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Tropical Weather Summary (Text)

000
ABNT30 KNHC 011911
TWSAT 
MONTHLY TROPICAL WEATHER SUMMARY
NWS/TPC NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER MIAMI FL
8 AM EST SAT NOV 1 2003

FOR THE NORTH ATLANTIC...CARIBBEAN SEA AND THE GULF OF MEXICO...

FOUR TROPICAL CYCLONES OCCURRED DURING THE MONTH OF OCTOBER... MAJOR
HURRICANE KATE COMPLETED ITS LIFE CYCLE IN OCTOBER...WHILE TROPICAL
STORMS LARRY...MINDY..AND NICHOLAS DEVELOPED AND DISSIPATED DURING
THE MONTH.  THIS COMPARES TO LONG TERM AVERAGES OF ABOUT ONE
TROPICAL STORM AND ONE HURRICANE FOR THE MONTH OF OCTOBER. 

HURRICANE KATE...WHICH FORMED ON 25 SEPTEMBER...TURNED SHARPLY
WESTWARD OVER THE EAST-CENTRAL ATLANTIC WHILE STRENGTHENING INTO A
HURRICANE AT THE BEGINNING OF OCTOBER.  KATE CONTINUE TO STRENGTHEN
AND IT REACHED ITS MAXIMUM INTENSITY OF 125 MPH OVER THE CENTRAL
ATLANTIC ABOUT 640 MILES EAST OF BERMUDA ON 4 OCTOBER.  THE
HURRICANE THEN BEGAN TO GRADUALLY WEAKEN AND TURN FROM A WESTWARD
TO A NORTHWARD HEADING.  ON 6-8 OCTOBER...KATE ACCELERATED
NORTH-NORTHEASTWARD AND WEAKENED JUST BELOW HURRICANE STRENGTH.  IT
LOST ITS TROPICAL CHARACTERISTICS ABOUT 370 MILES EAST-NORTHEAST OF
CAPE RACE NEWFOUNDLAND ON 8 OCTOBER.  THE POWERFUL EXTRATROPICAL
STORM CONTINUED ACROSS THE FAR NORTH ATLANTIC AND MERGED WITH
ANOTHER LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM NEAR NORWAY ON 10 OCTOBER.

LARRY DEVELOPED FROM A TROPICAL WAVE THAT MOVED OFF THE COAST OF
AFRICA ON 17 SEPTEMBER.  THE WAVE MOVED WESTWARD ACROSS THE TROPICAL
ATLANTIC WITH LITTLE ASSOCIATED THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY UNTIL IT
REACHED THE NORTHWESTERN CARIBBEAN SEA ON 27 SEPTEMBER WHEN A BROAD
SURFACE LOW PRESSURE AREA DEVELOPED ALONG THE WAVE AXIS.  THE SYSTEM
CONTINUED TO MOVE SLOWLY WESTWARD AND EMERGED OVER THE SOUTHERN
GULF OF MEXICO AND BAY OF CAMPECHE ON 30 SEPTEMBER...WHERE IT ALSO
BEGAN TO INTERACT WITH A FRONTAL BOUNDARY.  THUNDERSTORMS CONTINUED
TO DEVELOP AND GRADUALLY CONSOLIDATED AROUND THE BROAD CENTER AND
TROPICAL STORM LARRY FORMED ON 1 OCTOBER ABOUT 300 MILES
EAST-SOUTHEAST OF TAMPICO MEXICO. LARRY MEANDERED OVER THE BAY OF
CAMPECHE FOR TWO DAYS AND SLOWLY STRENGTHENED TO 60 MPH.  LARRY
BEGAN A SLOW SOUTHWARD DRIFT TOWARD MEXICO ON 4 OCTOBER AND MADE
LANDFALL EARLY ON THE NEXT DAY.  DISSIPATION OCCURRED EARLY ON 6
OCTOBER OVER THE MEXICAN STATE OF VERACRUZ.  THERE WERE FIVE DEATHS
ASSOCIATED WITH LARRY.

MINDY ORIGINATED FROM A TROPICAL WAVE.  IT BECAME A TROPICAL STORM
ON 10 OCTOBER NEAR THE NORTHEASTERN TIP OF THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC. 
THE STORM MOVED NORTHWEST TO NORTHWARD FOR TWO DAYS WITH MAXIMUM
WIND SPEEDS OF 40 TO 45 MPH.  ON 12 OCTOBER IT TURNED EASTWARD
AHEAD OF AN APPROACHING SHORT-WAVE TROUGH IN THE WESTERLIES...WHILE
WEAKENING TO A DEPRESSION UNDER SOUTHWESTERLY VERTICAL WIND SHEAR. 
THE DEPRESSION DEGENERATED TO A SWIRL OF LOW CLOUDS EARLY ON 14
OCTOBER WHILE LOCATED ABOUT 460 MILES SOUTH OF BERMUDA.  MINDY
PASSED NEAR THE TURKS AND CAICOS ISLANDS ON 11 OCTOBER BUT HEAVY
RAIN AND TROPICAL STORM FORCE WINDS REMAINED TO THE EAST OF THESE
ISLANDS.  MINDY DID PRODUCE PERIODS OF HEAVY RAIN OVER PORTIONS OF
PUERTO RICO AND THE EASTERN DOMINICAN REPUBLIC FOR A FEW DAYS.

NICHOLAS FORMED FROM A TROPICAL WAVE THAT MOVED WESTWARD FROM THE
COAST OF AFRICA ON 9 OCTOBER.  THE WAVE SPAWNED A TROPICAL
DEPRESSION ON THE 13TH ABOUT 1030 MILES WEST-SOUTHWEST OF THE CAPE
VERDE ISLANDS.  MOVING SLOWLY WEST-NORTHWESTWARD...THE DEPRESSION
BECOME TROPICAL STORM NICHOLAS EARLY ON THE 15TH.  NICHOLAS REACHED
A PEAK INTENSITY OF 70 MPH ON THE 17TH AS IT TURNED NORTHWESTWARD. 
A SLOW NORTHEASTWARD MOTION ON THE 18TH WAS FOLLWED BY A SLOW
GENERALLY WESTWARD MOTION FROM THE 19TH TO THE 22ND.  VERTICAL
SHEAR CAUSED NICHOLAS TO WEAKEN DURING THAT TIME...AND IT FURTHER
WEAKENED TO A DEPRESSION AS IT TURNED NORTH-NORTHWESTWARD ON THE
23RD.  THE DEPRESSION BECAME A REMNANT LOW LATER THAT DAY ABOUT 570
MILES NORTHEAST OF THE NORTHERN LEEWARD ISLANDS.  THE LOW HAS BEEN
MEANDERING AROUND THE WESTERN ATLANTIC SINCE THAT TIME...AND AS OF
THIS WRITING IS LOCATED A FEW HUNDRED MILES SOUTH OF BERMUDA.  SO
FAR...THERE ARE NO REPORTS OF DAMAGE OR CASUALTIES FROM NICHOLAS.

SUMMARY TABLE - OCTOBER 2003

NAME              DATES            MAX WIND - MPH     DEATHS
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H KATE          25 SEP - 7 OCT          125              0
TS LARRY         1-6  OCT                60              5
TS MINDY        10-14 OCT                45              0
TS NICHOLAS     13-23 OCT                70 0
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NOTE...DATES ARE BASED ON UNIVERSAL COORDINATED TIME...UTC

FORECASTER AVILA/BEVEN/LAWRENCE/PASCH/STEWART