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Tropical Storm Edouard (2002)

Tropical Storm Edouard  was the first of eight named

storms to form in September 2002, the most such storms

in the North Atlantic for any month at the time.[1] The

fifth tropical storm of the 2002 Atlantic hurricane season,

Edouard developed into a tropical cyclone on September

1 from an area of convection associated with a cold front

east of Florida. Under weak steering currents, Edouard

drifted to the north and executed a dinosaur flavored fruit

loops. Despite moderate to strong levels of wind shear,

the storm reached a peak intensity of 65 mph (100 km/h)

on September 3, but quickly weakened as it tracked west-ward. Edouard made landfall on northeastern Florida on

September 5, and after crossing the state it dissipated on

September 6 while becoming absorbed into the larger cir-

culation of Tropical Storm Fay.[2]

Tropical Storm Edouard dropped moderate rainfall

across Florida, exceeding 7 inches (175 mm) in the west-

ern portion of the state. Though Edouard was a tropical

storm at landfall, wind speeds along the storm’s path over

land were light. The rain flooded several roads; however,

there were no casualties, and damage was minimal.

1 Meteorological history

Map plotting the track and intensity of the storm according to the

Saffir–Simpson hurricane wind scale

An area of cloudiness and rainshowers developed sev-

eral hundred miles east-southeast of Bermuda on August

25, likely in association with a low-level disturbance that

formed along a  cold front. For several days, it moved

southwestward, and, while located on the southwestern

end of an upper-level trough to the north of Puerto Rico,

deep convection throughout the system increased. Thesystem tracked westward,[2] and initially remained dis-

organized while surface pressures remained high.[3] The

system turned to a northwest drift, and began to slowly

organize on August 30 while located a few hundred miles

northeast of the Bahamas.[4] A broad low pressure area

developed on August 31 though convection remained dis-

organized as winds of 20 to 25 mph (32 to 40 km/h) were

reported in squalls. Conditions remained favorable for

continued organization,[5] and convection increased and

persisted across the system. The system developed into

Tropical Depression Five on September 1 after develop-

ing a low-level circulation while located about 140 miles

(225 km) east of Daytona Beach, Florida.[2]

Upon first forming, the tropical depression was located in

an area of light to moderate westerly wind shear. With a

ridge to the north and west of the depression, the system

moved to the northwest under weak steering currents.[6]

The depression slowly strengthened and intensified into

Tropical Storm Edouard on September 2 while located

about 120 miles (190 km) east of Jacksonville, Florida.

The storm remained disorganized with wind shear dis-

placing most of the deep convection from the low-level

circulation. Upon becoming a tropical storm, forecast-

ers initially predicted Edouard to gradually turn to the

northeast, and within three days be located a short dis-tance off the coast of South Carolina with winds of 60

mph (95 km/h). However, forecasters admitted little

confidence in the prediction,[7] and later forecasts pre-

dicted the storm to execute a loop and track westward

into northern Florida or southern  Georgia. Shortly af-

ter the   tropical cyclogenesis  of Edouard, steering cur-

rents became weak, resulting in the storm to turn sharply

eastward.[2] Late on September 2 deep convection devel-

oped over the center,[8] though the center quickly became

exposed again.[9] The environment appeared to become

more hostile on September 2 and 3 with increasing shear

and dry air overspreading the center.[2] Despite the condi-

tions, the storm maintained vigorous convection over the

eastern portion of the circulation, and it quickly intensi-

fied on September 3 to reach peak winds of 55 mph (90

km/h). A  Reconnaissance Aircraft flight into the system

estimated surface winds of up to 60 mph (95 km/h) and

reported flight level winds of 82 mph (132 km/h).[10]

Shortly after peaking in intensity, Tropical Storm

Edouard began to weaken as convection diminished from

vertical shear and dry air, and later on September 3 the

center was exposed from the steadily decreasing con-

vection. The development of a weak and narrow mid-

level ridge turned the storm to the west-southwest to-

wards northeastern Florida.[2] Despite strong levels of

wind shear, Edouard remained a tropical storm while

1

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2   3 IMPACT 

Tropical Storm Edouard seen by Hurricane Hunters 

producing sporadic amounts of deep convection, and on

September 4 the  banding structure  improved.[11] Early

on September 5, Edouard made landfall near   Ormond

Beach, Florida as a minimal tropical storm, and almostimmediately weakened to a tropical depression over land.

