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The 1982 Atlantic hurricane season officially began on June 1, 1982, and lasted until November 30, 1982. These dates conventionally delimit the period of each year when most tropical cyclones form in the Atlantic basin.
Few storms formed in 1982, and those that did were generally weak and remained at sea. The deadliest storm of the season was Tropical Storm Beryl, which killed 115 people while crossing the Cape Verde islands. Other notable storms include Hurricane Alberto, which caused torrential flooding in western Cuba; Hurricane Debby, which reached Category 4 strength unusually far north; and a subtropical storm which formed and moved across Florida.
[edit] Seasonal activity
The 1982 season was low in activity, with only six storms forming. The season started early with Hurricane Alberto forming on the first day of the season. Alberto threatened the Southwestern Florida coast as a tropical storm, causing twenty-three fatalities in Cuba. The next storm, Subtropical Storm One, formed in June and affected the same area as Alberto. The subtropical storm caused $27 million dollars in damage.
Tropical Storm Beryl formed on August 28, after a quiet July in the open Atlantic Ocean. Beryl grazed The Cape Verde Islands, killing 115 people. Soon after the dissipation of Beryl, Tropical Storm Chris formed in the Gulf of Mexico on September 9. Chris stayed as a weak storm, making landfall near Sabine Pass, Texas and dissipated over land on September 13. Hurricane Debby was the next storm and the strongest of the season. The formative stage of Debby produced rainfall in Puerto Rico and soon strengthened into a Category 4 Major Hurricane. Debby passed by Newfoundland on September 18 and merged with a non-tropical low on September 20. The final storm of the season, Tropical Storm Ernesto, was the shortest lasting storm of the season and stayed out to sea.
The season was very inactive because of strong upper-level wind shear. The wind shear was contributed by a variety of factors including an El Niño and a slow phase in a cycle of Atlantic hurricane favorability. The wind shear was unusually strong throughout the Caribbean and open Atlantic. It disrupted convection in areas of disturbed weather so they could not develop. The El Niño also affected the 1983 Atlantic hurricane season.
[edit] Storms
[edit] Hurricane Alberto
- Main article: Hurricane Alberto (1982)
On June 1, a tropical depression formed off western Cuba from an organized cloud system. It moved slowly northeastward through the Gulf of Mexico, and strengthened into Tropical Storm Alberto on June 3. Alberto travelled generally northeast on an erratic course, and briefly intensified to a Category 1 hurricane, one of the earliest hurricanes of June. Alberto then quickly weakened into a tropical storm, doubled back to the west, and dissipated near the Florida Keys on June 6. Alberto is a rare example of a storm to enter the Gulf of Mexico and dissipating while never make landfall.
Though the storm never made landfall, 23 deaths were reported in Cuba from heavy flooding. Southern Florida experienced moderate rainfall, with a peak of 16.47 inches occurring in Tavernier. [1] [2]
[edit] Subtropical Storm One
- Main article: Subtropical Storm One (1982)
The first subtropical storm of the season formed in the east-central Gulf of Mexico on June 18, and took an almost straight course to the northeast for its entire life. It crossed the Florida peninsula that night, causing the issuance of numerous severe thunderstorm and tornado warnings. The storm continued, crossing the Outer Banks of North Carolina, and retained its strength until June 20 when it became extratropical near Newfoundland.
