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Tropical Weather Summary (Text)

000
ABNT30 KNHC 011157
TWSAT 
MONTHLY TROPICAL WEATHER SUMMARY
NWS TPC/NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER MIAMI FL
800 AM EDT FRI AUG 1 2008

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

TROPICAL CYCLONE ACTIVITY DURING JULY WAS MUCH ABOVE AVERAGE...THREE
TROPICAL STORMS FORMING DURING THE MONTH.  TWO OF THESE BECAME
HURRICANES...AND ONE BECAME A MAJOR HURRICANE.  ON AVERAGE...ONE
TROPICAL STORM FORMS DURING JULY AND A HURRICANE ONLY FORMS ABOUT
EVERY OTHER JULY.  IN TERMS OF ACCUMULATED CYCLONE ENERGY...ACE...
JULY WAS THE THIRD MOST ACTIVE ON RECORD...BEHIND 2005 AND 1916.

BERTHA DEVELOPED FROM A STRONG TROPICAL WAVE THAT MOVED OFF THE WEST
COAST OF AFRICA ON 1 JULY.  THE SYSTEM GRADUALLY BECAME ORGANIZED
AND BECOME A TROPICAL DEPRESSION EARLY ON 3 JULY OVER THE FAR
EASTERN ATLANTIC ABOUT 190 MILES SOUTH-SOUTHEAST OF THE CAPE VERDE
ISLANDS.  THE DEPRESSION STRENGTHENED INTO A TROPICAL STORM A SHORT
TIME LATER WHILE PASSING SOUTH OF THE CAPE VERDE ISLANDS.  BERTHA'S
STRENGTH CHANGED LITTLE DURING THE NEXT COUPLE OF DAYS AS IT MOVED
QUICKLY WEST-NORTHWESTWARD OVER COOLER WATERS.  LATE ON 6 JULY...
BERTHA STRENGTHENED AS IT REACHED WARMER WATERS...AND IT BECAME A
HURRICANE EARLY THE NEXT DAY ABOUT 850 MILES EAST OF THE NORTHERN
LEEWARD ISLANDS.  BERTHA TURNED NORTHWESTWARD AND RAPIDLY
INTENSIFIED TO A PEAK INTENSITY OF 120 MPH...CATEGORY THREE
STRENGTH...BY EARLY ON 8 JULY.  LATER THAT DAY...INCREASED SHEAR
CAUSED BERTHA TO WEAKEN...FOLLOWED BY RE-INTENSIFICATION ON 9 JULY
AS THE SHEAR DECREASED.  DURING THE NEXT COUPLE OF DAYS...BERTHA
TURN NORTH-NORTHWESTWARD WITH A DECREASE IN FORWARD SPEED.  ON
12-13 JULY...BERTHA STALLED A COUPLE OF HUNDRED MILES SOUTH-
SOUTHEAST OF BERMUDA AND GRADUALLY WEAKENED TO A TROPICAL STORM. 
THE NEXT DAY THE CYCLONE BEGAN MOVING NORTH-NORTHWESTWARD...WITH
THE CENTER PASSING ABOUT 40 MILES EAST OF BERMUDA.  AFTER PASSING
BERMUDA...BERTHA'S FORWARD SPEED SLOWED DOWN AGAIN AND THE STORM
TURNED EASTWARD...AND THEN SOUTHEASTWARD.  BERTHA ACCELERATED
NORTHEASTWARD AND REACHED HURRICANE STRENGTH AGAIN ON 18 JULY. 
BERTHA PASSED ABOUT 450 MILES SOUTHEAST OF CAPE RACE NEWFOUNDLAND
BEFORE BECOMING EXTRATROPICAL OVER THE NORTH ATLANTIC ON 20 JULY. 
THE EXTRATROPICAL LOW CONTINUED NORTHEASTWARD TOWARD ICELAND WHERE
IT MERGED WITH A LARGER LOWER PRESSURE AREA.

BERTHA BROUGHT TROPICAL STORM CONDITIONS TO BERMUDA DURING ITS
CLOSE PASSAGE ON THE 14TH.  HURRICANE FORCE WIND GUSTS WERE
EXPERIENCED AT SOME ELEVATED LOCATIONS ON BERMUDA...HOWEVER ONLY
MINOR DAMAGE WAS REPORTED.  BERTHA'S 17 DAYS AS A TROPICAL CYCLONE
MAKES IT THE LONGEST-LIVED JULY ATLANTIC BASIN TROPICAL CYCLONE ON
RECORD.

