2003 Atlantic hurricane season officially over

Monday, December 1, 2003

MIAMI, USA: November 30 marked the official end of the Atlantic hurricane season and during 2003 there were 14 named storms out of a total of 19 tracked tropical depressions.

According to the National Climatic Data Center, this was well above the 1944-1996 average of 9.8, but consistent with a marked increase in the annual number of tropical systems since the mid 1990s (1995-2002 average = 13.3). Six of the named storms were classified as hurricanes and three of those were 'major' (category three or higher on the Saffir-Simpson scale). 

Unusually, the first tropical storm of the year, named Ana (shown left), formed more than five weeks before the official start of the hurricane season in 2003. The Atlantic hurricane season officially begins on June 1, but a sub-tropical storm developed on April 20th and became a tropical storm on the 22nd. Maximum sustained winds reached 50 mph and the storm dissipated on the 23rd without nearing land. 

While tropical storms can form throughout the year in the North Atlantic, they are comparatively rare between the beginning of December and the end of May. Ana was the earliest storm of the Atlantic hurricane season since 1978 and the only tropical storm on record ever to have formed in April in the Atlantic Basin. 

According to NOAA's National Hurricane Center, the season's earliest Atlantic hurricane ever recorded was on March 7th, 1908, while the latest was on December 31st, 1954, which persisted into January 1955.

Tropical Storm Bill rapidly developed in the Gulf of Mexico on June 29 and came ashore in Louisiana on June 30 with sustained winds of 60 mph. Thousands of homes in Louisiana lost power during the storm and damaging rainfall amounts associated with Bill and its remnants caused flooding in states throughout the Southeast. 

Tropical Storm Claudette developed in the central Caribbean Sea on July 8 about 415 miles east-southeast of Kingston, Jamaica. The storm strengthened and moved rapidly across the Caribbean Sea during the following 24 hours. Claudette maintained strength and moved west and then northwest before weakening as it entered the Gulf of Mexico, clipping the Yucatan coast of Mexico. It then moved very slowly through the Gulf of Mexico over the weekend of the 12th and 13th while gradually strengthening to reach category 1 hurricane strength late on July 14. The first Atlantic hurricane of the season, Hurricane Claudette finally made landfall on the morning of July 15 around Port O'Connor, Texas, with maximum sustained winds at around 75 mph. 

Hurricane Danny began east of Bermuda as Tropical Depression #5 on July 16 and rapidly developed into a tropical storm later the same day. While posing no threat to land, Danny moved northward and then northeastward and became the second hurricane of the season on July 18. Hurricane Danny weakened back to tropical storm status on the 19th as it tracked east-southeast across the North Atlantic.

Tropical Storm Erika developed in the eastern Gulf of Mexico on the August 14 and crossed into northern Mexico about 45 miles southeast of Brownsville, TX in the United States on the 16th. Maximum sustained winds at the time of landfall were near 70 mph. No significant damage or flooding was reported in south Texas, although trees were downed and roof damage occurred along the coast of northern Mexico (Associated Press). 

Hurricane Fabian (shown right) was the only hurricane to develop during the month of August, though in total, there were four tropical systems that formed during the month. Fabian was the first 'major' hurricane of the season (category three or higher on the Saffir-Simpson scale), and eventually reached category four strength. The storm was a 'Cape Verde hurricane' developing on August 27 about 370 miles west of the Cape Verde Islands. Tropical storm strength was reached on the 28th and Fabian became a hurricane on the 29th, reaching 'major hurricane' status on the 30th. Fabian reached category four strength on the 31st, but did not reach maximum windspeeds of 144 mph until September 1. As the storm recurved in the western Atlantic, hurricane warnings were issued for the island of Bermuda and Fabian's eye passed very slightly to the west of the island on the afternoon of September 5. Four deaths in Bermuda were directly blamed on the storm. 

Tropical Storm Grace developed at the end of August from a tropical wave, which traveled across Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula and into the southeastern Gulf of Mexico on the 29th. The storm never became very organized, but was of tropical storm strength by the time it made landfall at Port O' Connor, Texas on August 31. Locally heavy rainfall was attributed to the storm. 

Tropical Storm Henri developed in the eastern Gulf of Mexico on September 3 and weakened into a tropical depression before crossing Florida on the 6th. The effects of Henri were minimal, with some localized heavy rain (up to 10 inches in west-central Florida) and gusty winds. Henri dissipated by the 8th. 

A tropical wave moving off the shore of Africa developed into Tropical Storm Isabel in the far eastern Atlantic, near the Cape Verde Islands on September 6, 2003. The next day, as it moved west-northwestward, Isabel (shown left) developed an eye and reached hurricane strength on the 7th. Conditions were very favorable for Isabel's continued development with warm sea surface temperatures ahead of it, low shear and an impressive outflow pattern from the storm. Rapid intensification occurred over the next several days and Isabel became a category 5 hurricane on the 11th. Isabel weakened slightly on the 13th, but did not weaken considerably until overnight on the 15th/16th when westerly shear began to affect the storm. Isabel decreased in strength to a category 2 storm, and eventually came ashore along North Carolina's Outer Banks on September 18 with sustained winds of approximately 85 knots - a minimal category 2 storm. 

Virginia bore the brunt of the rainfall from Hurricane Isabel. The combination of wet conditions and strong winds associated with the storm led to downed trees and power outages for millions of people in the mid-Atlantic and Northeast. Most of the flooding associated with storm occurred at the coastal margin. Hurricane force winds and a storm surge of as much as 7-10 feet associated with Isabel led to a great deal of destruction at Cape Hatteras, NC, as well as along coastal Virginia and Maryland. Preliminary estimates suggest that 38 people died as a result of Isabel.

Hurricane Juan initially appeared to be subtropical in nature, but after forming approximately 295 miles southeast of Bermuda on September 25, it moved to the north-northwest and was classified as fully tropical. Maximum windspeeds of 105 mph were reached on the 27th as Juan continued to move northward and made landfall in Nova Scotia, near Halifax the following day with somewhat weaker windspeeds. Information is incomplete at this time as to the damage from Juan, but meteorologists from Environment Canada suggest that Juan was the worst cyclone to hit the region for several decades. 

Hurricane Kate (shown right) began as a tropical wave approximately 900 miles west-southwest of the Cape Verde Islands on September 25. The system became a tropical storm on the 27th and strengthened at the beginning of October. Maximum windspeeds of 125 mph were reached on October 4 while the hurricane was located about 640 miles east of Bermuda. Kate began to weaken over the next several days as it moved north and west and lost its tropical characteristics several hundred miles east-northeast of Newfoundland on October 8. Still a powerful extratropical storm, Kate continued across the north Atlantic until it merged with a low pressure system close to Norway a couple of days later. 

Tropical Storm Larry developed in the southern Gulf of Mexico on October 1 and trekked slowly southward into the Bay of Campeche, making landfall just east of Coatzacoalcos, Mexico on the 5th with maximum sustained winds near 50 mph. Larry brought heavy rain to areas of Tabasco and Veracruz states, and prompted the temporary closure of two oil export ports of Dos Bocas and Pajaritos (Reuters). 

Four named tropical systems, including one major hurricane occurred in October alone, compared to a long-term average of approximately one tropical storm and one hurricane for the month. Major Hurricane Kate formed in September and completed its lifecycle during October becoming 'major' during the early part of the month, and tropical storms Larry, Mindy and Nicholas also formed during October 2003. 

Source: National Climatic Data Center

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