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Hurricane Season medical needs ocalaregional.com | Sarasota Memorial Health Care System - Hurricane Season 2006 - General smh.com | Hurricane Season medical needs westmarion.com | Goodly Art Orifice Maintenance ~ 1994 collegeofmidwives.org |
The 1994 Atlantic hurricane season produced seven named tropical cyclones and three hurricanes, a total below the Atlantic hurricane season average. It officially started on June 1 and ended on November 30, dates which conventionally limit the period during which most tropical cyclones form in the Atlantic Ocean. The first tropical cyclone, Tropical Storm Alberto, developed on June 30, while the last storm, Hurricane Gordon, dissipated on November 21. During the year, a total of seven named storms and three hurricanes formed. The season was unusual in that it produced no major hurricanes, which are those of Category 3 status or higher on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale. The most intense hurricane, Hurricane Florence, peaked as a Category 2 storm with winds of 110 mph (180 km/h). Aside from Chris, Florence, and Gordon, none of the storms exceeded tropical storm intensity. Tropical Storm Alberto produced significant rainfall and flooding in the Southeastern United States, damaging or destroying over 18,000 homes. In August, Tropical Storm Beryl produced heavy rainfall in Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina, with moderate to heavy rainfall throughout several other states. Beryl caused numerous injuries, many of which occurred from a tornado associated with the tropical storm. Tropical Storm Debby killed nine people in the Caribbean in September. Hurricane Gordon was the most significant storm of the season, causing damages from Costa Rica to North Carolina among its six landfalls. Extreme flooding and mudslides from Gordon caused approximately 1,122 fatalities in Haiti. In addition, a nor'easter in December may have had tropical characteristics, though due to the uncertainty, it was not classified as a tropical system.
[edit] Seasonal forecasts and activityForecasts of hurricane activity are issued before each hurricane season by noted hurricane experts such as Dr. William M. Gray and his associates at Colorado State University. A normal season, as defined by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, has six to fourteen named storms, with four to eight of those reaching hurricane strength, and one to three major hurricanes. The 1994 forecast predicted that a total of 10 storms would form, of which six of the storms would reach hurricane status. The forecast also projected that three of the hurricanes would reach major hurricane status.[1] In terms of tropical cyclone activity, the season was below average, with only seven named storms, three hurricanes, and no major hurricanes. It was one of only four Atlantic hurricane seasons without major hurricanes, the others being the 1968, 1972, and 1986 seasons, although records before 1944 are incomplete.[2] No storms of hurricane intensity formed within the months of September and October for the first time since reliable records began in the 1940s. The season did not produce any major hurricanes, storms of Category 3 status, the first such occurrence since 1986.[3] The low seasonal activity is attributed to the presence of El Niño.[4] [edit] Storms
[edit] June–AugustThe season officially began on June 1, and ended on November 30. These dates conventionally delimit the period of each year when the majority of tropical cyclones tend to form in the Atlantic Ocean.[5] The first storm of the season formed on June 30 near the western tip of Cuba.[6] Initially tracking westward, the depression turned towards the north, though it remained poorly defined. Early on July 2, the depression organized into Tropical Storm Alberto. Alberto peaked as a tropical storm with winds of 65 mph (105 km/h), and made landfall near Destin, Florida on July 3. The storm quickly weakened to a tropical depression over Alabama as it continued to the northeast, but retained a well-organized circulation. High pressures built to its north and east, causing the remnant tropical depression to stall over northwestern Georgia. It began a westward drift and dissipated over central Alabama on July 7.[7]  The first storm of July formed from a non-tropical system on July 20. Shortly after formation, convection increased, and the depression became better-defined. The system failed to strengthen beyond tropical depression status, and it made landfall in South Carolina.[8] After a slow start to the season, Tropical Storm Beryl formed as a tropical depression on August 14 in the Gulf of Mexico.[9] The center moved slowly and erratically in response to an approaching trough, and after moving towards the north, the storm made landfall near Panama City, Florida as a tropical storm. The weakening storm accelerated towards the north-northeast, and the system was identifiable as a low pressure system as far north as Connecticut.