HIGHLIGHTS OF 2O10 ATLANTIC BASIN TROPICAL STORM SEASON

NOVEMBER 30th

WAS THE LAST DAY OF WHAT IS NOW A SEASON TIED WITH 1995 AS THE 2ND MOST

ACTIVE SEASON IN HISTORY

Walter Hays, Global Alliance for Disaster Reduction, University of

North Carolina, USA

2010—A BUSY SEASON FOR THE ATLANTIC BASIN

HURRICANE TOMAS WAS THE LAST STORM OF THE 2010 SEASON

The most active hurricane season in the past 40 years—with 28 storms-- occurred in

2005, forcing the National Hurricane center to use six

letters from the Greek alphabet for names.

.

.

By Sept 26th, the 2010 Atlantic hurricane season,

had produced 13 named storms, four more than in

2009 and four more than the average number for a typical

season.

Four major storms formed in 20 days, the fastest that four Category 4 hurricanes have

ever formed, beating the previous record of 24 days set during the1999 season.

The reason: The Atlantic basin has been registering record high temperatures since March, according to

U.S. archives.

By Oct 30th, the 2010 Atlantic hurricane season,

had produced 19 named storms, including 12

hurricanes, with one month left in the season.

Miraculously, none of 2010’s storms made landfall in the

USA.

ATLANTIC BASIN TROPICAL STORMS AND HURRICANES: 2010

• Alex (H) June 21

• Bonnie July 27

• Colin Aug 3

• Danielle (H) Aug 21

• Earl (H) Aug.29

• Fiona Aug 30

ATLANTIC BASIN TROPICAL STORMS AND HURRICANES: 2010

• Gaston Sept 1

• Hermine Sept 6

• Igor (H) Sept 8

• Julia (H) Sept 12

• Karl (H) Sept 14

• Lisa (H) Sept 20

• Matthew Sept 24

ATLANTIC BASIN TROPICAL STORMS AND HURRICANES: 2010

• Nicole Sept 29

• Otto (H) Oct 6

• Paula (H) OCT 11

• Richard (H) Oct 21

ATLANTIC BASIN TROPICAL STORMS AND HURRICANES: 2010

• Shary (H) Oct 27• Tomas (H) Oct 29• Virginie Nov 21?

(Never formed)• Walter (Never

formed)

ALEX STARTED AS A TROPICAL WAVE IN THE CARIBBEAN: JUNE 20

--- AND ENDED AS A HURRICANE MAKING LANDFALLS IN BELIZE & MEXICO:JUNE 30

TROPICAL STORM ALEX: LANDFALL AT BELIZE; JUNE 26

FORECAST OF LANDFALL FOR HURRICANE ALEX

TROPICAL STORM COLIN: FORMS ON WED, AUGUST 3

FORECAST FOR TROPICAL STORM DANIELLE

DANIELLE, EARL AND FRANK: AUG 29

25/08/2010 S.MORA 21

EARL APPROACHING CARIBBEAN: AUGUST 25

HURRICANE EARL BECAME A CAT 4 STORM A SECOND

TIME AS IT HEADED TOWARDS THE EAST

COAST OF USA

WIND BANDS EXTENDED 200 MI FROM EYE

AUGUST 29 – SEPTEMBER 4, 2010

FLOODING: ST JOHNS, ANTIGUA

AUGUST 31: CLOSE, BUT NO LANDFALL IN USA FOR EARL

HURRICANE EARL’S FORECAST: SEPT 1

5,000 EVACUATED NORTH CAROLINA’S OUTER BANKS: SEPT 1

TROPICAL STORM GASTON JOINED EARL AND FIONA: SEPT 1

TROPICAL STORM HERMINE: A RAINMAKER; SEPT 6, 2010

TROPICAL STORM IGOR: SEPT 8, 2010

,”

The power of Igor and Julia, two Cat 4 hurricanes moving simultaneously through the Atlantic, was an indication of how warm the Atlantic was.

A RARE PHENOMENON: THREE ACTIVE HURRICANES ON SEPT 17

HURRICANES IGOR AND JULIA AND TS KARL: SEPT 15, 2010

HURRICANE IGOR APPROACHING BERMUDA: SEPT 16, 2010

PRECURSORS OF A CAT 2 HURRICANE IGOR: BERMUDA; SEPT 18

PREPARING FOR EFFECTS OF HURRICANE IGOR: BERMUDA; SEPT 18

Bermuda, which is smaller than Igor’s “eye,” dodged a bullet, because Igor, a huge storm, weakened to a CAT 1 storm as it approached and

did not make landfall on Bermuda.

Buildings performed well because Bermuda's building codes specify that homes must be built with walls at least 20 cm (8 in) thick, and able to withstand 150 mph (241 kph) gusts and sustained winds of 110 mph (177 kph).

BERMUDA EXPERIENCED GUSTY WINDS AND HEAVY RAIN: SEPT 19-20

A CAT 1 IGOR LEAVES BERMUDA; HEADS TOWARDS ATLANTIC CANADA: SEPT 20

Karl made landfall twice: first on the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico as a strong tropical

storm, and second near Veracruz, Veracruz State, on

the central Mexican Gulf coast, as a major hurricane.

Tropical storm Karl became a Cat 1 hurricane on September 16th.

KARL: 165 KM FROM VERACRUZ; SEPTEMBER 17

TROPICAL STORM KARL: SEPT 14-17, 2010

HURRICANE KARL: LANDFALL NEAR VERACRUZ, SEPT 18, 2010

It was not the best time for a “rainmaker” like Karl to

make landfall near Veracruz, because rain had been

falling in the Veracruz area since mid-August.

Karl dumped 8 more inches (21.5 cm) of rain in Veracruz

within 90 minutes, 31.4 cm in the nearby mountains,

causing landslides, and 25.4 cm across the central and southern Gulf coast region

before drenching Mexico City.

FLOODING FROM KARL: NORTH OF VERACRUZ; SEPT 18

FLOODING IN ANTIGUA: 35 KM FROM VERACRUZ; SEPT 17

Karl caused widespread damage in Veracruz:

knocking down hundreds of trees, billboards, and power

poles, leaving 80 % of the city without electricity, and

upending cars.