEVELOPMENT DURING THE NEXT COUPLE OF DAYS LED TO THE FORMATION OF A TROPICAL DEPRESSION ABOUT 350 MILES EAST-NORTHEAST OF THE NORTHERN LEEWARD ISLANDS ON 28 AUGUST. THE DEPRESSION BECAME A TROPICAL STORM SIX HOURS LATER. HANNA MOVED BETWEEN WEST-NORTHWEST AND NORTHWEST OVER THE NEXT SEVERAL DAYS...PASSING A COUPLE HUNDRED MILES NORTH OF THE LEEWARD ISLANDS AND PUERTO RICO.
PERSISTENT VERTICAL WIND SHEAR FROM AN UPPER-LEVEL LOW TO THE WEST OF HANNA KEPT THE STORM FROM SIGNIFICANTLY STRENGTHENING. HANNA BRIEFLY REACHED AN INTENSITY OF 60 MPH EARLY ON THE 31 AUGUST... BUT WEAKENED SLIGHTLY BEFORE THE CONCLUSION OF THE MONTH. AT THE END OF AUGUST...HANNA WAS LOCATED ABOUT 150 MILES NORTH OF GRAND
TURK ISLAND.
SUMMARY TABLE
NAME DATES MAX WIND (MPH) DEATHS
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TS EDOUARD 3- 6 AUG 65 0
TS FAY 15-26 AUG 65 *
MH GUSTAV 25 AUG- 150 122
TS HANNA 28 AUG- 60
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MH DENOTES MAJOR HURRICANE...CATEGORY 3 OR HIGHER ON THE SAFFIR-
SIMPSON HURRICANE SCALE. * DENOTES INCOMPLETE DATA
NOTE...DATES BASED ON COORDINATED UNIVERSAL TIME (UTC)
FORECASTER BROWN/BLAKE/KNABB/STEWART
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