000 ABNT30 KNHC 011256 TWSAT MONTHLY TROPICAL WEATHER SUMMARY NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MIAMI FL 8 AM EST WED NOV 01 2000 FOR THE NORTH ATLANTIC...CARIBBEAN SEA AND THE GULF OF MEXICO... SUMMARY OF TROPICAL CYCLONE ACTIVITY FOR OCTOBER 2000... TROPICAL CYCLONE ACTIVITY IN OCTOBER WAS ABOVE AVERAGE. HURRICANE KEITH REACHED ITS PEAK INTENSITY...AND HURRICANE MICHAEL ALONG WITH TROPICAL STORMS LESLIE AND NADINE FORMED DURING THE MONTH. IN ADDITION...TWO NAMED TROPICAL CYCLONES...ISAAC AND JOYCE... DISSIPATED DURING THE FIRST COUPLE OF DAYS OF THE MONTH. THE LONG-TERM AVERAGES FOR OCTOBER ARE ONE TROPICAL STORM AND ONE HURRICANE FORMING DURING THE MONTH. ON THE FIRST DAY OF THE MONTH...ISAAC LOST TROPICAL CHARACTERISTICS WHILE MOVING RAPIDLY EAST-NORTHEASTWARD OVER THE CENTRAL NORTH ATLANTIC. HOWEVER IT REMAINED A POWERFUL STORM FOR SEVERAL MORE DAYS...AND LASHED PARTS OF THE BRITISH ISLES. JOYCE MOVED WESTWARD ACROSS THE TROPICAL ATLANTIC OCEAN AT THE END OF SEPTEMBER...ITS WINDS BRIEFLY REACHING 90 MPH ON THE 28TH MIDWAY BETWEEN AFRICA AND THE LESSER ANTILLES. ON 1 OCTOBER...JOYCE MOVED THROUGH THE WINDWARD ISLANDS WHILE WEAKENING FROM A TROPICAL STORM TO A DEPRESSION. JOYCE DISSIPATED ON THE 2ND OVER THE SOUTHEASTERN CARIBBEAN SEA. KEITH FORMED OVER THE NORTHWESTERN CARIBBEAN IN LATE SEPTEMBER...AND AT THE BEGINNING OF THE MONTH WAS JUST EAST OF BELIZE. IT REACHED A PEAK INTENSITY OF 140 MPH...A CATEGORY FOUR HURRICANE ON THE SAFFIR- SIMPSON SCALE...AND A MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE OF 939 MB...OR 27.73 IN...ON THE 1ST. KEITH STALLED AND WEAKENED WHILE BATTERING THE COASTAL ISLANDS OF BELIZE ON THE 1ST AND 2ND...EVENTUALLY MAKING LANDFALL IN BELIZE AS A MINIMAL HURRICANE ON THE 3RD. IT WEAKENED TO A DEPRESSION WHILE CROSSING THE YUCATAN PENINSULA ON THE 3RD AND 4TH...THEN REGAINED TROPICAL STORM STRENGTH OVER THE BAY OF CAMPECHE LATER ON THE 4TH. KEITH REGAINED HURRICANE STATUS ON THE 5TH...WITH MAXIMUM WINDS REACHING 90 MPH AT LANDFALL JUST NORTH OF TAMPICO MEXICO. KEITH WEAKENED AGAIN AFTER LANDFALL AND DISSIPATED OVER NORTHEASTERN MEXICO ON THE 6TH. KEITH'S SLOW TRACK THROUGH THE NORTHWESTERN CARIBBEAN CAUSED TORRENTIAL RAINFALL OVER BELIZE AND OTHER PORTIONS OF CENTRAL AMERICA. THE SYSTEM IS BLAMED FOR 17 DEATHS. LESLIE WAS A SHORT-LIVED TROPICAL STORM THAT DEVELOPED FROM SUBTROPICAL DEPRESSION ONE OFF THE EAST COAST OF FLORIDA...AND SUBSEQUENTLY MOVED NORTHEASTWARD OVER THE WESTERN ATLANTIC. ALTHOUGH NEITHER LESLIE NOR THE SUBTROPICAL DEPRESSION WAS RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY DAMAGE OR CASUALTIES...A PRECURSOR DISTURBANCE COMBINED WITH A STALLED FRONTAL BOUNDARY TO PRODUCE VERY HEAVY RAINFALL...AND FLOOD DAMAGE ESTIMATED AT $700 