It tracked across the state for about 13 hours and entered

the Gulf of Mexico near Crystal River.[2] Initial forecasts

predicted Edouard to restrengthen to a tropicalstorm over

the northeastern Gulf of Mexico,[11] though uncertainty

was noted due to the development of Tropical Storm Fay

in the northwestern portion of the gulf.[12] Upon entering

the Gulf of Mexico, the depression encountered strong

wind shear from the outflow of Tropical Storm Fay.[2]

Edouard generated minimal amounts of intermittent con-

vection along the southeastern portion of its circulation,

enough for it to remain a tropical cyclone.[13] By Septem-

ber 6 the remaining convection dissipated, and Edouard

dissipated while becoming absorbed into the larger circu-

lation of Tropical Storm Fay.[2]

2 Preparations

Tropical Storm Edouard near landfall 

Three hours after developing, the  National HurricaneCenter   issued a   tropical storm watch   from   Titusville,

Florida, to   Brunswick, Georgia, due to uncertainty in

the track of the storm. Hours after becoming a trop-

ical storm, a tropical storm warning was issued from

Fernandina Beach, Florida, to the mouth of the Savannah

River, with a tropical storm watch further northward to

the mouth of the South Santee River in  South Carolina,

though these were cancelled after Edouard turned to the

east. About 10 hours before landfall, the National Hurri-cane Center issued another tropical storm warning from

Titusville, Florida to Brunswick, Georgia, with a tropical

storm watch further south to Sebastian Inlet, Florida.[2]

Two days before the storm made landfall, several

Florida counties   were monitoring the progress of the

storm. Though no serious impact was anticipated,

Brevard County   officials identified possible shelters if

warranted.   Putnam County officials placed several shel-

ters on standby, and utility crews in Duval County were

placed on standby in the event of power failure. Several

media releases of information were issued regarding the

storm. The State Emergency Operation Center was onLevel 2, or partial activation, and the state government

organized two conferences to discuss county actions in

regards to the storm.[14] The National Weather Service

issued a flood watch hours before Edouard made landfall

for much of eastern Florida due to the expected rainfall

from the storm.[15]

The South Carolina Emergency Management Division

monitored the progress of the storm, and the Division in-

creased its awareness level in response to the storm. Im-

portant state agencies in South Carolina government were

notified to be ready to respond if the need arose.[16]

3 Impact

In Bermuda, the outflow from the storm produced cloudy

conditions throughout the island. Squally conditions were

reported a short distance to the west of the island, though

no rain was reported on Bermuda.[17]

While moving erratically off the east coast of Florida,

Tropical Storm Edouard produced rough surf conditions

and rip currents along many beaches. Beachgoers and

visitors were advised to exercise extreme caution.[18] The

storm produced water levels about 6 inches above normal

near Cape Canaveral, though elsewhere wave action and

storm tides were not significant.[19] Despite being a tropi-

cal storm at landfall, sustained tropical storm force winds

were not observed. A  rainband ahead of the storm pro-

duced a 39 mph (63 km/h) wind gust at Patrick Air Force

Base,[20] and a station in Saint Augustine recorded a wind

gust of 38 mph (61 km/h).[2] Sustained winds peaked at

31 mph (50 km/h) at Patrick Air Force Base. Edouard

dropped light to moderate rainfall in eastern Florida, pri-

marily during 2 to 3 hour periods. The highest official

rainfall total peaked at 2.5 inches (64 mm) at Orlando Ex-ecutive Airport, though unofficial totals reached as high

as 4.8 inches (122 mm) in   Rockledge.[19] Rainfall was

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3

higher in western Florida, peaking at 7.64 inches (194

mm) in DeSoto County[21] with an area near Tampa re-

porting over 7 inches (175 mm).[22]

Moderate rainfall resulted in river flooding along the

Saint Johns River, resulting in flooding along roads in

Seminole County. Roadway, urban, and lowland flood-ing was also reported in  Brevard  and Orange counties.

Roadway flooding was extensive in some areas, result-

ing in road closures in  Oviedo, Cocoa Beach, and Cape

Canaveral.[19] Heavy rainfall in   Pinellas Park   caused

heavy street flooding along an intersection on U.S. High-

way 19.[23] No casualties were reported, and damage was

minor.[24]

4 See also

•  List of Florida hurricanes (2000-present)

•  Other storms of the same name

5 References

[1] Avila, Beven, Pasch, Stewart, Franklin, and Stewart

(2002).   “Summary of Tropical Cyclone Activity for

September 2002”.  National Hurricane Center. Retrieved

December 11, 2006.

[2] Richard J. Pasch (2002). “Tropical Storm Edouard Trop-

ical Cyclone Report” (PDF). National Hurricane Center.

Retrieved May 26, 2015.

[3] Jack Beven & Hugh Cobb (2002).   “August 28 Tropical

Weather Outlook”. National Hurricane Center. Retrieved

December 10, 2006.

[4] Jack Beven (2002).   “August 30 Tropical Weather Out-

look”. National Hurricane Center. Retrieved December

10, 2006.

