The '1999 Atlantic hurricane season' officially began on
June 1,
1999, and lasted until
November 30,
1999. These dates conventionally delimit the period of each year when most
tropical cyclones form in the
Atlantic basin.
The 1999 season set a record by having five storms reach Category 4 strength, which was later tied by the
2005 season.
Hurricane Floyd was the deadliest United States hurricane since
Hurricane Agnes in 1972, killing 57 people and causing billions in damage as it moved northward along the Atlantic coast.
Hurricane Lenny killed 17 as it tracked eastward across the
Caribbean, the first hurricane known to do so for an extended time period. Lenny also reached peak winds of 155 mph just 13 days before the end of the season, the strongest Atlantic hurricane in the month of November.
Storms
Tropical Storm Arlene
A mid- to upper-level low developed along the tail end of a diffuse front in the central Atlantic Ocean in early June. While moving northward, it generated convection, and developed a small low-level circulation. Based on increased outflow and organization, it was classified as Tropical Depression One on
June 11, and under generally favorable conditions it strengthened into Tropical Storm Arlene on the 12th while several hundred miles southeast of
Bermuda. The storm moved roughly northwestward, reaching peak winds of 60 mph before coming within 115 miles of Bermuda on the 17th. It turned north and away from the island where upper level shear caused Arlene to dissipate on
June 18. No damages were reported.
Tropical Depression Two
Tropical Depression Two formed in the western Gulf of Mexico from a tropical wave on
July 2. It made landfall 75 miles south-southeast of
Tuxpan, Veracruz, on the 3rd, and dissipated shortly thereafter. The system dropped heavy rain to the area amounting to a maximum of 20.37 inches/517 mm at Tanzabaca/Tamasopo in
Mexico.
[1] The system caused no reported deaths or damages.
Hurricane Bret
A tropical depression that formed in the
Bay of Campeche on
August 18 reached tropical storm strength late on
August 19. Bret moved north, and strengthened into a 145 mph Category 4 hurricane on
August 22. As it approached
Texas, Bret turned to the northwest, and made landfall as a Category 3 hurricane at
Padre Island on
August 23, becoming the first major hurricane to hit Texas since
Hurricane Alicia in 1983. The storm continued inland and dissipated over northern Mexico on
August 25. Damage is estimated at $60 million, which is rather low for a hurricane of this intensity. Hurricane Bret made landfall in the sparsely populated
Kenedy County, Texas, missing
Brownsville, Texas to its south and
Corpus Christi, Texas to its north. The hurricane dissipated quickly after its last advisory for the city of
Laredo, Texas.
Hurricane Cindy
A tropical wave moved off the coast of
Africa on
August 18, and quickly developed into Tropical Depression Four on the 19th while around 300 miles east-southeast of the
Cape Verde Islands. Persistent westerly shear initially inhibited development, but a decrease in the shear allowed the depression to strengthen into a tropical storm on the 20th. Cindy quickly attained hurricane status, and weakened back to a tropical storm due to an increase in the shear. The unfavorable conditions abated, and Cindy quickly strengthened into a 140 mph Category 4 hurricane while 430 miles east-southeast of
Bermuda. Shear increased as Cindy turned to the northeast, and the storm dissipated on
August 31 as it merged with an extratropical cyclone about 1000 miles west of the
Azores.
Hurricane Dennis
Dennis was a Category 2 hurricane that was erratic in both track and intensity. Although it never made landfall as a hurricane, the storm was responsible for producing hurricane-force winds along the
North Carolina coast along with beach
erosion. The hurricane caused $157 million in damage, and killed 4 people. The heavy rains from Dennis also set the stage for destructive
flooding from
Hurricane Floyd about 2 weeks later.
Tropical Storm Emily
Emily formed on
August 24 from the same cluster of tropical waves that spawned Hurricane Cindy and Hurricane Dennis. The storm moved roughly north until the
28th when it was absorbed by Hurricane Cindy. Emily never directly affected land and there is no damage reported in association with it.
Tropical Depression Seven
Tropical Depression Seven began from a tropical wave in the western Gulf of Mexico on
September 5. It became better organized as it moved north-northwestward, and hit the town of
La Pesca,
Tamaulipas, on the 6th before intensifying further. The storm caused heavy rainfall, though damage and death totals are unknown. In
Texas, its remnants produced light rainfall, peaking at 3.35 inches in
Harlingen, Texas.
