MIATWSATHOMEACTIVE CYCLONESFORECASTSIMAGERYABOUT TPCRECONNAISSANCE 429 ABNT30 KNHC 011151 TWSAT MONTHLY TROPICAL WEATHER SUMMARY NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MIAMI FL 800 AM EDT FRI OCT 1 1999 FOR THE NORTH ATLANTIC...CARIBBEAN SEA AND THE GULF OF MEXICO... ...SUMMARY OF TROPICAL CYCLONE ACTIVITY DURING SEPTEMBER... FOUR TROPICAL CYCLONES...2 HURRICANES...1 TROPICAL STORM AND 1 TROPICAL DEPRESSION...FORMED IN THE ATLANTIC BASIN DURING SEPTEMBER 1999. IN ADDITION...TROPICAL STORM DENNIS WAS IN PROGRESS AS THE MONTH COMMENCED. TROPICAL ACTIVITY HAS BEEN SLIGHTLY ABOVE AVERAGE SO FAR IN 1999. TO DATE THE SEASON HAS PRODUCED A TOTAL OF 8 NAMED STORMS...5 HURRICANES...AND 4 MAJOR HURRICANES. IN AN AVERAGE SEASON...BY OCTOBER 1ST THERE WOULD HAVE BEEN 7 NAMED STORMS...4 HURRICANES...AND 2 MAJOR HURRICANES. AFTER LASHING THE COAST OF NORTH CAROLINA AS A HURRICANE AT THE END OF AUGUST...TROPICAL STORM DENNIS MEANDERED ABOUT 90 TO 100 MILES EAST AND SOUTHEAST OF CAPE HATTERAS NORTH CAROLINA THROUGH 2 SEPTEMBER. BY 4 SEPTEMBER DENNIS RE-INTENSIFIED AS IT TURNED BACK TOWARD THE COAST AND MADE LANDFALL AS A 70 MPH TROPICAL STORM ON THE NORTH CAROLINA OUTER BANKS...ABOUT 35 MILES EAST-NORTHEAST OF MOREHEAD CITY. DENNIS WEAKENED TO A DEPRESSION EARLY ON THE 5TH WHILE MOVING NORTHWESTWARD INTO NORTH CENTRAL NORTH CAROLINA...AND DISSIPATED IN SOUTH CENTRAL VIRGINIA ON 6 SEPTEMBER. TROPICAL DEPRESSION SEVEN DEVELOPED IN THE SOUTHWEST GULF OF MEXICO ON 5 SEPTEMBER ABOUT 80 MILES EAST-SOUTHEAST OF TAMPICO MEXICO. THE SYSTEM BEGAN DRIFTING TO THE NORTH-NORTHWEST...THEN NORTHWEST AT 5 TO 10 MPH BEFORE MAKING LANDFALL WITH 35 MPH WINDS IN NORTHEAST MEXICO ON THE MORNING OF THE 6TH ABOUT 45 MILES EAST OF CIUDAD VICTORIA MEXICO. ONCE INLAND THE DEPRESSION MOVED SLOWLY NORTHWESTWARD PRODUCING HEAVY RAINS OVER PORTIONS OF NORTHEAST MEXICO AND EXTREME SOUTH TEXAS BEFORE DISSIPATING OVER NORTHERN MEXICO ON THE 8TH. HURRICANE FLOYD FORMED FROM A TROPICAL WAVE WHICH MOVED OFF THE COAST OF AFRICA ON 2 SEPTEMBER. THE SYSTEM BECAME A TROPICAL DEPRESSION ON 7 SEPTEMBER ABOUT 1000 MILES EAST OF THE LESSER ANTILLES. IT STRENGTHENED INTO A TROPICAL STORM EARLY THE NEXT DAY WHILE LOCATED ABOUT 850 MILES EAST OF THE LESSER ANTILLES AND INTO A HURRICANE ABOUT 240 MILES NORTHEAST OF THE NORTHERN LEEWARD ISLANDS. FLOYD TURNED FROM A WESTWARD TO A NORTHWESTWARD COURSE...AND ITS INTENSIFICATION TREND TEMPORARILY HALTED. HOWEVER AS FLOYD TURNED BACK TO THE WEST IT STRENGTHENED INTO A MAJOR HURRICANE...AND THEN TO A STRONG CATEGORY FOUR HURRICANE ON THE SAFFIR/SIMPSON HURRICANE SCALE...WITH 155 MPH WINDS. WEAKENING ONLY SLIGHTLY...THE HURRICANE RAVAGED PORTIONS OF THE CENTRAL AND NORTHWEST BAHAMAS ON 13-14 SEPTEMBER...AND POSED A SERIOUS THREAT TO FLORIDA. FLOYD TURNED TO A NORTHWESTWARD AND NORTHWARD