000 ABNT30 KNHC 011203 TWSAT MONTHLY TROPICAL WEATHER SUMMARY NWS TPC/NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER MIAMI FL 800 AM EDT SAT NOV 1 2008 FOR THE NORTH ATLANTIC...CARIBBEAN SEA AND THE GULF OF MEXICO... FOUR TROPICAL CYCLONES FORMED DURING OCTOBER...TROPICAL STORMS MARCO AND NANA...HURRICANE OMAR...AND TROPICAL DEPRESSION SIXTEEN. TROPICAL STORM LAURA...WHICH FORMED IN SEPTEMBER...WAS STILL ACTIVE AT THE BEGINNING OF THE MONTH. LAURA FORMED AS A SUBTROPICAL STORM WITH 60 MPH WINDS EARLY ON 29 SEPTEMBER ABOUT 1000 MILES WEST OF THE AZORES. IT INITIALLY MOVED WEST-NORTHWESTWARD BUT IT SOON TURNED NORTHWARD. IT BECAME A TROPICAL STORM ON 30 SEPTEMBER. LAURA TURNED NORTH-NORTHEASTWARD AND LOST TROPICAL CHARACTERISTICS ON 1 OCTOBER ABOUT 300 MILES EAST OF CAPE RACE NEWFOUNDLAND. THE EXTRATROPICAL CYCLONE CONTINUED OVER THE NORTH ATLANTIC FOR A FEW DAYS AND LOST ITS IDENTITY BY 4 OCTOBER. MARCO FORMED OUT OF A BROAD AREA OF LOW PRESSURE THAT HAD PERSISTED OVER THE NORTHWESTERN CARIBBEAN AND YUCATAN PENINSULA FOR SEVERAL DAYS AT THE END OF SEPTEMBER. BY 4 OCTOBER THE LOW BECAME BETTER DEFINED NEAR BELIZE...BUT THEN MOVED INLAND OVER THE YUCATAN PENINSULA. ON 6 OCTOBER A VERY SMALL AREA OF LOW PRESSURE MOVED OVER THE EXTREME SOUTHERN BAY OF CAMPECHE AND THE CLOUD PATTERN QUICKLY GAINED ORGANIZATION. THE LOW BECAME A TROPICAL DEPRESSION THAT MORNING ABOUT 140 MILES EAST OF VERA CRUZ MEXICO. THE DEPRESSION QUICKLY STRENGTHENED TO A TROPICAL STORM...ITS WINDS REACHING 65 MPH THAT AFTERNOON AS IT MOVED TO THE WEST-NORTHWEST. MARCO DID NOT STRENGTHEN FURTHER...AND MADE LANDFALL BETWEEN TUXPAN AND VERACRUZ ON THE MORNING OF 7 OCTOBER. THE CYCLONE WEAKENED RAPIDLY AFTER MAKING LANDFALL AND DISSIPATED EARLY ON 8 OCTOBER. THERE HAVE BEEN NO REPORTS OF CASUALTIES OR SIGNIFICANT DAMAGE. IT IS ESTIMATED THAT AT TIMES THE TROPICAL STORM FORCE WINDS EXTENDED NO MORE THAN ABOUT 15 MILES FROM THE CENTER. ALTHOUGH THE HISTORICAL RECORD ON STORM SIZE IS VERY SHORT...IT IS POSSIBLE THAT MARCO WAS THE SMALLEST TROPICAL CYCLONE CYCLONE TO HAVE OCCURRED IN THE ATLANTIC BASIN. NANA WAS A WEAK...SHORT-LIVED TROPICAL STORM THAT DEVELOPED FROM A TROPICAL WAVE ON 12 OCTOBER ABOUT 925 MILES WEST OF THE CAPE VERDE ISLANDS. NANA BECAME A TROPICAL STORM LATER THAT DAY AND REMAINED OVER THE OPEN TROPICAL ATLANTIC OCEAN FOR THE DURATION OF ITS LIFETIME. AS IT MOVED STEADILY WEST-NORTHWESTWARD...SOUTHWESTERLY UPPER-LEVEL SHEAR CONDITIONS CAUSED NANA TO WEAKEN INTO A TROPICAL DEPRESSION ON 13 OCTOBER. THE SYSTEM DEGENERATED INTO A REMNANT LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM ON 14 OCTOBER ABOUT 1300 MILES EAST OF THE LESSER ANTILLES AND EVENTUALLY DISSIPATED LATE ON 15 OCTOBER ABOUT 1000 MILES EAST-NORTHEAST OF THE NORTHERN LEEWARD ISLANDS. OMAR FORMED FROM A TROPICAL WAVE