The 2008 Atlantic Hurricane Season in Review (Arthur to Hanna)

On average, one named storm forms in the Atlantic in June every two years. Arthur formed on May 31st and lasted until June 2nd. It formed near Belize and made landfall shortly after it was named. Top winds were 40 mph. It caused devastating foods in Belize.

Three storms were named in July, well above average for the month. Two of them went on to become hurricanes and one achieved major hurricane status. Bertha was an early season Cape Verde storm. It eventually attained category three status, qualifying it as a major hurricane. Top winds were 120 mph. Bertha stalled and weakened to a tropical storm before passing about 40 miles east of Bermuda on the 14th. Bertha was around for 17 days, making it the longest lived July tropical cyclone on record. Cristobal formed from a disturbance that passed over Florida. It became a depression while it was southeast of Charleston, South Carolina. It became a tropical storm as it passed about 225 miles southeast of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina.

Dolly formed over the western Caribbean on July 20. Its center reformed over the Yucatan and emerged into the Gulf on the next day. It moved northwestward and gradually strengthened into a hurricane. Landfall came on July 23rd as the system made landfall on South Padre Island. Max intensity was 100 mph. Damages were estimated to be as high as $1 bilion.

August saw four named storms. One of these became a hurricane, actually a major hurricane (Gustav). Edouard was a short lived Gulf storm. It formed southeast of the mouth of the Mississippi River. It moved westward, making landfall on August 7th on the upper Texas coast as a tropical storm. Top winds were 50 mph. Fay was an amazing storm. It formed over the Greater Antilles, where it produced devastating floods. It crossed Cuba, curved over the Lower Florida Keys and over South Florida. Fay actually strengthened while over land, forming an eye and reaching max intensity while west of Lake Okeechobee with top winds of 80 mph. It emerged over water off of northeastern Florida, looped around and moved onshore, then emerged over Apalachee Bay and made its fourth and final landfall south of Tallahassee. It meandered over the southeastern U.S. for a few days, producing some generally beneficial rains.

Gustav developed from a tropical wave over the southeastern Caribbean on August 24th. It quickly became a tropical storm. It made landfall on Haiti on August 26th as a category one hurricane. It intensified over the Windward Passage and was a Category Four hurricane when it slammed into Cuba with devastating winds, a huge storm surge and flooding rains. Gustav emerged into the Gulf and steamed northwestward. It made landfall again on the coast of Southeast Louisiana on Labor Day, September 1st.

Hanna formed over the open Atlantic and moved to the northeast of the Lesser Antilles. It meandered around the Bahamas and caused severe flooding on an already devastated before moving north and passing off the coast of New England as it became extratropical. Hanna is blamed for over 500 deaths in Haiti.

We will review the balance of the season tomorrow…

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