[10] Hurricane Chris originated from a tropical wave that emerged from the west coast of Africa on August 11 and tracked westward. The associated disturbance organized and was declared a tropical depression on August 16, while Tropical Storm Beryl was over land. The depression intensified into a tropical storm on August 17, and the next day it acquired hurricane intensity. Chris maintained hurricane strength for two days, before increased wind shear caused the cyclone to weaken. The storm remained away from land, passing to the east of Bermuda on August 21, before it merged with an extratropical baroclinic zone to the southeast of Newfoundland.[11] A tropical wave that was first noted on August 17 tracked westward and reached the Caribbean Sea on August 26. The wave moved across the Yucatan Peninsula, and developed into a tropical depression on August 29 in the Bay of Campeche. Moving west-northwestward, the system remained below tropical storm status, and made landfall near Tampico on August 31.[12] [edit] September and OctoberA tropical depression developed from another tropical wave on September 9. Surface observations and ship reports suggested that it developed into Tropical Storm Debby on September 10, despite poor organization evidenced by satellite imagery. Peaking with winds of 70 mph (110 km/h), the storm moved westward through the Leeward Islands and encountered wind shear which limited the storm's intensity and organization.[13] Wind shear caused the system to deteriorate, and the circulation degenerated into a tropical wave on September 11.[14] Later in the month, a tropical depression formed well to the southwest of Cape Verde, and moved slowly northwestward. The next day, it became Tropical Storm Ernesto, and tacking generally towards the north, it obtained its strongest winds of 60 mph (97 km/h) on September 23. Ernesto entered a region with less favorable conditions for tropical cyclone intensification; by September 24, most of the associated deep convection was gone, at which time the cyclone diminished into a tropical depression. The remnant low persisted for several days before dissipating on September 29.[15] .JPG) The eighth depression of the season formed on September 24 in the southwestern Caribbean Sea. The depression tracked towards the west before making landfall on the southern coast of Belize on September 25. The depression slowed its forward motion, and dissipated the next day over Guatemala.[16] Shortly after Tropical Depression Eight dissipated, another tropical depression formed from a well-defined circulation that moved off the coast of Africa on September 26. It was designated a tropical depression on September 27 to the southeast of Cape Verde. The depression moved towards the north, and after turning to the northwest, and the system died out on September 28.[17] An area of disturbed weather, partially related to the remnants of Tropical Depression Eight, persisted for several days over the northwest Caribbean Sea and the Yucatan Peninsula. A tropical wave entered the area, causing an increase in showers and cloudiness. Convective activity began to increase, and it is estimated the system became Tropical Depression Ten on September 29. Although it never attained tropical storm status, the cyclone became better-organized, though when the depression moved into the Gulf of Mexico it was absorbed by a non-tropical system on September 30.[18] The Hydrometeorological Prediction Center identified a subtropical storm in the Gulf of Mexico which formed on October 1 from a broad low pressure area along a weak frontal boundary. The subtropical storm moved across Florida and the Southeastern United States on October 2and 3; when it reached the Atlantic Coast, it became an extratropical frontal wave.[19] However, the National Hurricane Center does not confirm the existence of the subtropical cyclone. [edit] November and DecemberSee also: Christmas 1994 nor'easter  After a quiet October, the month of November began with the formation of a subtropical depression on November 2. The storm intensified into a subtropical storm shortly thereafter before weakening to a depression the next day. The subtropical system transitioned into a tropical cyclone about 875 miles (1,408 km) east-southeast of Bermuda, and the depression quickly strengthened into Tropical Storm Florence. Florence rapidly intensified and was upgraded to a hurricane on November 4. The intensification ceased shortly after it started and minor fluctuations in intensity took place over the following three days.[20] Florence was subsequently upgraded to a Category 2 hurricane. A large extratropical system located to the north absorbed the storm on November 8.[21] Hurricane Gordon was the final storm of the season. The system formed near Panama in the southwestern Caribbean Sea on November 9. Strengthening into a tropical storm, Gordon wound its way north into the Greater Antilles. Despite warm waters, persistent wind shear prevented significant strengthening. Executing a slow turn to the north and then the northwest, Gordon made two more landfalls, on eastern Jamaica and eastern Cuba. As Tropical Storm Gordon made its fourth landfall crossing the Florida Keys, it interacted with a cyclone in the upper-troposphere and a series of cyclonic lows which lent the storm some sub-tropical characteristics. After a few days as an unusual hybrid of a tropical and a subtropical system in the Gulf of Mexico, the storm re-claimed its tropical storm status and it made another landfall across the Florida peninsula and continued into the Atlantic Ocean. In the Atlantic, Gordon rapidly strengthened to a Category 1 hurricane. Gordon's characteristic briefly approached North Carolina, but ultimately the storm headed south, weakening into a minor tropical storm before making its sixth and final landfall on Florida's east coast. Overall, the storm made six separate landfalls.