[2]
Hurricane Floyd
Hurricane Floyd was a large and powerful
Cape Verde-type hurricane that was first named on
September 8 while about 750 n mi east of the Leeward Islands. Floyd slowly intensified and headed west-northwest, staying well north of the
Lesser Antilles. On
September 11, Floyd turned and began moving almost due west and began to strengthen. On the
13th, Floyd was a strong Category 4 hurricane with winds of 155 mph, just short of reaching Category 5.
At this point, Hurricane Floyd was just east of the
Bahamas. Floyd weakened slightly as it moved into the islands, striking
Eleuthera Island and later making landfall on
Abaco Island on the
14th while at the low end of the Category 4 range. Floyd turned north and paralleled the coast of Florida until making landfall near
Cape Fear as a Category 2 storm. It returned to the ocean near
Norfolk, Virginia and travelled up the coasts of the
Delmarva Peninsula and
New Jersey as a tropical storm. It passed over
Long Island and into
New England.
Floyd caused record rainfall across the east coast, with
Wilmington, North Carolina and
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania setting 24-hour rainfall records of 15.06 in. and 6.63 in. respectively. Portions of New England had rainfall totals nearing 11 in. Floyd generated 9-10 foot storm surges across North Carolina. There are 57 deaths directly blamed on Floyd, 56 in the United States and one on
Grand Bahama. Most of the deaths were due to freshwater flooding in North Carolina. Floyd was one of the costliest hurricanes on record, with an estimated $4.5 billion in damage.
Hurricane Gert
Gert formed from an African tropical wave several hundred miles west of Cape Verde on
September 12. Gert's track arced across the Atlantic, and it became a strong Category 4 storm on the
16th. Gert threatened Bermuda as a weakening Category 2 storm, but turned away to the north-northeast. On the
23rd Gert became extratropical and merged with another low pressure system off the coast of Newfoundland.
Gert caused isolated instances of hurricane force winds on Bermuda, but damage there was limited to coastal erosion. No deaths are directly attributable to Gert, although two people drowned in
Maine when a large wave swept them into the ocean. This wave may have been generated by Gert, which was over 1000 n mi away from Maine at the time.
Tropical Storm Harvey
Tropical Storm Harvey formed in the eastern Gulf of Mexico about 300 n mi west-southwest of
St. Petersburg, Florida on
September 20. Shortly after, Harvey made landfall at
Everglades City, Florida on the
21st with peak winds of 55 mph and a pressure of 999 mb. After passing over Florida, Harvey merged with an extratropical cyclone over the northern Bahamas on
September 22.
Harvey was responsible for no deaths. Molasses Reef, FL had a a peak gust of 70 mph. Two tornadoes were associated with Harvey, one of which uproofed a house in
Collier County. Damage was estimated at 15 million.
Tropical Depression Eleven
A tropical wave organized into Tropical Depression Eleven in the Bay of Campeche on
October 4. Under weak steering currents, it drifted southward, then westward, remaining weak due to a broad surface trough over the eastern Gulf of Mexico. The depression merged with the trough on the 6th, though tropical storm force winds remained over coastal waters. The depression's large, unorganized circulation, in combination with previous rainfall along the Mexican coastline, resulted in the worst flooding in at least 40 years for the region with at least 384 casualties attributed to the resulting flood.
[3]
Tropical Depression Twelve
Tropical Depression Twelve developed from a tropical wave on
October 6 between the
Lesser Antilles and the
Cape Verde Islands. It moved erratically the the west-northwest without developing. While this was going on, the low-level circulation was mostly of the west side of the convection, due to a lower-level trough to the depression's north. Convection diminished and dissipated on
September 8 as the low level circulation became less well-defined. However the remnant low-level cloud swirl could be tracked going west-northwest for several days afterwards, until dissipating completely north of the
Lesser Antilles.
Hurricane Irene
Irene formed on
October 12 from a broad trough of low pressure while south of the
Isle of Youth. It headed north and passed over the Isle of Youth and western
Cuba on the
14th. While over the
Straits of Florida, Irene reached hurricane strength. The next day, it made landfall at
Key West, Florida, and again near
Cape Sable,
Florida. Half a day later, Irene moved back over water near
Jupiter, Florida as a minimal hurricane. It slowly strengthened as it paralleled the Florida through North Carolina. When Irene interacted with a trough from the west while over the warm Gulf Stream waters, the hurricane rapidly intensified to a peak of 110 mph, but it accelerated to the northeast, weakening over the cooler waters of the North Atlantic. On the
19th, Irene became extratropical near
Newfoundland, and was absorbed by an extratropical low shortly thereafter.