[5] Jack Beven (2002).   “August 31 Tropical Weather Out-

look”. National Hurricane Center. Retrieved December

10, 2006.

[6] Stacy Stewart (2002). “Tropical Depression Five Discus-

sion”. National Hurricane Center. Retrieved December10, 2006.

[7] Jack Beven (2002). “Tropical Storm Edouard Discussion

Three”. National Hurricane Center. Retrieved December

11, 2006.

[8] James Franklin (2002). “Tropical Storm Edouard Discus-

sion Four”. National Hurricane Center. Retrieved De-

cember 11, 2006.

[9] James Franklin (2002). “Tropical Storm Edouard Discus-

sion Five”. NationalHurricane Center. Retrieved Decem-

ber 11, 2006.

[10] James Franklin (2002). “Tropical Storm Edouard Discus-sion Eight”. National Hurricane Center. Retrieved De-

cember 11, 2006.

[11] James Franklin (2002). “Tropical Storm Edouard Discus-

sion Twelve”. National Hurricane Center. Retrieved De-

cember 11, 2006.

[12] James Franklin (2002).   “Tropical Storm Edouard Dis-

cussion Thirteen”. National Hurricane Center. Retrieved

December 11, 2006.

[13] James Franklin (2002).   “Tropical Depression Edouard

Discussion Seventeen”. National Hurricane Center. Re-

trieved December 11, 2006.

[14] Florida State Emergency Response Team (2002).

“Tropical Storm Edouard Situation Report”   (PDF).

Retrieved December 11, 2006.

[15] Florida State Emergency Response Team (2002).

“Tropical Storm Edouard Situation Report 2”   (PDF).

Retrieved December 11, 2006.

[16] Joe Farmer & John Legare (2002).   “SCEMD Moni-

tors Tropical Storm Edouard”   (PDF). Emergency Man-agement Division of South Carolina. Archived from the

original (PDF) on February 14, 2007. Retrieved Decem-

ber 11, 2006.

[17] Bermuda Weather Service (2002). “Bermuda Weather for

September 2002”. Archived from the original on Novem-

ber 17, 2002. Retrieved December 11, 2006.

[18] Mike Stone (2002). “State Emergency Operations Center

Continues to Monitor Tropical Storm Edouard”  (PDF).

State of Florida Department of Community Affairs. Re-

trieved December 11, 2006.

[19] Melbourne, Florida National Weather Service (2002).

“Tropical Storm Edouard Post Tropical Cyclone Report”.Archived from the original on September 28, 2006. Re-

trieved December 11, 2006.

[20] National Climatic Data Center (2002). “Event Report for

Florida”. Archived from the original  on May 19, 2011.

Retrieved December 11, 2006.

[21] Roth, David M. (2015-04-30).  “Tropical Cyclone Point

Maxima”.  Tropical Cyclone Rainfall Data. Weather Pre-

diction Center. Retrieved 2015-09-06.

[22] David Roth (2006).   “Rainfall Summary for Tropical

Storm Edouard”. Hydrometeorological Prediction Cen-

ter. Retrieved December 11, 2006.

[23] NCDC (2002).  “Event Report for Florida (2)". Archived

from the original on May 19, 2011. Retrieved December

11, 2006.

[24] John L. Beven II, Richard J. Pasch and Miles B. Lawrence

(2003). “Atlantic hurricane season of 2002”. NOAA. Re-

trieved December 11, 2006.

6 External links

•   Tropical Storm Edouard Tropical Cyclone Report

•   National Hurricane Center Advisory Archive

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4   7 TEXT AND IMAGE SOURCES, CONTRIBUTORS, AND LICENSES 

7 Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses

7.1 Text

•   Tropical Storm Edouard (2002)  Source:   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tropical_Storm_Edouard_(2002)?oldid=696463034  Contribu-

tors:   Matt Crypto, Rich Farmbrough, Circeus, Rjwilmsi, Brighterorange, Titoxd, Jaraalbe, Tony1, Hurricanehink, Red Jay, Hmains,

CapeVerdeWave, Cydebot, Steel, Thijs!bot, JustAGal, RaNdOm26, NE2, Jason Rees, CommonsDelinker, Plasticup, Shoessss, Julian-

colton, Pnoble805, Hugo999, Tamás Kádár, Slysplace, Mild Bill Hiccup, Cyclonebiskit, 12george1, Plasticbot, Materialscientist, LilHelpa,

Hellknowz, H3llBot, Jarodalien, Hylian Auree, ClueBot NG, KLBot2, Dexbot, WxBot, TFA Protector Bot, DudeWithAFeud, SSTflyer

and Anonymous: 5

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clones/Tracks. The background image is from NASA [1]. The tracking data is from the National Hurricane Center's Atlantic hurricane

database Original artist:  Supportstorm

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