Subtropical Storm One caused three deaths in Florida, sank a trawler off the coast of North Carolina, and caused $10 million in damage (1982 USD, $20 million 2005 USD). [3]
[edit] Tropical Storm Beryl
- Main article: Tropical Storm Beryl (1982)
Beryl became a named storm on August 28 while southeast of Cape Verde. The tropical storm travelled steadily west-northwest, approaching but not reaching hurricane strength. While midway across the Atlantic on September 2, it weakened to a tropical depression. The depression continued west until its circulation collapsed on September 6, just north of the Windward Islands. Beryl caused 115 deaths in the Cape Verde islands. Though the Cape Verde islands are typically hurricane-free, another tropical storm, Fran, hit the islands in 1984, killing 31 people. [4]
[edit] Tropical Storm Chris
A surface low pressure area developed on September 8 in the Gulf of Mexico. It drifted westward, and the next day it organized into a subtropical depression. Under the influence of a trough of low pressure, the depression turned northward, and after steadily becoming better organized it transitioned into Tropical Storm Chris by late on September 10. The storm attained peak winds of 65 mph (100 km/h) before moving ashore near Sabine Pass in Louisiana. Chris continued inland until it dissipated over central Arkansas on September 13. Prior to making landfall, as many as 6,500 people evacuated from southern Louisiana, while offshore many oil workers were evacuated inland.[5]
Chris produced moderate rainfall along its path, peaking at 16 inches (407 mm) in Delhi, Louisiana, with totals of over 10 inches in Mississippi and Tennessee.[6] The rainfall caused locally severe flooding as far inland as Tennessee and Kentucky, with flooding of some rivers reported.[7] The storm spawned 9 tornadoes, of which 4 were F2 or stronger on the Fujita scale.[8] Upon moving ashore, the hurricane produced a 5–6 ft (1.5–1.8 m) storm tide, resulting in severe damage to several boats in the Gulf of Mexico. Throughout its path, damage totaled $2 million (1982 USD).[5]
[edit] Hurricane Debby
- Main article: Hurricane Debby (1982)
Debby began life as a tropical wave that degenerated shortly after leaving the coast of Africa. The wave travelled across the Atlantic, and organized into a tropical depression off the northern coast of Haiti on September 13. The depression turned north and strengthened into a tropical storm and then a hurricane. Hurricane Debby moved north-northeast, brushing Bermuda with tropical storm-force winds. It continued strengthening as it moved north, peaking at 135 mph (220 km/h). Tropical storm-force winds were also recorded at Cape Race in Newfoundland when Debby passed on September 18. The storm accelerated and began weakening over the colder waters of the north Atlantic. Debby merged with a strong non-tropical system over the British Isles on September 20.
The precursor disturbance to Debby dropped heavy rainfall across Puerto Rico, peaking at 12.86 inches in the southwestern portion of the island. [9] [10] Only minor damage was associated with Debby.
[edit] Tropical Storm Ernesto
A tropical wave formed off the coast of Africa on September 23. The west side of the wave expanded and was declared as Tropical Depression Six on September 30. The depression intensified, making a sharp turn on October 1. An Air Force plane found 40 mph winds with a pressure of 1003 mbar and the depression was given the name Ernesto. A second Air Force plane on October 2 found 71.3 mph winds with a pressure of 997 mbar. By October 3, Ernesto was not identifiable after merging with an extratropical low. Ernesto never approached land and caused no reported damage. [11]
[edit] Accumulated Cyclone Energy (ACE) Rating
The table on the right shows the ACE 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. ACE is only rated to systems with winds higher than 35 mph.
[edit] 1982 storm names
The following names were used for named storms that formed in the north Atlantic in 1982. No names were retired, so it was used again in the 1988 season. This is the first time these names were used since the post-1978 naming change, except for Florence and Helene which had been previously used in 1954, 1958, 1960, and 1964. Names that were not assigned are marked in gray.
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- Helene (unused)
- Isaac (unused)
- Joan (unused)
- Keith (unused)
- Leslie (unused)
- Michael (unused)
- Nadine (unused)
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- Oscar (unused)
- Patty (unused)
- Rafael (unused)
- Sandy (unused)
- Tony (unused)
- Valerie (unused)
- William (unused)
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[edit] Retirement
- See also: List of retired Atlantic hurricanes
The World Meteorological Organization retired no names used in the 1982 season.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Hurricane Alberto Rainfall TotalsRetrieved on October 21, 2006
- ^ Hurricane Albero Report Retrieved on October 21, 2006
- ^ Subtropical Storm One Report Retrieved on October 21, 2006
- ^ Tropical Storm Beryl Report Retrieved on October 21, 2006
- ^ a b Gilbert B. Clark (1982-09-27). Tropical Storm Chris Prelimary Report. National Hurricane Center. Retrieved on March 28, 2007.
- ^ David Roth (2007). Tropical Cyclone Rainfall: Tropical Storm Chris. Hydrometeorogical Prediction Center. Retrieved on March 28, 2007.
- ^ U.S. Geological Survey Kansas Water Science Center (2007). Summary of Significant Floods in the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands, 1970 Through 1989 - 1982. U.S. Geological Survey Kansas Water Science Center. Retrieved on March 28, 2007.
- ^ Tom Grazulis of The Tornado Project and Bill McCaul of USRA Huntsville (2007). List of Known Tropical Cyclones Which Have Spawned Tornadoes. Tornado Project. Retrieved on March 28, 2007.
- ^ Hurricane Debby Rainfall Totals Retrieved on October 21, 2006
- ^ Hurricane Debby ReportRetrieved on October 21, 2006
- ^ Tropical Storm Ernesto Report Retrieved on October 21, 2006
[edit] External links
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Tropical cyclones of the 1982 Atlantic hurricane season
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