2015 Atlantic hurricane season | |
---|---|
Season summary map | |
Seasonal boundaries | |
First system formed | May 8, 2015 |
Last system dissipated | November 11, 2015 |
Strongest storm | |
Name | Joaquin |
• Maximum winds | 155 mph (250 km/h) |
• Lowest pressure | 931 mbar (hPa; 27.49 inHg) |
Seasonal statistics | |
Total depressions | 12 |
Total storms | 11 |
Hurricanes | 4 |
Major hurricanes (Cat. 3+) | 2 |
Total fatalities | 89 total |
Total damage | > $728.1 million (2015 USD) |
| |
The 2015 Atlantic hurricane season was a slightly below average season of tropical cyclone formation in the Atlantic basin. A total of 12 tropical cyclones formed, including 11 named storms, 4 hurricanes, and 2 major hurricanes. The strongest storm - Hurricane Joaquin - fell just short of category 5 status as a strong category 4 with maximum sustained winds of 155 mph and a minimum pressure of 931 mbar. The below-average activity in this season was a result of a Very Strong El Niño event, causing the pacific hurricane season to be active. Most pre-season forecasts correctly predicted a below average season, although the season was slightly more active than most agencies predicted. Even though the Atlantic hurricane season usually runs between June 1 and November 30, the first storm, Ana, formed on May 8 as a Subtropical Storm
Timeline[]
Storms[]
Tropical Storm Ana[]
Tropical storm (SSHWS) | |||
---|---|---|---|
| |||
Duration | May 8 – May 11 | ||
Peak intensity | 60 mph (95 km/h) (1-min) 998 mbar (hPa) |
- Main article: Tropical Storm Ana (2015)
Ana originated from a non-tropical low and made landfall along the northeastern coast of South Carolina, causing minor wind damage, some beach erosion, and one direct death in North Carolina.[1]
Tropical Storm Bill[]
Tropical storm (SSHWS) | |||
---|---|---|---|
| |||
Duration | June 16 – June 18 | ||
Peak intensity | 60 mph (95 km/h) (1-min) 997 mbar (hPa) |
- Main article: Tropical Storm Bill (2015)
Tropical Storm Bill formed over the far northwestern Gulf of Mexico and made landfall along the Texas coast on Matagorda Island. Bill produced heavy rains and flooding while it moved across eastern Texas and Oklahoma.[2]
Tropical Storm Claudette[]
Tropical storm (SSHWS) | |||
---|---|---|---|
| |||
Duration | July 13 – July 14 | ||
Peak intensity | 50 mph (85 km/h) (1-min) 1003 mbar (hPa) |
- Main article: Tropical Storm Claudette (2015)
Claudette was a short-lived high-latitude tropical storm that formed from a non-tropical low pressure system just off the coast of North Carolina.[3]
Hurricane Danny[]
Category 3 hurricane (SSHWS) | |||
---|---|---|---|
| |||
Duration | August 18 – August 24 | ||
Peak intensity | 125 mph (205 km/h) (1-min) 960 mbar (hPa) |
- Main article: Hurricane Danny (2015)
Danny was a compact, Cape Verde-type category 3 hurricane (on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale) that moved generally westward in the deep tropics throughout its lifetime. Danny degenerated into a tropical wave while it moved through the northern Leeward Islands and into the northeastern Caribbean Sea, causing no significant damage.[4]
Tropical Storm Erika[]
Tropical storm (SSHWS) | |||
---|---|---|---|
| |||
Duration | August 24 – August 28 | ||
Peak intensity | 50 mph (85 km/h) (1-min) 1001 mbar (hPa) |
- Main article: Tropical Storm Erika
Erika was a tropical storm whose torrential rains inflicted significant casualties and damage on the Caribbean island of Dominica.[5]
Hurricane Fred[]
Category 1 hurricane (SSHWS) | |||
---|---|---|---|
| |||
Duration | August 30 – September 6 | ||
Peak intensity | 85 mph (140 km/h) (1-min) 986 mbar (hPa) |
- Main article: Hurricane Fred (2015)
Fred was a cyclone with many un-climatological aspects, including, the first hurricane passage through Cabo Verde since 1892. The cyclone was blamed for nine deaths.[6]
Tropical Storm Grace[]
Tropical storm (SSHWS) | |||
---|---|---|---|
| |||
Duration | September 5 – September 9 | ||
Peak intensity | 60 mph (95 km/h) (1-min) 1000 mbar (hPa) |
- Main article: Tropical Storm Grace (2015)
Grace was a short-lived tropical storm that formed in the eastern tropical Atlantic and dissipated well east of the Lesser Antilles.[7]
Tropical Storm Henri[]
Tropical storm (SSHWS) | |||
---|---|---|---|
| |||
Duration | September 8 – September 11 | ||
Peak intensity | 50 mph (85 km/h) (1-min) 1003 mbar (hPa) |
- Main article: Tropical Storm Henri (2015)
Henri was a weak and short-lived storm of non-tropical origin that formed well southeast of Bermuda. It accelerated northward before dissipating well south of Atlantic Canada.[8]
Tropical Depression Nine[]
Tropical depression (SSHWS) | |||
---|---|---|---|
| |||
Duration | September 16 – September 19 | ||
Peak intensity | 35 mph (55 km/h) (1-min) 1006 mbar (hPa) |
- Main article: Tropical Depression Nine (2015)
Tropical Depression Nine was a relatively short-lived tropical cyclone that remained over the open waters of the central tropical Atlantic Ocean.[9]
Tropical Storm Ida[]
Tropical storm (SSHWS) | |||
---|---|---|---|
| |||
Duration | September 18 – September 27 | ||
Peak intensity | 50 mph (85 km/h) (1-min) 1001 mbar (hPa) |
- Main article: Tropical Storm Ida (2015)
Ida was a sheared tropical storm that meandered over the central Atlantic for several days.[10]
Hurricane Joaquin[]
