000 ABNT30 KNHC 011356 TWSAT MONTHLY TROPICAL WEATHER SUMMARY NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MIAMI FL 8 AM EDT SUN OCT 01 2000 SUMMARY OF TROPICAL CYCLONE ACTIVITY FOR SEPTEMBER 2000 FOR THE NORTH ATLANTIC...CARIBBEAN SEA AND THE GULF OF MEXICO... THE TROPICAL CYCLONE ACTIVITY IN SEPTEMBER WAS CONSIDERABLY ABOVE AVERAGE. THERE WERE SEVEN TROPICAL STORMS...FIVE OF WHICH REACHED HURRICANE STATUS. HURRICANES ISAAC AND KEITH WERE MAJOR HURRICANES. THE LAST TIME THAT SEVEN STORMS FORMED IN SEPTEMBER WAS 1988 AND FIVE HURRICANES LAST FORMED IN SEPTEMBER 1998. ON AVERAGE...ABOUT THREE OR FOUR TROPICAL STORMS FORM IN SEPTEMBER OF WHICH TWO REACH HURRICANE STATUS. ERNESTO FORMED ABOUT 840 MILES EAST OF THE LESSER ANTILLES ON THE 1ST AND STRENGTHENED INTO A TROPICAL STORM ON THE 2ND. STRONG VERTICAL WIND SHEAR WEAKENED THE STORM AND ERNESTO DETERIORATED INTO A TROPICAL WAVE ON THE 3RD. TROPICAL DEPRESSION NINE FORMED IN THE NORTHERN GULF OF MEXICO ON THE 8TH ABOUT 95 MILES SOUTH OF CAMERON LOUISIANA. IT MOVED SLOWLY NORTHWARD BUT QUICKLY DISSIPATED EARLY ON THE 9TH BEFORE MAKING LANDFALL. HOWEVER...THE DEPRESSION PRODUCED HEAVY RAINFALL OVER EAST TEXAS AND LOUISIANA AS THE REMNANTS MOVED ASHORE. FLORENCE DEVELOPED ABOUT 380 MILES SOUTH-SOUTHEAST OF CAPE HATTERAS NORTH CAROLINA ON THE 11TH. AIR FORCE RECONNAISSANCE INDICATED THAT IT REACHED TROPICAL STORM STRENGTH THE NEXT DAY. THE STORM BRIEFLY ATTAINED HURRICANE STATUS ON THE 12TH BEFORE WEAKENING TO A TROPICAL STORM THE NEXT DAY. FLORENCE MOVED LITTLE FOR THREE DAYS...THEN TRAVELED NORTHEASTWARD QUICKLY AND REGAINED HURRICANE STATUS ON THE 15TH. THE HURRICANE THREATENED BERMUDA AND BROUGHT TROPICAL STORM FORCE WINDS TO THE ISLAND. FLORENCE MERGED WITH AN EXTRATROPICAL CYCLONE SOUTH OF NEWFOUNDLAND ON THE 17TH. GORDON WAS THE FIRST U.S. LANDFALLING TROPICAL STORM OF THE SEASON. IT FORMED NEAR THE NORTHERN COAST OF THE YUCATAN PENINSULA ON THE 14TH AND DRIFTED NORTHWARD INTO THE GULF OF MEXICO...DEVELOPING INTO A TROPICAL STORM THE NEXT DAY. GORDON MOVED NORTHEASTWARD AND INTENSIFIED STEADILY...BECOMING A MINIMAL HURRICANE WITH PEAK WINDS OF 75 MPH ON THE 19TH ABOUT 300 MILES SOUTH OF APALACHICOLA FLORIDA. VERTICAL WIND SHEAR WEAKENED GORDON TO TROPICAL STORM INTENSITY BEFORE IT MADE LANDFALL NEAR CEDAR KEY FLORIDA WITH MAXIMUM WINDS OF 65 MPH ON THE EVENING OF THE 17TH. THE STORM DUMPED HEAVY RAIN IN THE SOUTHEAST U.S. AS IT CONTINUED NORTHEASTWARD WITH A FEW TORNADOES REPORTED ACROSS CENTRAL AND SOUTH FLORIDA. GORDON BEGAN TO MERGE WITH A COLD FRONT OVER THE SOUTHEAST U.S. AND BECAME EXTRATROPICAL ON THE 18TH. 19 DEATHS WERE REPORTED IN GUATEMALA DUE TO FLOODING. DAMAGE ESTIMATES ARE NOT AVAILABLE AT THIS TIME. THE TROPICAL DEPRESSION THAT SPAWNED HELENE FORMED ABOUT 470 MILES EAST OF THE LEEWARD ISLANDS