Tropical Weather Summary
000
ABNT30 KNHC 011217
TWSAT
MONTHLY TROPICAL WEATHER SUMMARY
NWS TPC/NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER MIAMI FL
8 AM EDT MON AUGUST 1 2005
FOR THE NORTH ATLANTIC...CARIBBEAN SEA AND THE GULF OF MEXICO...
THE MONTH OF JULY SAW UNPRECEDENTED TROPICAL CYCLONE ACTIVITY IN THE
ATLANTIC BASIN...WITH THE DEVELOPMENT OF FIVE NAMED STORMS...
TROPICAL STORM CINDY...HURRICANE DENNIS...HURRICANE EMILY...
TROPICAL STORM FRANKLIN...AND TROPICAL STORM GERT. THE PREVIOUS
RECORD FOR NAMED STORMS THAT FORMED IN JULY WAS FOUR. THE TWO MAJOR
HURRICANES THAT DEVELOPED DURING THE MONTH TIED A RECORD SET IN
1916. THE JULY ACTIVITY FOLLOWS AN UNUSUALLY ACTIVE MONTH OF JUNE
...AND THE SEVEN NAMED STORMS THAT HAVE FORMED THUS FAR IN 2005
REPRESENT A RECORD LEVEL OF ACTIVITY FOR THE FIRST TWO MONTHS OF
THE SEASON.
TROPICAL STORM CINDY FORMED ON 3 JULY IN THE EXTREME WESTERN
CARIBBEAN SEA JUST EAST OF THE YUCATAN-BELIZE BORDER. THE CYCLONE
MOVED NORTHWESTWARD ACROSS THE YUCATAN PENINSULA BEFORE EMERGING
OVER THE SOUTH-CENTRAL GULF OF MEXICO ON 4 JULY. ONCE OVER THE WARM
GULF WATERS...THE DEPRESSION STRENGTHENED INTO A TROPICAL STORM
EARLY ON 5 JULY AS THE CYCLONE TURNED NORTHWARD. DESPITE THE VERY
WARM WATER AHEAD OF CINDY...ONLY SLOW INTENSIFICATION OCCURRED DUE
TO MODERATE WIND SHEAR UNTIL JUST BEFORE LANDFALL WHEN MORE
SIGNIFICANT INTENSIFICATION OCCURRED. CINDY MADE LANDFALL JUST
BELOW HURRICANE STRENGTH EARLY ON 6 JULY OVER SOUTHEASTERN
LOUISIANA JUST TO THE SOUTHWEST OF GRAND ISLE. CINDY THEN TURNED
NORTHEASTWARD AND PASSED OVER THE NEW ORLEANS AREA BEFORE
DISSIPATING INLAND OVER CENTRAL ALABAMA LATER THAT DAY. THE MAIN
EFFECT FROM CINDY WAS HEAVY RAINFALL AND FLOODING THAT OCCURRED
ACROSS SOUTHEASTERN LOUISIANA...SOUTHERN MISSISSIPPI... MUCH OF
ALABAMA...AND THE FLORIDA PANHANDLE. A FINAL COUNT OF THE
CASUALTIES IS NOT YET AVAILABLE. DAMAGE ASSESSMENTS ARE ALSO
ONGOING AND ESTIMATES ARE NOT YET AVAILABLE.
