Tropical Weather Summary


000
ABNT30 KNHC 011222
TWSAT 
MONTHLY TROPICAL WEATHER SUMMARY
NWS/TPC NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER MIAMI FL
8 AM EDT WED OCT 1 2003

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

FIVE TROPICAL CYCLONES DEVELOPED DURING THE MONTH OF SEPTEMBER...
TROPICAL STORM HENRI...HURRICANE ISABEL...TROPICAL DEPRESSION
FOURTEEN...HURRICANE JUAN...AND HURRICANE KATE. IN ADDITION...
HURRICANE FABIAN...COMPLETED ITS LIFE CYCLE IN SEPTEMBER.  WITH
ELEVEN NAMED TROPICAL CYCLONES FOR THE 2003 SEASON SO FAR...OVERALL
ACTIVITY CONTINUES TO RUN WELL ABOVE NORMAL. IN AN AVERAGE
SEASON...EIGHT TROPICAL CYCLONES WOULD HAVE FORMED BY THE END OF
SEPTEMBER.  THE SIX HURRICANES THAT HAVE DEVELOPED SO FAR THIS
SEASON IS ALSO AHEAD OF THE NORMAL NUMBER...4.4...FOR THIS DATE.

FABIAN FORMED OVER THE EASTERN ATLANTIC ON 27 AUGUST AND ON 1
SEPTEMBER IT STRENGTHENED TO ITS PEAK INTENSITY OF 145 MPH. 
THEREAFTER...FABIAN'S INTENSITY FLUCTUATED SOME...BUT IT REMAINED A
MAJOR HURRICANE FOR SEVERAL DAYS.  IT PASSED WELL NORTH OF THE
NORTHERN LEEWARD ISLANDS ON 3 SEPTEMBER AS ITS TRACK CURVED FROM
WEST-NORTHWESTWARD TO NORTHWARD.  ON 5 SEPTEMBER...FABIAN HIT
BERMUDA WITH MAXIMUM WINDS NEAR 115 MPH...AND CAUSED 4 DEATHS AS
WELL AS EXTENSIVE DAMAGE...ESTIMATED NEAR 300 MILLION U.S.
DOLLARS... ON THAT ISLAND.  THEN THE HURRICANE ACCELERATED
NORTHEASTWARD WHILE GRADUALLY WEAKENING.  FABIAN BECAME
EXTRATROPICAL ABOUT 585 MILES EAST OF CAPE RACE NEWFOUNDLAND ON 8
SEPTEMBER. THE DEATH TOLL OF 8 INCLUDES THREE FISHERMEN WHO DROWNED
OFF OF NEWFOUNDLAND...AND A RIP CURRENT DROWNING NEAR CAPE HATTERAS.

HENRI FORMED FROM A TROPICAL WAVE ON THE 3RD OVER THE EAST-CENTRAL
GULF OF MEXICO. IT MOVED SLOWLY EASTWARD AND ITS WINDS REACHED 50
MPH ON THE 5TH. WEAKENING...HENRI ACCELERATED NORTHEASTWARD ACROSS
NORTH-CENTRAL FLORIDA AS A TROPICAL DEPRESSION WITH WINDS OF 30
MPH. IT DISSIPATED ON THE 8TH ABOUT 150 MILES SOUTH OF CAPE
HATTERAS NORTH CAROLINA WHILE BECOMING EXTRATROPICAL. HENRI DUMPED
UP TO 10 INCHES OF RAIN OVER PORTIONS OF WEST-CENTRAL FLORIDA.

LONG-LIVED HURRICANE ISABEL BEGAN AS A WESTWARD MOVING TROPICAL
DEPRESSION OVER THE EASTERN TROPICAL ATLANTIC ON THE 6TH.  IT
BECAME A TROPICAL STORM LATER THAT DAY...AND A HURRICANE ON THE 7TH
AS IT TURNED WEST-NORTHWESTWARD.  ISABEL MOVED NORTHWESTWARD ON THE
8TH AND 9TH AND BECAME A MAJOR HURRICANE.  THE CYCLONE CONTINUED
TO STRENGTHEN AS IT TURNED WESTWARD ON THE 10TH...AND ON THE 11TH
IT BECAME A CATEGORY 5 HURRICANE ON THE SAFFIR-SIMPSON HURRICANE
SCALE.  ISABEL REMAINED AT OR NEAR CATEGORY 5 INTENSITY UNTIL THE
15TH.  THE HURRICANE CONTINUED WESTWARD THROUGH THE 12TH...THEN
ISABEL TURNED WEST-NORTHWESTWARD ON THE 13TH AND NORTHWESTWARD ON
THE 15TH.  WEAKENING BEGAN ON THE 16TH AS ISABEL TURNED
NORTH-NORTHWESTWARD.  THIS MOTION BROUGHT ISABEL TO THE NORTH
CAROLINA COAST NEAR DRUM POINT ON THE 18TH AS A CATEGORY 2
HURRICANE.  THE CYCLONE CONTINUED NORTH-NORTHWESTWARD AFTER
LANDFALL...EVENTUALLY LOSING ITS TROPICAL CHARACTERISTICS ON THE
19TH OVER WESTERN PENNSYLVANIA.

