Storm Data and Unusual Weather Phenomena
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SEPTEMBER 2004 VOLUME 46 NUMBER 9 SSTORMTORM DDATAATA AND UNUSUAL WEATHER PHENOMENA WITH LATE REPORTS AND CORRECTIONS NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION noaa NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL SATELLITE, DATA AND INFORMATION SERVICE NATIONAL CLIMATIC DATA CENTER, ASHEVILLE, NC Cover: A 125-foot television tower, located in eastern Buncombe County, NC at an elevation of 4370 feet, falls over after guy-wires break. Strong winds with gusts over 95mph, from the remnants of Hurricane Ivan on September 16, 2004, are to blame. (Photo courtesy: Grant Goodge, NCDC Retired, Asheville, NC) TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Outstanding Storm of the Month .......................…..…………….….........……..…………..…. 4 Storm Data and Unusual Weather Phenomena .......…….…....………..……...........…............ 7 Additions/Corrections ......................................................................................................................... 242 Reference Notes ...................................................................................................................................... 254 STORM DATA (ISSN 0039-1972) National Climatic Data Center Editor: William Angel Assistant Editors: Stuart Hinson and Rhonda Herndon STORM DATA is prepared, and distributed by the National Climatic Data Center (NCDC), National Environmental Satellite, Data and Information Service (NESDIS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The Storm Data and Unusual Weather Phenomena narratives and Hurricane/Tropical Storm summaries are prepared by the National Weather Service. Monthly and annual statistics and summaries of tornado and lightning events re- sulting in deaths, injuries, and damage are compiled by the National Climatic Data Center and the National Weather Service’s (NWS) Storm Prediction Center. STORM DATA contains all confi rmed information on storms available to our staff at the time of publication. Late reports and corrections will be printed in each edition. Except for limited editing to correct grammatical errors, the data in Storm Data are published as received. Note: “None Reported” means that no severe weather occurred and “Not Received” means that no reports were re- ceived for this region at the time of printing. Subscription, pricing, and ordering information is available from: NCDC Subscription Services 310 State Route 956 Building 300 Rocket Center, WV 26726 (866) 742-3322 Toll Free The editor of STORM DATA solicit your help in acquiring photographs (prints or slides; black and white, or color), maps, clippings, etc. of signifi cant or severe weather events (past or present) for use in the “Outstanding Storms of the Month’’ section of STORM DATA. We request our subscribers or other interested persons to mail such items to: Storm Data National Climatic Data Center 151 Patton Avenue Asheville, NC 28801 e-mail: [email protected] Any such items received by the editor will be for use in STORM DATA only. Any other use will be with the permis- sion of the owner of said items. Materials will be returned if requested. This is an offi cial publication of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and is compiled from information received at the National Climatic Data Center Asheville, North Carolina 28801-2733. Thomas R. Karl Director, National Climatic Data Center 2 September 2004 Confirmed Tornadoes 3 F Scale F 0 F 1 F 2 F 3 F 4 F 5 F Scale F0 F1 F2 F3 F4 F5 Total Number 172 94 25 2 0 0 293 OUTSTANDING STORMS OF THE MONTH Three Major Hurricanes Make Landfall Three major hurricanes, Frances, Ivan, and Jeanne, made landfall during the month of September 2004. These hurricanes brought strong winds, heavy rains, flooding, severe weather, death and destruction to many areas east of the Mississippi River. A brief synopsis of each storm is listed below. For further information on these storms, go to www.nhc.noaa.gov. Hurricane Frances A vigorous tropical wave moved westward from the African coast on August 21. A depression formed and intensified and reached tropical storm status on August 24. After further intensification, Frances reached peak intensity on August 31 as a category 4 hurricane according to the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale. Frances weakened and made a first United States landfall over the southern end of Hutchison Island on September 5 as a category 2 hurricane. Frances moved across Florida in a west-northwestward direction and emerged over the Gulf of Mexico, near Port Richey, on September 6. With winds of 50-55 knots, Frances continued on a northwestward direction and made a final landfall near the mouth of Aucilla River late on September 6. Frances moved inland and weakened while curving into Alabama and western Georgia. Frances