HURRICANE DENNIS DEVELOPED ON 4 JULY FROM A TROPICAL WAVE NEAR THE
SOUTHERN WINDWARD ISLANDS. THE DEPRESSION MOVED WEST-NORTHWESTWARD
ACROSS THE EASTERN AND CENTRAL CARIBBEAN SEA... BECAME A TROPICAL
STORM ON 5 JULY...AND STRENGTHENED INTO A HURRICANE EARLY ON 6 JULY
ABOUT 245 MILES EAST-SOUTHEAST OF JAMAICA. DENNIS INTENSIFIED OVER
THE NEXT 2 DAYS AND BECAME A MAJOR HURRICANE ON THE 7TH AND A
STRONG CATEGORY 4 HURRICANE WITH WINDS OF 150 MPH ON 8 JULY JUST
SOUTH OF CENTRAL CUBA. DENNIS PASSED OVER CABO CRUZ CUBA EARLY ON 8
JULY WITH WINDS OF 135 MPH...AND THEN MADE LANDFALL ALONG THE
SOUTH-CENTRAL COAST OF CUBA THAT AFTERNOON NEAR CIENFUEGOS WITH
WINDS OF 145 MPH. CONSIDERABLE DAMAGE OCCURRED ACROSS CENTRAL AND
EASTERN CUBA...INCLUDING WIDESPREAD UTILITY AND COMMUNICATIONS
OUTAGES. AFTER MAKING LANDFALL...DENNIS PASSED VERY NEAR HAVANA AND
WEAKENED TO A CATEGORY 1 HURRICANE BEFORE EMERGING OVER THE
SOUTHEASTERN GULF OF MEXICO EARLY ON 9 JULY. ALTHOUGH DENNIS
RE-INTENSIFIED INTO A CATEGORY 4 HURRICANE EARLY ON THE 10TH OVER
THE EASTERN GULF OF MEXICO...IT WEAKENED TO CATEGORY 3 STRENGTH
BEFORE MAKING LANDFALL ALONG THE WESTERN FLORIDA PANHANDLE NEAR
NAVARRE BEACH LATE ON 10 JULY. DENNIS DISSIPATED OVER THE WESTERN
TENNESSEE VALLEY EARLY ON 12 JULY.
AT LEAST THIRTY-TWO DEATHS WERE REPORTED IN ASSOCIATION WITH DENNIS
...WITH THE MAJORITY OF THOSE OCCURRING IN THE CARIBBEAN REGION.
CONSIDERABLE STORM SURGE RELATED DAMAGE OCCURRED NEAR ST. MARKS
FLORIDA...WELL EAST OF THE LANDFALL LOCATION. HEAVY RAINFALL AND
FLOODING OCCURRED ACROSS MUCH OF FLORIDA AND EXTENDED WELL INLAND
OVER PORTIONS OF THE SOUTHEASTERN UNITED STATES. A FINAL COUNT OF
THE CASUALTIES ASSOCIATED WITH DENNIS IS NOT YET AVAILABLE. DAMAGE
ASSESSMENTS ARE ALSO ONGOING AND ESTIMATES ARE NOT YET AVAILABLE.
EMILY FORMED FROM A TROPICAL WAVE ON 11 JULY ABOUT 1300 MILES
EAST-SOUTHEAST OF THE LESSER ANTILLES. MOVING WESTWARD...THE
DEPRESSION BECAME A TROPICAL STORM THE FOLLOWING DAY. ON 14 JULY...
JUST AS EMILY WAS PASSING THROUGH THE SOUTHERN WINDWARD ISLANDS...
IT ABRUPTLY STRENGTHENED AND BECAME A HURRICANE VERY NEAR GRENADA
...AND LATER THAT DAY BECAME A MAJOR HURRICANE IN THE EASTERN
CARIBBEAN SEA. OVER THE NEXT FEW DAYS IT MOVED WEST-NORTHWESTWARD
ACROSS THE CARIBBEAN...REACHING A PEAK INTENSITY OF 155 MPH...JUST
BELOW THE CATEGORY FIVE THRESHOLD...WHEN IT WAS SOUTH OF
HISPANIOLA. EMILY PASSED TO THE SOUTH OF JAMAICA AND THE CAYMAN
ISLANDS...AND THEN STRUCK COZUMEL AND THE YUCATAN PENINSULA OF
MEXICO ON 18 JULY WITH MAXIMUM WINDS NEAR 135 MPH. EMILY CROSSED
THE YUCATAN AND WEAKENED...BUT BECAME A MAJOR HURRICANE AGAIN IN
THE SOUTHWESTERN GULF OF MEXICO. EMILY MADE ITS FINAL LANDFALL ON
20 JULY IN NORTHEASTERN MEXICO ABOUT 75 MILES SOUTH OF THE TEXAS
BORDER...WITH MAXIMUM WINDS NEAR 125 MPH. EMILY THEN WEAKENED
AND DISSIPATED THE FOLLOWING DAY OVER NORTHERN MEXICO.
