000 ABNT30 KNHC 011204 TWSAT MONTHLY TROPICAL WEATHER SUMMARY NWS/TPC NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER MIAMI FL 8 AM EDT MON SEP 1 2003 FOR THE NORTH ATLANTIC...CARIBBEAN SEA AND THE GULF OF MEXICO... FOUR TROPICAL CYCLONES DEVELOPED DURING THE MONTH OF AUGUST... TROPICAL STORM ERIKA...TROPICAL DEPRESSION NINE...HURRICANE FABIAN...AND TROPICAL STORM GRACE. AFTER AN UNUSUALLY ACTIVE JULY...AUGUST ACTIVITY WAS NEAR NORMAL. TROPICAL STORM ERIKA FORMED IN THE EASTERN GULF OF MEXICO ON THE 14TH AFTER A LONG TRACK ACROSS THE ATLANTIC AS AN AREA OF DISTURBED WEATHER. IT MOVED RAPIDLY ACROSS THE CENTRAL GULF AND MADE LANDFALL IN EXTREME NORTHEASTERN MEXICO ABOUT 45 MILES SOUTH OF BROWNSVILLE TEXAS ON THE MORNING OF THE 16TH...WITH PEAK WINDS OF 70 MPH. THE CYCLONE DISSIPATED EARLY ON THE 17TH OVER THE MOUNTAINS OF NORTHERN MEXICO. TWO PERSONS DIED IN MONTEMORELOS MEXICO WHEN THEY TRIED TO CROSS A BRIDGE THAT WAS PARTIALLY UNDER WATER AND THEIR TRUCK WAS SWEPT AWAY BY FLOOD WATERS. ERIKA PRODUCED SUSTAINED TROPICAL STORM FORCE WINDS IN EXTREME SOUTH TEXAS...BUT DAMAGE WAS EXTREMELY MINOR. IN MEXICO...DAMAGE TO ROOFS AND CARS WAS REPORTED IN MATAMOROS...AND NUMEROUS HIGHWAYS IN NORTHEASTERN MEXICO WERE BLOCKED BY MUD SLIDES. TROPICAL DEPRESSION NINE WAS A SHORT-LIVED TROPICAL CYCLONE THAT DEVELOPED FROM A FAST-MOVING TROPICAL WAVE IN THE EASTERN CARIBBEAN SEA DURING THE AFTERNOON OF 21 AUGUST. THE DEPRESSION MOVED WEST- NORTHWESTWARD AND DEGENERATED INTO A TROPICAL WAVE THE FOLLOWING AFTERNOON SOUTH OF HISPANIOLA. HURRICANE FABIAN...THE STRONGEST OF THE SEASON THUS FAR...DEVELOPED FROM A LARGE TROPICAL WAVE ABOUT 370 MILES WEST OF THE SOUTHERN CAPE VERDE ISLANDS ON 27 AUGUST. MOVING WESTWARD...THE CYCLONE STRENGTHENED TO A TROPICAL STORM ON 28 AUGUST. FABIAN BECAME A HURRICANE ON 29 AUGUST...INTENSIFIED INTO A CATEGORY 3 HURRICANE ON THE SAFFIR-SIMPSON HURRICANE SCALE ON 30 AUGUST...AND REACHED CATEGORY 4 STATUS ON THE 31ST. ON THAT DAY FABIAN WAS LOCATED ABOUT 500 MILES EAST OF THE NORTHERN LESSER ANTILLES AND WAS MOVING ON A WESTWARD TO WEST-NORTHWESTWARD HEADING. TROPICAL STORM GRACE DEVELOPED FROM A TROPICAL WAVE THAT MOVED ACROSS THE YUCATAN PENINSULA AND INTO THE SOUTHEASTERN GULF OF MEXICO LATE ON 29 AUGUST. DEVELOPMENT WAS INHIBITED BY STRONG VERTICAL WIND SHEAR BUT ON 30 AUGUST THE SHEAR LESSENED AND A TROPICAL DEPRESSION FORMED ABOUT 335 MILES EAST SOUTHEAST OF CORPUS CHRISTI TEXAS. REPORTS FROM A SHIP AND A RECONNAISSANCE AIRCRAFT INDICATED THAT THE CYCLONE HAD STRENGTHENED INTO TROPICAL STORM GRACE LATER THAT DAY. GRACE MOVED IN A GENERAL NORTHWESTWARD DIRECTION AND REMAINED POORLY ORGANIZED UNTIL IT MADE LANDFALL ALONG THE CENTRAL TEXAS COAST NEAR PORT O'CONNOR ON 31 AUGUST. THE SYSTEM CONTINUED TO MOVE INLAND AND QUICKLY WEAKENED TO A DEPRESSION. THERE ARE NO REPORTS OF DAMAGE OR CASUALTIES AT THIS TIME. HOWEVER...LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL OF 4 TO 6 INCHES FELL OVER PORTIONS OF THE UPPER-TEXAS AND SOUTHWESTERN LOUISIANA COASTS. AT MONTHS END THE DEPRESSION WAS LOCATED NEAR WACO TEXAS. SUMMARY TABLE - AUGUST 2003 NAME DATES MAX WIND - MPH DEATHS ---------------------------------------------------------------- TS ERIKA 14-17 AUG 70 2 TD NINE 21-22 AUG35 0 H FABIAN 27 AUG - 140 0 TS GRACE 30 AUG - 40 0 ---------------------------------------------------------------- NOTE...DATES ARE BASED ON UNIVERSAL COORDINATED TIME...UTC FORECASTER STEWART/AVILA/BEVEN/FRANKLIN/LAWRENCE/PASCH
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