ON THE 15TH. THE DEPRESSION WEAKENED INTO A STRONG TROPICAL WAVE THE NEXT DAY BEFORE IT REACHED THE CARIBBEAN. HOWEVER...THE NORTHEASTERN LEEWARD ISLANDS REPORTED HEAVY RAIN AND GUSTY WINDS AS THE WAVE MOVED WESTWARD ACROSS THE CARIBBEAN ON THE 17TH. A TROPICAL DEPRESSION FORMED ON THE 19TH ABOUT 60 MILES NORTHEAST OF GRAND CAYMAN ISLAND. THE WEAK DEPRESSION MOVED NORTHWEST AND AIR FORCE RECONNAISSANCE ON THE 22ND INDICATED THAT A TROPICAL STORM HAD FORMED. HELENE ACCELERATED TOWARD THE NORTH AND REACHED A MAXIMUM INTENSITY OF 65 MPH LATER THAT DAY OVER THE GULF OF MEXICO. HOWEVER...THE STORM WEAKENED BEFORE LANDFALL AND HELENE MOVED INLAND NEAR FORT WALTON BEACH FLORIDA ON THE MORNING OF THE 23RD WITH MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS OF 45 MPH. FLOODING WAS REPORTED ACROSS THE FLORIDA PANHANDLE AND GEORGIA WITH 8-10 INCHES OF RAIN RECORDED IN THE TALLAHASSEE AREA. THE STORM WEAKENED TO A DEPRESSION SOON AND MOVED NORTHEAST INTO GEORGIA WHILE DISSIPATING. THERE WERE NO DIRECT DEATHS ASSOCIATED WITH HELENE. DAMAGE FIGURES ARE NOT AVAILABLE AT THIS TIME. ISAAC WAS THE SECOND MAJOR HURRICANE OF THE SEASON...DEVELOPING ABOUT 225 MILES SOUTH OF THE CAPE VERDE ISLANDS ON THE 21ST. THE DEPRESSION STRENGTHENED INTO A TROPICAL STORM THE NEXT DAY AS IT MOVED TOWARD THE WEST-NORTHWEST. ISAAC RAPIDLY BECAME A HURRICANE ON THE 23RD AND STRENGTHENED FURTHER INTO A MAJOR HURRICANE LATER THAT EVENING. THE STORM REMAINED A POWERFUL HURRICANE AS IT BEGAN TO TURN MORE TOWARD THE NORTHWEST...REACHING A MAXIMUM INTENSITY OF 140 MPH ON THE 28TH. THE HURRICANE RECURVED OUT TO SEA WELL EAST OF BERMUDA AND IS CURRENTLY MOVING NORTHEAST OVER THE NORTH ATLANTIC. JOYCE FORMED ABOUT 570 MILES SOUTHWEST OF THE CAPE VERDE ISLANDS ON THE 25TH. IT BECAME A TROPICAL STORM LATER THAT DAY AS IT MOVED TO THE WEST. SATELLITE ESTIMATES INDICATED THAT JOYCE BECAME A HURRICANE ON THE 27TH WITH A PEAK INTENSITY OF 90 MPH. THE STORM TURNED WEST-SOUTHWEST AND WEAKENED TO A TROPICAL STORM ON THE 29TH. JOYCE IS CURRENTLY MOVING THROUGH THE SOUTHERN WINDWARD ISLANDS AS A MINIMAL TROPICAL STORM. KEITH DEVELOPED ABOUT 60 MILES NORTHEAST OF CAPE A DIOS HONDURAS ON THE 28TH. AIRCRAFT RECONNAISSANCE ON THE 29TH INDICATED THAT THE DEPRESSION HAD BECOME A TROPICAL STORM AS IT MOVED SLOWLY NORTHWEST. KEITH RAPIDLY INTENSIFIED DURING THE DAY ON THE 30TH AND IS CURRENTLY A CATEGORY 4 HURRICANE OFF THE EAST COAST OF YUCATAN. SUMMARY TABLE NAME DATES WIND (MPH) DEATHS U.S. DAMAGE --------- --------------- ----------- ------ ------------- ERNESTO SEP 1 - 3 40 0 TD 9 SEP 8 - 9 35 0 FLORENCE SEP 11 - 17 80 2 GORDON SEP 15 - 18 75 19 * HELENE SEP 15 - 22 65 0 * ISAAC SEP 21 - 140 0 JOYCE SEP 25 - 90 0 KEITH SEP 29 - 135 0 * -- DAMAGE ESTIMATES NOT AVAILABLE BLAKE/AVILA/BEVEN/FRANKLIN/LAWRENCE/PASCH/STEWART