AT LEAST 5 DEATHS HAVE BEEN ATTRIBUTED TO EMILY...1 IN GRENADA AND 4
IN JAMAICA. HOWEVER...A FINAL COUNT OF THE CASUALTIES IS NOT YET
AVAILABLE. DAMAGE ASSESSMENTS ARE ALSO ONGOING AND ESTIMATES ARE
NOT YET AVAILABLE.
TROPICAL STORM FRANKLIN FORMED FROM A TROPICAL WAVE AND BECAME A
TROPICAL DEPRESSION ON 21 JULY NEAR THE CENTRAL BAHAMAS. IT BECAME
A TROPICAL STORM THAT EVENING... BUT TROPICAL STORM FORCE WINDS
REMAINED EAST OF THE BAHAMAS. FRANKLIN TURNED TOWARD THE NORTH AND
THEN NORTHEAST DURING THE NEXT TWO DAYS WHILE STRENGTHENING TO ITS
PEAK INTENSITY OF 70 MPH ON 23 JULY. DURING 23-26 JULY FRANKLIN
MOVED ERRATICALLY TOWARD THE EAST-NORTHEAST IN THE GENERAL
DIRECTION OF BERMUDA... AND WINDS WEAKENED TO 40 MPH BY 25 JULY DUE
TO NORTHWESTERLY WIND SHEAR. THE STORM'S CLOSEST APPROACH TO
BERMUDA WAS ABOUT 185 MILES TO THE WEST ON 26 JULY... AND FRANKLIN
DID NOT PRODUCE ANY TROPICAL STORM FORCE WINDS ON BERMUDA. FRANKLIN
THEN MOVED SLOWLY IN A GENERAL NORTHWARD DIRECTION ON 27-28 JULY
WHILE ITS WINDS RESTRENGTHENED TO NEAR 60 MPH. FINALLY...ON 28 JULY
A FRONTAL SYSTEM MOVED OFF THE EAST COAST OF THE UNITED STATES AND
ACCELERATED FRANKLIN TOWARD THE NORTHEAST. FRANKLIN BEGAN TO WEAKEN
AFTER PASSING NORTH OF THE GULF STREAM EARLY ON 29 JULY... BECAME
EXTRATROPICAL LATE ON 29 JULY... AND MERGED WITH A FRONTAL ZONE
WHILE PASSING SOUTH OF NEWFOUNDLAND ON 30-31 JULY. NO REPORTS OF
DAMAGE OR CASUALTIES DUE TO FRANKLIN HAVE BEEN RECEIVED.
TROPICAL STORM GERT FORMED IN THE BAY OF CAMPECHE ON 23 JULY AND
MOVED SLOWLY TOWARD THE WEST-NORTHWEST. GERT MADE LANDFALL NEAR
CABO ROJO ON THE EASTERN COAST OF MEXICO LATE ON 24 JULY WITH 45
MPH WINDS. GERT ALSO BROUGHT LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL TO THOSE AREAS
THAT HAD BEEN AFFECTED BY HURRICANE EMILY LESS THAN A WEEK EARLIER.
GERT DISSIPATED WELL INLAND OVER CENTRAL MEXICO ON 26 JULY. NO
REPORTS OF CASUALTIES OR DAMAGE HAVE BEEN RECEIVED.
SUMMARY TABLE
NAME DATES MAX WIND DEATHS U.S. DAMAGE
MPH $MILLION
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TS CINDY 3-7 JUL 70 0 *
H DENNIS 4-12 JUL 150 32+ *
H EMILY 11-21 JUL 155 5+ *
TS FRANKLIN 21-29 JUL 70 0
TS GERT 23-25 JUL 45 0
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NOTE...DATES BASED ON COORDINATED UNIVERSAL TIME (UTC)
*...ESTIMATE NOT CURRENTLY AVAILABLE
FORECASTER STEWART/FRANKLIN/AVILA/KNABB/PASCH
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