THAT MOVED WESTWARD FROM THE COAST OF AFRICA ON 30 SEPTEMBER. THE WAVE MOVED SLOWLY ACROSS THE TROPICAL ATLANTIC AND REACHED THE EASTERN CARIBBEAN SEA ON 10 OCTOBER. THE ASSOCIATED SHOWER ACTIVITY SHOWED SIGNS OF ORGANIZATION ON 11 OCTOBER...AND A TROPICAL DEPRESSION FORMED ON 13 OCTOBER ABOUT 175 MILES NORTH-NORTHWEST OF CURACAO IN THE NETHERLAND ANTILLES. THE CYCLONE MOVED SLOWLY AND ERRATICALLY ON 13-14 OCTOBER...AND IT BECAME A TROPICAL STORM ON 14 OCTOBER ABOUT 125 MILES NORTH OF CURACAO. OMAR TURNED NORTHEASTWARD AND ACCELERATED ON 15 OCTOBER AS IT BECAME A HURRICANE. IT RAPIDLY STRENGTHENED TO A PEAK INTENSITY OF 125 MPH EARLY ON 16 OCTOBER AS IT PASSED THROUGH THE VIRGIN AND NORTHERN LEEWARD ISLANDS. LATER THAT DAY...SOUTHWESTERLY VERTICAL WIND SHEAR CAUSED RAPID WEAKENING...AND OMAR WEAKENED TO A TROPICAL STORM EARLY ON 17 OCTOBER. A TEMPORARY DECREASE IN THE SHEAR ALLOWED OMAR TO REGAIN HURRICANE STRENGTH LATER THAT DAY AS IT REMOVED RAPIDLY NORTHEASTWARD OVER THE OPEN ATLANTIC. HOWEVER...IT WEAKENED BACK TO A TROPICAL STORM THE NEXT DAY. MOVEMENT OVER COLDER SEA SURFACE TEMPERATURES CAUSED OMAR TO DECAY TO A REMNANT LOW ON 18 OCTOBER ABOUT 820 MILES EAST OF BERMUDA. THIS LOW MOVED SLOWLY NORTHEASTWARD AND DISSIPATED EARLY ON 21 OCTOBER ABOUT 650 MILES WEST OF THE WESTERN AZORES ISLANDS. OMAR DIRECTLY AFFECTED THE NORTHERN LEEWARD ISLANDS...AS WELL AS ST. CROIX IN THE VIRGIN ISLANDS...WITH DAMAGE FROM WINDS...TIDES...AND SURF REPORTED IN THESE AREAS. HOWEVER...MONETARY DAMAGE FIGURES ARE NOT AVAILABLE. SWELLS GENERATED BY THE HURRICANE AFFECTED THE WESTWARD-FACING SHORES OF OTHER ISLANDS IN THE LESSER ANTILLES. AT THIS TIME...THERE ARE NO REPORTS OF CASUALTIES FROM OMAR. TROPICAL DEPRESSION SIXTEEN FORMED ABOUT 45 MILES NORTH-NORTHEAST OF CABO GRACIAS A DIOS ON THE NICARAGUA/HONDURAS BORDER OUT OF A BROAD AREA OF LOW PRESSURE IN THE WESTERN CARIBBEAN ON 14 OCTOBER. THE SPRAWLING SYSTEM WAS NEVER ABLE TO GAIN MUCH ORGANIZATION AS IT MOVED ALONG THE NORTH COAST OF HONDURAS ON 15 OCTOBER. THE CENTER OF THE DEPRESSION MOVED INLAND OVER NORTH-CENTRAL HONDURAS THAT AFTERNOON AND DISSIPATED EARLY ON 16 OCTOBER. THE DEPRESSION...ITS PRECURSOR LOW...AND ITS REMNANTS CAUSED FLOODING THAT RESULTED IN DEATHS IN COSTA RICA...NICARAGUA...HONDURAS...EL SALVADOR...AND GUATEMALA...ALTHOUGH THE NUMBER OF DEATHS DIRECTLY ATTRIBUTABLE TO THE DEPRESSION IS STILL BEING DETERMINED. SUMMARY TABLE NAME DATES MAX WIND (MPH) DEATHS ------------------------------------------------------------------- TS LAURA 29 SEP-1 OCT 60 TS MARCO 6-8 OCT 65 TS NANA 12-14 OCT 40 H OMAR 13-18 OCT 125 TD SIXTEEN 14-16 OCT 30 N/A ------------------------------------------------------------------- NOTE...DATES BASED ON COORDINATED UNIVERSAL TIME (UTC) N/A...NOT AVAILABLE AT THIS TIME $$ HURRICANE SPECIALISTS UNIT