CRISTOBAL FORMED FROM AN AREA OF DISTURBED WEATHER ASSOCIATED WITH A
BROAD AREA OF LOW PRESSURE THAT MOVED NORTHEASTWARD FROM THE GULF
OF MEXICO ACROSS FLORIDA.  THE SYSTEM CONTINUED TO MOVE
NORTHEASTWARD NEAR THE EAST COAST OF THE UNITED STATES AND BECAME A
TROPICAL DEPRESSION ON 18 JULY ABOUT 65 MILES SOUTH-SOUTHEAST OF
CHARLESTON SOUTH CAROLINA.  THE DEPRESSION CONTINUED MOVING SLOWLY
TOWARD THE NORTHEAST AND BECAME TROPICAL STORM CRISTOBAL ON 19 JULY
ABOUT 225 MILES SOUTHWEST OF CAPE HATTERAS NORTH CAROLINA.  WHILE
CRISTOBAL MOVED NORTHEASTWARD NEAR THE NORTH CAROLINA COAST...THE
COAST ESCAPED FROM THE STRONGEST WINDS SINCE MOST OF THE ASSOCIATED
WEATHER WAS LOCATED TO THE EAST OF THE CENTER.  CRISTOBAL MOVED
AWAY FROM THE U.S. COAST WITH INCREASING FORWARD SPEED AND THEN
REACHED ITS MAXIMUM INTENSITY OF 65 MPH ON 21 JULY ABOUT 725 MILES
SOUTHWEST OF HALIFAX NOVA SCOTIA.  CRISTOBAL THEN MOVED TO THE
EAST-NORTHEAST AND BECAME EXTRATROPICAL ON 23 JULY ABOUT 380 MILES
EAST OF HALIFAX. 

DOLLY ORIGINATED FROM A TROPICAL WAVE THAT EMERGED FROM AFRICA ON 11
JULY. THE SYSTEM MOVED RAPIDLY WESTWARD AND GENERATED A SURFACE LOW
PRESSURE AREA ABOUT 1600 MILES EAST OF THE WINDWARD ISLANDS ON 13
JULY.  THE LOW MOVED GENERALLY WESTWARD OVER THE NEXT SEVERAL DAYS
AND CROSSED THE WINDWARD ISLANDS EARLY ON 17 JULY.  AS THE SYSTEM
TRAVERSED THE EASTERN AND CENTRAL CARIBBEAN IT HAD A BROAD
LOW-LEVEL CIRCULATION WITH WINDS TO TROPICAL STORM FORCE IN
SQUALLS...BUT NO DEFINITE CENTER OF CIRCULATION.  ON 20 JULY...WHEN
THE SYSTEM REACHED THE WESTERN CARIBBEAN...A WELL-DEFINED
CIRCULATION CENTER FORMED AND TROPICAL STORM DOLLY WAS BORN ABOUT
300 MILES EAST OF CHETUMAL MEXICO.  THE STORM MOVED NORTHWESTWARD
AND TEMPORARILY BECAME DISORGANIZED WHILE ITS CENTER WAS REFORMING
NEAR THE NORTHEASTERN YUCATAN PENINSULA.  DOLLY REORGANIZED OVER
THE GULF OF MEXICO ON 21 JULY AND HEADED WEST-NORTHWESTWARD TOWARD
THE WESTERN GULF OF MEXICO COAST.  ON 22 JULY THE CYCLONE TURNED
TOWARD THE NORTHWEST AND STRENGTHENED INTO A HURRICANE.  DOLLY
SLOWED IN FORWARD SPEED AND REACHED A PEAK INTENSITY OF NEAR 100
MPH ON 23 JULY SHORTLY BEFORE ITS EYE MADE LANDFALL ON SOUTH PADRE
ISLAND TEXAS...A SHORT DISTANCE SOUTHEAST OF PORT MANSFIELD.  AFTER
LANDFALL THE CYCLONE STEADILY WEAKENED.  IT BECAME A TROPICAL STORM
EARLY ON 24 JULY AND A TROPICAL DEPRESSION LATER THAT DAY AS IT
CROSSED THE RIO GRANDE RIVER...WHILE CONTINUING TO DUMP HEAVY RAINS
ALONG ITS PATH.  DOLLY'S SURFACE CIRCULATION DISSIPATED OVER
NORTHERN MEXICO ON 25 JULY BUT ITS REMNANTS ALOFT MOVED OVER NEW
MEXICO ON 26-27 JULY WHILE CONTINUING TO PRODUCE HEAVY RAINS.  THE
SYSTEM LOST ITS IDENTITY AS IT APPROACHED THE TEXAS PANHANDLE EARLY
ON 28 JULY.  ONE PERSON DROWNED IN ROUGH SURF IN THE FLORIDA
PANHANDLE AND PRELIMINARY DAMAGE TOTALS RANGE FROM 750 MILLION TO 1
BILLION DOLLARS. 


SUMMARY TABLE

NAME         DATES             MAX WIND (MPH)         DEATHS
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MH BERTHA      3 JUL - 20 JUL       120                 *
TS CRISTOBAL  19 JUL - 23 JUL        65
H  DOLLY      20 JUL - 25 JUL       100                 1
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MH DENOTES MAJOR HURRICANE...CATEGORY 3 OR HIGHER ON THE SAFFIR-
SIMPSON HURRICANE SCALE.

NOTE...DATES BASED ON COORDINATED UNIVERSAL TIME (UTC)

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FORECASTER AVILA/BEVEN/BLAKE/BROWN/PASCH