Total damage in Florida is around $900 million (2005 USD). There were no direct deaths in the United States that are attributed to Irene, though there were eight indirect deaths. Damage in Cuba is not known. Irene also contributed slightly to ongoing flood problems in
North Carolina in the aftermath of
Hurricane Floyd.
Hurricane Jose
Jose formed on
October 8 while 400 miles east of the Windward Islands. The storm quickly strengthened into a hurricane and over 2,000 people were evacuated from islands in its path. It moved northwest, and as the hurricane passed over
Antigua,
Saint-Barthélemy and
St. Martin on the
20th and
21st. Over a foot of rain fell on St. Martin. It weakened to a tropical storm as it approached the
U.S. Virgin Islands and as it neared
Puerto Rico, Jose turned to the north-northeast. Jose remained on a near-straight line track into the north Atlantic until it lost its tropical characteristics on
October 25. It then merged with a non-tropical system.
Jose caused one death in Antigua and one in St. Martin. Extensive damage was reported in St. Martin from flooding and mud slides, but no dollar value is attached to this. Damage to the affected US areas was minimal.
Tropical Storm Katrina
Katrina formed in the southern
Caribbean as a tropical depression on
October 27. On
October 28,
Hurricane Hunters reported well-defined circulation near
Panama. The storm moved northwest and became Tropical Storm Katrina in the early afternoon hours on the
29th. Just barely reaching tropical storm status, the storm was only a tropical storm for six hours. The storm weakened to a tropical depression in the mid-evening hours of the same day.
It made landfall at
Puerto Cabezas,
Nicaragua, during the time it was a tropical storm. The storm only made things a little harder for the people of Nicaragua who were still recovering from
Hurricane Mitch. That storm hit Nicaragua almost exactly one year earlier. The storm died over the Yucatan Peninsula on
November 1 as it was absorbed by a cold front.
As far as the
NHC can tell, Katrina claimed no lives in Nicaragua, and only minor damage was reported.
Hurricane Lenny
Hurricane Lenny was a damaging late season hurricane first named on
November 13 while in the western
Caribbean Sea. Lenny tracked generally east over the Caribbean, and is the only storm recorded to have done so for an extended period of time. Lenny was a Category 4 hurricane when it approached the Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands on the
17th. Its motion slowed and began weakening as it passed over the
Leeward Islands, and Lenny made its final landfall in Antigua on the
19th. Lenny continued eastward on an erratic course into the Atlantic where it dissipated on
November 23.
There are seventeen deaths directly attributed to Lenny, including two in
Colombia. Damage to the islands was considerable, but no specific dollar value is attached to it. Damage to the US possessions is estimated at $330 million.
Accumulated Cyclone Energy (ACE) Ranking
| ACE (104 kt2) – Storm: |
|---|
| 1 | 42.31 | Gert | 7 | 10.42 | Irene |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 29.42 | Floyd | 8 | 10.15 | Jose |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | 24.62 | Cindy | 9 | 3.42 | Arlene |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | 20.18 | Dennis | 10 | 2.42 | Emily |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | 19.87 | Lenny | 11 | 1.89 | Harvey |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | 11.60 | Bret | 12 | 0.25 | Katrina |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total= 176.55 (177) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
The table on the right shows the
Accumulated Cyclone Energy for each storm in the season. The ACE is, broadly speaking, a measure of the power of the hurricane multiplied by the length of time it existed for, so hurricanes that lasted a long time have higher ACEs.
Storm names
The following names were used for named storms that formed in the north Atlantic in 1999. The names not retired from this list were used again in the
2005 season. It is the same list used for the
1993 season. A storm was named Lenny for the first (and only) time in 1999. Names that were not assigned are marked in .
Retirement
The
World Meteorological Organization retired two names in the spring of 2000: Floyd and Lenny. They were replaced in the
2005 season by Franklin and Lee.
See also
★
List of notable tropical cyclones
★
List of Atlantic hurricane seasons
References
1. Hydrometeorological Prediction Center. Tropical Depression #2. Retrieved on 2007-02-09.
2. Hydrometeorological Prediction Center. Tropical Depression #7. Retrieved on 2007-02-09.
3. David M. Roth Tropical Depression 11A Rainfall Page. Retrieved on 2007-06-18.
External links
★
Monthly Weather Review
★
National Hurricane Center 1999 Atlantic hurricane season summary
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