then moved northeasterly into West Virginia and across New York and dissipated over the Gulf of St. Lawrence late on September 10. Frances produced notable storm surges on the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts of Florida. An estimated 8-foot storm surge occurred near Vero Beach and a 6-foot surge at Cocoa Beach. A storm tide of 6 feet was estimated in Pinellas County, FL. Heavy rains and flooding occurred over much of the eastern United States. Rainfall in excess of 10 inches occurred in a large area of central and northern Florida, southeastern Georgia, and along the Appalachian Mountains in western North Carolina and northeast Georgia. Storm totals of three to ten inches were common along the path of Frances. Frances is directly responsible for 7 deaths; 5 in Florida, 1 in Bahamas, and 1 in Ohio. An estimated total US property damage (insured and uninsured) is $9 billion dollars, which is the 4th most costly hurricane behind Andrew (1992), Charley (2004), and Ivan (2004). 4 Previous Page Left: Massive and near record flooding occurred along many rivers in western North Carolina during the passage of Frances. Previous Page Right: A slowly retreating Swannanoa river leaves mud and debris on a bridge. (Photos courtesy: Grant Goodge, NCDC Retired, Asheville, NC) Hurricane Ivan Ivan formed from a large tropical wave that moved off the west coast of Africa on August 31. After some thunderstorm development, a tropical depression formed on September 1. Additional development continued and Ivan became a tropical storm on September 3 and a hurricane on September 5. After two rapidly strengthening and weakening phases, Ivan entered the Caribbean Sea on September 8. While in the central Caribbean Sea, Ivan strengthened to a category 5 hurricane. Ivan passed just south of Jamaica on September 11 and weakened slightly due to an eyewall replacement cycle. Ivan again re-strengthened and maintained category 5 status for 30 hours. A weakness in the subtropical ridge over the Gulf of Mexico turned Ivan northwestward. After entering the southern Gulf of Mexico, Ivan turned north- northwest and then northward and slowly started to weaken. Ivan made landfall as a category 3 hurricane on September 16, just west of Gulf Shores, Alabama. Twelve hours after landfall, Ivan weakened to tropical storm status. Later, Ivan became a tropical depression over northeast Alabama. Ivan moved northeasterly and merged with a frontal system over the Delmarva Peninsula on September 18. Over the next several days, the remnants moved south and southwestward and crossed Florida and into the Gulf of Mexico on the afternoon of September 21. Ivan slowly re-strengthened and regained tropical storm status. Ivan then moved northwestward and made a final landfall in extreme southwestern Louisiana as a tropical depression. Ivan quickly dissipated on September 24. Overall, Ivan existed for 22.5 days and produced a track more than 5600 nautical miles long. Ivan produced heavy rainfall amounts. Rainfall totals were generally from three to seven inches in the United States. Widespread flooding also resulted from the rains. A massive outbreak of 111 tornadoes occurred with the passage of Ivan over three days. At least 8 people were killed and 17 were injured. Overall, 94 deaths are directly attributed to Ivan. Total United States damage is estimated at $14.2 billion dollars. Hurricane Jeanne A tropical wave moved from Africa to the eastern tropical Atlantic on September 7. The wave organized and became a tropical depression on September 13 as it neared the Leeward Islands. Jeanne became a tropical storm on September 14 while moving over the Leeward Islands. Jeanne moved across Puerto Rico, over the Mona Passage and inland over the eastern tip of Dominican Republic. While over the Mona Passage, Jeanne strengthened to hurricane status, but weakened to a tropical depression on September 17. Over the next several days, a slowly re-organizing Jeanne moved in an anticyclonic loop and regained hurricane status on September 23. After completing the loop, Jeanne started to move westward and strengthened to a category 3 hurricane on September 25. Jeanne made landfall on the east coast of Florida on Hutchison Island, just east of Stuart on September 26. Jeanne weakened and began to recurve as it crossed Florida. Weakening continued and tropical depression Jeanne moved across central Georgia. Jeanne merged with a frontal zone and became extratropical on September 29 while moving eastward from the mid-Atlantic coast. Rainfall amounts up to 8 inches occurred in Florida with heavier amounts, 11 to 13 inches, along the eyewall track. Amounts of four to seven inches occurred in Georgia, western Carolina’s and Virginia. Five direct United States occurred due to Jeanne. An estimated $6.9 billion dollars is attributed to Jeanne. 5 Storm Data and Unusual Weather Phenomena