[22] In addition to the seven named storms, a nor'easter formed in late December. As it entered the warm waters of the Gulf Stream in the Atlantic Ocean, it began to rapidly intensify, exhibiting signs of tropical development, including the formation of an eye. It attained a pressure of 970 millibars on December 23 and 24, and after moving northward, it came ashore near New York City on Christmas Eve. However, due to the uncertain nature of the storm, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) did not classify it as a tropical cyclone.[23][24] [edit] ImpactThe United States were directly affected by three named storms, as well as three other tropical systems. The first was Tropical Storm Alberto, which triggered some of the worst flooding ever observed across portions of Georgia, Alabama, and Florida. As a result of the storm's slow motion, 27 inches (690 mm) of rain fell in some locations. Due to flash flooding, 33 deaths were reported, primarily in Georgia. Over 18,000 homes were damaged or destroyed, and in excess of 1,000 roads sustained damage. About 900,000 acres (360,000 ha) of crops were affected by the storm, and 218 dams failed. Total damage from the storm amounted to $750 million (1994 USD; $1.03 billion 2007 USD).[25] The flooding from Alberto was considered the worst natural disaster in Georgia's history.[26] Thereafter, Tropical Depression Two dropped light rainfall throughout the Southeastern United States, the Mid-Atlantic, and parts of New England.[27] It was the first tropical system to make landfall in South Carolina since Hurricane Hugo.[28] In August, Tropical Storm Beryl produced heavy rainfall in Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina, with moderate to heavy rainfall throughout several other states. Several rivers from Florida to New York approached or exceeded flood stage. Although no fatalities were directly related to Beryl, several injuries were reported, including 37 due to an associated tornado. Property damage was estimated at $73 million (1994 USD; $100 million 2007 USD).[29] Tropical Depression Ten and the possible subtropical storm affected Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina with heavy rainfall in late September and early October.[30] In November, Tropical Storm Gordon affected Florida, causing eight fatalities and 43 injuries. In Volusia County, 1,236 buildings reported flood damage. In the state, damage totaled $400 million (1994 USD; $553 million 2007 USD).[31]  The Caribbean was primarily affected by two tropical cyclones. Tropical Storm Debby killed four people and injured 24 on St. Lucia. Heavy rainfall caused flooding and mudslides, which washed away hillside shacks, eight bridges, and parts of roads. Flood waters were chest-high in some locations, and the storm's winds damaged banana plantations.[32] Mudslides caused by the storm blocked roads, and water supply was disrupted.[33] On Martinique, one person drowned and some towns were flooded. Downed trees made roads impassable, and up to 20,000 people on the island lost power. Three deaths occurred in the Dominican Republic, and a fisherman drowned off of Puerto Rico. Throughout the areas affected by Debby, it is estimated that hundreds of people were homeless.[32] Later in the season, Hurricane Gordon caused heavy damage and 1,122 fatalities in Haiti; the storm's effects extended from Costa Rica to North Carolina in the United States. Over Hispaniola, the persistent southerly flow to the east of the storm, combined with the steep upslope motion of the land, generated prolonged rainfall which triggered disastrous flooding and mudslides.[34] The extreme flooding led to an estimated 1,122 fatalities in Haiti, although some reports indicate that up to 2,000 people died. Six deaths were also reported in Costa Rica. Elsewhere, five fatalities were reported in the Dominican Republic, two in Jamaica, and two in Cuba.[35] Hurricane Chris dropped 2.83 inches (72 mm) of rain on Bermuda, though no damages or fatalities were reported.[36] Mexico was affected by rainfall from Tropical Depression Five, which peaked at 16.18 inches (411 mm),[37] while associated moisture from the depression affected San Antonio, Texas.[38] Tropical Depressions Eight and Ten dropped heavy precipitation in and around Belize.[39] [edit] Season effectsThis is a table of the storms in 1994 and their landfalls, if any. Damage and deaths include totals while the storm was extratropical or a wave or low.
[edit] Storm namesThe following names were used for named storms that formed in the north Atlantic in 1994. No names were retired, so it was used again in the 2000 season. This is the same list used for the 1988 season except for Gordon and Joyce, which replaced Gilbert and Joan. A storm was named Gordon for the first time in 1994. Names that were not assigned are marked in gray.[40]
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