Category 4 hurricane (SSHWS) | |||
---|---|---|---|
| |||
Duration | September 28 – October 7 | ||
Peak intensity | 155 mph (250 km/h) (1-min) 931 mbar (hPa) |
- Main article: Hurricane Joaquin
Joaquin was a category 4 hurricane (on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale) whose strong winds and storm surge devastated Crooked Island, Acklins, Long Island, Rum Cay, and San Salvador in the central and southeastern Bahamas. Joaquin took the lives of 34 people—all at sea—including the 33 crewmembers of the cargo ship El Faro, which sunk during the storm northeast of Crooked Island. Joaquin is the strongest October hurricane known to have affected the Bahamas since 1866 and the strongest Atlantic hurricane of non-tropical origin in the satellite era.[11]
Hurricane Kate[]
Category 1 hurricane (SSHWS) | |||
---|---|---|---|
| |||
Duration | November 8 – November 11 | ||
Peak intensity | 85 mph (140 km/h) (1-min) 980 mbar (hPa) |
- Main article: Hurricane Kate (2015)
Kate was a late-season tropical cyclone that became a category 1 hurricane (on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale) while moving east-northeastward over the north Atlantic.[12]
Storm names[]
The following names were used for named storms that formed in the North Atlantic in 2015. The names not retired from this list will be used again in the 2021 season. This is the same list used in the 2009 season. The name Joaquin was used for the first and only time this year.
|
Retirement[]
On April 25, 2016, at the 38th Session of the World Meteorological Organization's Regional Association Hurricane Committee, the WMO retired two names, Erika and Joaquin from its rotating name lists. They were replaced with Elsa and Julian, respectively, for the 2021 Atlantic hurricane season. Erika marked the second time that a tropical storm had its name retired, after Allison in 2001.
Season effects[]
This is a table of all of the storms that have formed during the 2015 Atlantic hurricane season. It includes their names, duration, peak strength, areas affected, damage, and death totals. Deaths in parentheses are additional and indirect (an example of an indirect death would be a traffic accident), but were still related to that storm. Damage and deaths include totals while the storm was extratropical, a wave, or a low, and all of the damage figures are in 2015 USD.
Saffir–Simpson hurricane wind scale | ||||||
TD | TS | C1 | C2 | C3 | C4 | C5 |
Storm name |
Dates active | Storm category
at peak intensity |
Max 1-min wind mph (km/h) |
Min. press. (mbar) |
Areas affected | Damage (millions USD) |
Deaths
| |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Ana | May 8 – 11 | Tropical storm | 60 (95) | 998 | Southeastern United States (South Carolina) | Minimal | 1 (1) | |||
Bill | June 16 – 18 | Tropical storm | 60 (95) | 997 | Central America, Yucatán Peninsula, Southern United States (Texas), Midwestern United States | 17.9 | 8 (1) | |||
Claudette | July 13 – 14 | Tropical storm | 50 (85) | 1003 | East Coast of the United States, Newfoundland | None | None | |||
Danny | August 18 – 24 | Category 3 hurricane | 125 (205) | 960 | Lesser Antilles, Puerto Rico | Minor | None | |||
Erika | August 25 – 29 | Tropical storm | 50 (85) | 1001 | Lesser Antilles (Dominica), Greater Antilles, Florida | 511.4 | 31 (4) | |||
Fred | August 30 – September 6 | Category 1 hurricane | 85 (140) | 986 | West Africa, Cape Verde | 2.5 | 9 | |||
Grace | September 5 – 9 | Tropical storm | 60 (95) | 1000 | None | None | None | |||
Henri | September 8 – 11 | Tropical storm | 50 (85) | 1003 | None | None | None | |||
Nine | September 16 – 19 | Tropical depression | 35 (55) | 1006 | None | None | None | |||
Ida | September 18 – 27 | Tropical storm | 50 (85) | 1001 | None | None | None | |||
Joaquin | September 28 – October 8 | Category 4 hurricane | 155 (250) | 931 | Turks and Caicos Islands, The Bahamas, Cuba, Haiti, Southeastern United States, Bermuda, Azores, Iberian Peninsula | 200 | 34 | |||
Kate | November 8 – 11 | Category 1 hurricane | 85 (140) | 980 | The Bahamas, United Kingdom, Ireland | Minimal | None | |||
Season Aggregates | ||||||||||
12 cyclones | May 8 – November 11 | 155 (250) | 931 | 731.8 | 83 (6) |
References[]
- ↑ http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/data/tcr/AL012015_Ana.pdf
- ↑ http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/data/tcr/AL022015_Bill.pdf
- ↑ http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/data/tcr/AL032015_Claudette.pdf
- ↑ http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/data/tcr/AL042015_Danny.pdf
- ↑ http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/data/tcr/AL052015_Erika.pdf
- ↑ http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/data/tcr/AL062015_Fred.pdf
- ↑ http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/data/tcr/AL072015_Grace.pdf
- ↑ http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/data/tcr/AL082015_Henri.pdf
- ↑ http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/data/tcr/AL092015_Nine.pdf
- ↑ http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/data/tcr/AL102015_Ida.pdf
- ↑ http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/data/tcr/AL112015_Joaquin.pdf
- ↑ http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/data/tcr/AL122015_Kate.pdf