1990 Atlantic hurricane season
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The 1990 Atlantic hurricane season was an ongoing event in the annual cycle of tropical cyclone formation. It officially started June 1, 1990, and lasted until November 30, 1990.
The 1990 season was unusual because no tropical storms or hurricanes made landfall in the United States, and records show that this had not happened since 1890. Tropical Storm Marco did affect Florida, but was downgraded to a tropical depression before landfall.
Hurricane Diana killed an estimated 96 in the Mexican states of Veracruz and Hidalgo. Property damage estimates are unavailable, but damage was widespread.
| Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Category | Wind speed | Storm surge | ||
| mph (km/h) | ft (m) | |||
| | ||||
| 5 | >156 (>250) | >18 (>5.5) | ||
| 4 | 131–155 (210–249) | 13–18 (4.0–5.5) | ||
| 3 | 111–130 (178–209) | 9–12 (2.7–3.7) | ||
| 2 | 96–110 (154–177) | 6–8 (1.8–2.4) | ||
| 1 | 74–95 (119–153) | 4–5 (1.2–1.5) | ||
| | ||||
| Tropical storm | 35–73 (56–117) | 0–3 (0–0.9) | ||
| (edit) (http://en.wikipedia.org/w/wiki.phtml?title=Template:Saffir-Simpson-US&action=edit) | ||||
Storms
Tropical Storm Arthur
The first tropical storm of 1990 developed from a mid-Atlantic wave about 300 miles east of Trinidad on July 24. It crossed the Windward Islands chain between Tobago & Grenada and strengthened to near hurricane level, but soon weakened and degenerated to an open wave on July 27. No casualties or damage were reported.
Hurricane Bertha
A tropical depression drifting east of Florida strengthened to a torm on July 28. It drifted north-east and became a hurricane 500 miles WSW of Bermuda on July 29. It continued parallel to the East Coast of the United States, dropping to a storm and refreshing to a hurricane again before becoming extratropical over Nova Scotia on August 2.
Nine deaths were attributed to Bertha, including six crew members of the Greek freighter Corazon who perished off the Canadian coast after their ship broke up. Damage to crops and a suspension bridge were reported from Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island.
Tropical Storm Cesar
Cesar developed from a tropical wave reaching storm strength west of Cape Verde on August 2. It drifted north-west and dissipated on August 7 over 1000 miles east of Bermuda.
Hurricane Diana
Main article: Hurricane Diana
Diana formed from a tropical wave which crossed the Atlantic and most of the Caribbean before devoloping into a cyclone near the eastern tip of Honduras on August 4. The storm crossed the Yucatan peninsula then strengthened to a Category 2 hurricane before making landfall near Tuxpan, Mexico on August 7. It was declared dissipated in western Mexico the next day, although a remnant low-pressure area was observed to have reached the Pacific coast.
Torrential rain in Mexico caused mudslides and landslips in the states of Hidalgo and Veracruz. Crops, property and roads were damaged, and contemporary reports indicated that 96 people had been killed.
Tropical Storm Edouard
Edouard developed from a nontropical weather system which crossed the Azores westwards on August 4. It reached storm strength on August 8 and more or less retraced its tracks, becoming extratropical on August 11. It was never a purely tropical system. There were no casualties and only minor damage in the Azores.
Tropical Storm Fran
Tropical Storm Fran developed as a tropical depression south-west of Cape Verde on August 11. Moving rapidly westwards it lost its closed circulation for a while, then recovered and strengthened to a storm on August 13. The next day it passed between Trinidad and Venezuela and dissipated due to interaction with the South American mainland. No damage or casualties were reported.
Hurricane Gustav
Gustav developed as a tropical depression some 1000 miles east of Barbados on August 24. It moved westward and strengthened to a storm the next day and a hurricane on August 26. Hurricane warnings were raised for the Lesser Antilles but Gustav turned to the north and later north-east, thereby avoiding all land. It was declared extratropical on September 3, with the remnants later passing 200 miles south of Iceland. At its peak it reached Category 3 on the Saffir-Simpson Scale.
Tropical Storm Hortense
Hortense formed 700 miles WSW of Cape Verde on August 25. It strengthened to a storm but was sheared by the outflow from Hurricane Gustav and dissipated on August 31 without approaching any land.
Hurricane Isidore
Isidore formed south of Cape Verde on September 4 and became a hurricane on September 7. A mid-level trough in the central Atlantic kept it moving northward and it dropped to storm strength for a while before recovering. It was absorbed by an extratropical low north of 50°N on September 17.
Hurricane Josephine
Josephine formed west of Cape Verde on September 21 and strengthened to a storm on September 24. It wandered in mid-Atlantic for some time, peforming a 360° loop at one stage before becoming a hurricane on October 4. It tracked around a mid-latitude storm and became extratropical on October 6.
Hurricane Klaus
Main article: Hurricane Klaus
A westward moving wave became a cyclone east of the Lesser Antilles on October 3 and became a hurricane two days later close to Antigua and Barbuda. It moved north of the Leeward Islands and Virgin Islands, weakening and reviving as it headed towards the Bahamas. It was absorbed by a low pressure area on October 9. The remnants brought heavy rainfall to South Carolina and Georgia causing 4 deaths when a dam burst.
Hurricane Lili
Lili developed from the mid-latitude low which affected the latter stages of Josephine. Ths low moved south-west and developed tropical characteristics, becoming a hurricane on October 11. It moved rapidly west and passed 140 miles south of Bermuda. Initially appearing to threaten the US coast, it curved north then north-east and had become extratropical before it touched Nova Scotia and Newfoundland. Damage was limited to minor coastal erosion in North Carolina.
Tropical Storm Marco
As Klaus was dissipating, a new cold low developed over Cuba and developed down to the surface as a tropical depression on October 9. It became a tropical storm and headed towards Florida, hugging the western coast and making landfall as a depression near Cedar Key. It rapidly lost strength over land but added to the heavy rainfall already brought to the south-eastern states by Klaus.
Although only a depression at final landfall, this was officially counted as a tropical storm hit on the USA as much of the circulation was on land in the Saint Petersburg area.
Hurricane Nana
A tropical wave developed into a depression on October 16, 400 miles north-east of Puerto Rico. It intensified to a hurricane the next day and tracked north-west towards Bermuda, but was blocked by upper-level westerlies and dissipated on October 21 without approaching land.
1990 storm names
The following names were used for named storms that formed in the north Atlantic in 1990. The names not retired from this list were used again in the 1996 season. This is the same list used for the 1984 season. Storms were named Marco and Nana for the first time in 1990. Names that were not assigned are marked in gray.
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Retirement
The World Meteorological Organization retired two names in the spring of 1991: Diana and Klaus. They were replaced in the 1996 season by Dolly and Kyle.
See also
External link
- Detailed information on all storms from 1990 (ftp://ftp.nhc.noaa.gov/pub/storm_archives/atlantic/prelimat/atl1990/)