COURSE WHILE SLOWLY WEAKENING...EVENTUALLY MAKING LANDFALL NEAR CAPE FEAR NORTH CAROLINA AS A CATEGORY TWO HURRICANE AROUND 230 AM EDT 16 SEPTEMBER. THE HURRICANE MOVED OVER THE EASTERN PART OF THAT STATE AND ACCELERATED NORTH-NORTHEASTWARD UP THE COAST...WEAKENING TO A TROPICAL STORM BEFORE MOVING INTO NEW ENGLAND AND LOSING ITS TROPICAL CHARACTERISTICS EARLY ON THE 17TH. FLOYD IS RESPONSIBLE FOR MASSIVE INLAND FLOODING OVER PORTIONS OF THE EASTERN UNITED STATES... PARTICULARLY IN NORTH CAROLINA. THE CURRENT DEATH TOLL AS REPORTED BY THE MEDIA...69...WOULD MAKE THIS THE DEADLIEST UNITED STATES TROPICAL CYCLONE SINCE AGNES OF 1972. THE DAMAGE TOTAL IS INCOMPLETE BUT IS AT LEAST 3 BILLION DOLLARS. GERT FORMED OVER THE EASTERN ATLANTIC ABOUT 175 MILES SOUTH OF THE CAPE VERDE ISLANDS ON 11 SEPTEMBER...AND BECAME A TROPICAL STORM ON THE 12TH WHILE CENTERED ABOUT 560 MILES WEST OF THE CAPE VERDE ISLANDS. GERT MOVED TOWARD THE WEST...AND STRENGTHENED INTO A HURRICANE ABOUT 1400 MILES EAST OF THE LESSER ANTILLES ON 13 SEPTEMBER. GERT CONTINUED TO STRENGTHEN AND BECAME THE FOURTH MAJOR HURRICANE OF THE SEASON...REACHING A PEAK INTENSITY ON THE 15TH ABOUT 750 MILES EAST OF THE LEEWARD ISLANDS WITH WINDS NEAR 150 MPH. GERT MAINTAINED MAJOR HURRICANE STATUS FOR SEVERAL DAYS. IT TURNED NORTHWEST AND THEN NORTHWARD...AND PASSED 130 MILES TO THE EAST OF BERMUDA ON THE 21ST AS A STRONG CATEGORY TWO HURRICANE. GUSTS TO HURRICANE FORCE WERE EXPERIENCED ON BERMUDA. GERT THEN TURNED NORTH-NORTHEASTWARD AND ACCELERATED INTO THE FAR NORTH ATLANTIC... PASSING JUST EAST OF NEWFOUNDLAND ON 23 SEPTEMBER...WHERE LARGE WAVES CAUSED SOME DAMAGE. TROPICAL STORM HARVEY FORMED FROM A TROPICAL WAVE WHICH MOVED THROUGH THE CARIBBEAN SEA AND INTO THE GULF OF MEXICO. THE SYSTEM BECAME A TROPICAL DEPRESSION ON 19 SEPTEMBER OVER THE CENTRAL GULF AND BEGAN TO MOVE TOWARD THE EAST-NORTHEAST. DESPITE HOSTILE UPPER-LEVEL WESTERLY WINDS...THE CYCLONE BECAME A TROPICAL STORM WHILE CENTERED ABOUT 315 MILES SOUTH-SOUTHEAST OF NEW ORLEANS. PEAK WINDS REACHED 60 MPH WHILE HARVEY WAS LOCATED ABOUT 250 MILES WEST-SOUTHWEST OF TAMPA FLORIDA. THE STORM TOOK AN ABRUPT TURN TOWARD THE SOUTHEAST AND WEAKENED BEFORE MOVING INLAND SOUTH OF NAPLES FLORIDA. HARVEY PRODUCED TROPICAL STORM FORCE WINDS OVER PORTIONS OF THE KEYS AND EXTREME SOUTH FLORIDA AS IT MOVED ACROSS THE PENINSULA. THE CYCLONE WAS THEN ABSORBED BY A FRONTAL SYSTEM JUST OFF THE SOUTHEAST FLORIDA COAST. SUMMARY TABLE NAME DATES WIND DEATHS U.S. DAMAGE ---- --------- ------- ------ ----------- DENNIS AUG 24-SEP 5 105 MPH 7 # T.D. SEVEN SEP 6-7 35 MPH 0 FLOYD SEP 7-17 155 MPH 69* # GERT SEP 11-23 150 MPH 0 HARVEY SEP 19-22 60 MPH # * - MEDIA-BASED ESTIMATE # - PRELIMINARY ESTIMATES ARE NOT AVAILABLE AT THIS TIME AVILA/BEVEN/FRANKLIN/GUINEY/LAWRENCE/PASCH/KIMBERLAIN Problems?