MILLION IN SOUTHEAST FLORIDA ON 2-3 OCTOBER. THREE DEATHS IN SOUTH FLORIDA WERE INDIRECTLY ATTRIBUTABLE TO THE FLOODING. THE DISTURBANCE BECAME BETTER ORGANIZED ON THE 4TH AND BECAME A SUBTROPICAL DEPRESSION JUST EAST OF ORLANDO FLORIDA. THE DEPRESSION WAS CONSIDERED TO BE SUBTROPICAL...IN PART...DUE TO A LACK OF THUNDERSTORMS AND STRONG WINDS NEAR THE CENTER OF CIRCULATION. THE DEPRESSION MOVED EASTWARD OFF THE FLORIDA COAST...AND ON THE 5TH ACQUIRED TROPICAL CHARACTERISTICS AND STRENGTHENED INTO TROPICAL STORM LESLIE ABOUT 230 MILES EAST OF ST. AUGUSTINE FLORIDA. LESLIE REMAINED A WEAK TROPICAL STORM AND PASSED ABOUT 250 MILES TO THE WEST OF BERMUDA ON THE 7TH. LESLIE BECAME EXTRATROPICAL ALONG AN APPROACHING COLD FRONT LATER ON THE 7TH ABOUT 375 MILES NORTH-NORTHWEST OF BERMUDA. MICHAEL DEVELOPED ON THE 17TH FROM A NON-TROPICAL LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM THAT HAD BEEN NEARLY STATIONARY NORTHEAST OF THE BAHAMAS FOR SEVERAL DAYS. AFTER ACQUIRING TROPICAL CHARACTERISTICS...MICHAEL QUICKLY STRENGTHENED TO HURRICANE INTENSITY LATE ON THE 17TH...WHILE MOVING RAPIDLY TO THE NORTH-NORTHEAST TOWARD THE CANADIAN MARITIME PROVINCES. MICHAEL REACHED A PEAK INTENSITY OF 100 MPH AND MINIMUM PRESSURE OF 965 MB...OR 28.50 IN...EARLY ON THE 19TH WHEN THE HURRICANE WAS LOCATED ABOUT 85 MILES EAST OF SABLE ISLAND NOVA SCOTIA. LATER THAT AFTERNOON...MICHAEL WEAKENED SLIGHTLY AND BEGAN TO LOSE TROPICAL CHARACTERISTICS. HOWEVER...THE CYCLONE STILL PACKED WINDS OF HURRICANE STRENGTH WHEN IT MADE LANDFALL ALONG THE SOUTHERN COAST OF NEWFOUNDLAND NEAR HARBOUR BRETON. MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS OF 79 MPH WITH GUSTS TO 107 MPH AND A PRESSURE OF 966 MB...OR 28.53 INCHES...WERE REPORTED JUST EAST OF WHERE THE CENTER MADE LANDFALL. FORTUNATELY...THERE WERE NO DEATHS OR SEVERE DAMAGE REPORTED...AND MOST OF THE REPORTS RECEIVED WERE OF TREES AND POWERLINES BEING DOWNED...ALONG WITH MINOR DAMAGE TO HOME ROOFS... SIDING...AND WINDOWS. NADINE FORMED FROM A TROPICAL WAVE ABOUT 400 MILES SOUTHEAST OF BERMUDA ON THE 19TH. IT MOVED NORTH TO NORTHEASTWARD AND STRENGTHENED TO A 40 MPH-TROPICAL STORM WHILE PASSING WELL EAST OF BERUMDA ON THE 20TH. LATER THAT DAY THE STORM REACHED ITS PEAK INTENSITY OF 60 MPH. NADINE ACCELERATED NORTHEASTWARD AND BECAME AN EXTRATROPICAL CYCLONE...WELL TO THE SOUTHEAST OF NEWFOUNDLAND... EARLY ON THE 22ND. THERE ARE NO REPORTS OF CASUALTIES OR DAMAGE. SUMMARY TABLE NAME DATES WIND (MPH) DEATHS U.S. DAMAGE --------- --------------- ----------- ------ ------------- ISAAC 21 SEP - 01 OCT 140 JOYCE 25 SEP - 02 OCT 90 KEITH 28 SEP - 06 OCT 140 17 LESLIE 04 - 07 OCT 40 MICHAEL 17 - 19 OCT 100 NADINE 19 - 22 OCT 50 FORECASTERS AVILA/BEVEN/FRANKLIN/LAWRENCE/MOLLEDA/PASCH/STEWART