ISABEL BROUGHT HURRICANE CONDITIONS TO PORTIONS OF EASTERN NORTH
CAROLINA AND SOUTHEASTERN VIRGINIA...AND TROPICAL STORM CONDITIONS
TO MUCH OF THE REST OF THE REGION FROM NORTH CAROLINA NORTHWARD TO
NEW YORK.  EXTENSIVE STORM SURGE FLOODING OCCURRED ALONG THE
ATLANTIC COASTS OF NORTH CAROLINA AND VIRGINIA...AND IN CHESAPEAKE
BAY INCLUDING THE POTOMAC AND JAMES RIVERS.  ABOVE NORMAL TIDES
WERE REPORTED AS FAR NORTH AS LONG ISLAND.  HEAVY RAINS ALSO
OCCURRED ALONG THE TRACK OF ISABEL...WITH AMOUNTS OF 6 TO 12 INCHES
IN NORTH CAROLINA AND VIRGINIA AND AMOUNTS OF 1 TO 3 INCHES
EXTENDING AS FAR NORTH AS OHIO...PENNSYLVANIA...AND NEW YORK.

CASUALTY AND DAMAGE STATISTICS FOR ISABEL ARE INCOMPLETE AT THIS
TIME.  ISABEL WAS DIRECTLY RESPONSIBLE FOR AT LEAST 13 DEATHS...WITH
AT LEAST 17 MORE INDIRECTLY RELATED TO THE STORM.  ISABEL CAUSED
EXTENSIVE WIND AND WATER DAMAGE IN EASTERN NORTH CAROLINA AND
SOUTHEASTERN VIRGINIA AND EASTERN MARYLAND...WITH A TRAIL OF LESSER
DAMAGE EXTENDING ACROSS OTHER PORTIONS OF NORTH CAROLINA...
VIRGINIA...MARYLAND...WEST VIRGINIA...DELAWARE...NEW
JERSEY...PENNSYLVANIA...AND NEW YORK.  DAMAGE FROM ISABEL MAY
EVENTUALLY BE ASSESSED IN EXCESS OF ONE BILLION DOLLARS.

TROPICAL DEPRESSION FOURTEEN DEVELOPED FROM A TROPICAL WAVE ON THE
8TH ABOUT 300 MILES SOUTHEAST OF THE SOUTHERNMOST CAPE VERDE
ISLANDS.  THE DEPRESSION QUICKLY ENCOUNTERED UNFAVORABLE
UPPER-LEVEL WINDS AND DISSIPATED ON THE 10TH AS IT WAS PASSING
THROUGH THE WESTERN CAPE VERDE ISLANDS.

HURRICANE JUAN HAD A COMPLEX FORMATION...DEVELOPING FROM THE
INTERACTION OF A TROPICAL WAVE WITH A LARGE UPPER-LEVEL LOW ABOUT
295 MILES SOUTHEAST OF BERMUDA ON THE 25TH. INITIALLY...JUAN
APPEARED TO HAVE SUBTROPICAL CHARACTERISTICS BUT BECAME FULLY
TROPICAL AS IT MOVED TOWARD THE NORTH-NORTHWEST AND NORTH...PASSING
ABOUT 200 MILES EAST OF BERMUDA. ITS WINDS REACHED 105 MPH ON THE
27TH AS IT CONTINUED NORTHWARD.  AFTER SOME WEAKENING...THE
TROPICAL CYCLONE MADE LANDFALL IN NOVA SCOTIA NEAR HALIFAX LATE ON
THE 28TH. ACCORDING TO METEOROLOGISTS FROM ENVIRONMENT
CANADA...JUAN WAS THE WORST TROPICAL CYCLONE TO HIT THE AREA IN
DECADES. CASUALTY AND DAMAGE STATISTICS FOR JUAN ARE INCOMPLETE AT
THIS TIME. 

HURRICANE KATE DEVELOPED FROM A TROPICAL WAVE ABOUT 900 MILES
WEST-SOUTHWEST OF THE CAPE VERDE ISLANDS ON THE 25TH.  AFTER
MOVING WEST-NORTHWESTWARD FOR ABOUT A DAY...THE SYSTEM TURNED
TOWARD THE NORTH-NORTHWEST AND STRENGTHENED INTO A TROPICAL STORM
ON THE 27TH.  KATE THEN TURNED TOWARD THE NORTH AND NORTHEAST
AND BRIEFLY REACHED HURRICANE INTENSITY ON THE 29TH.  AT THE
END OF THE MONTH...TROPICAL STORM KATE HAD TURNED BACK TO THE
NORTHWEST AND THEN WEST WHILE LOCATED ABOUT 600 MILES SOUTHWEST OF
THE AZORES.

SUMMARY TABLE - SEPTEMBER 2003

NAME              DATES            MAX WIND - MPH     DEATHS
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H FABIAN     27 AUG-8 SEP               145              8
TS HENRI          3-8 SEP                50              0
H ISABEL         6-19 SEP               160              13*
TD FOURTEEN      8-10 SEP                35              0
H JUAN          25-29 SEP               105              *
H KATE          25-   SEP                75              0
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NOTE...DATES ARE BASED ON UNIVERSAL COORDINATED TIME...UTC

* INFORMATION NOT COMPLETE AT THIS TIME.

FORECASTER FRANKLIN/AVILA/BEVEN/LAWRENCE/PASCH/STEWART