2012 Atlantic hurricane season | |
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Season summary map | |
Seasonal boundaries | |
First system formed | May 19, 2012 |
Last system dissipated | October 29, 2012 |
Strongest storm | |
Name | Sandy |
• Maximum winds | 115 mph (185 km/h) |
• Lowest pressure | 940 mbar (hPa; 27.76 inHg) |
Seasonal statistics | |
Total depressions | 19 |
Total storms | 19 |
Hurricanes | 10 |
Major hurricanes (Cat. 3+) | 2 |
Total fatalities | 200 Direct, 155 Indirect |
Total damage | ≥ $79.2 billion (2012 USD) |
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The 2012 Atlantic hurricane season was the last of three extremely active seasons as a result of a continuing strong La Nina forming in the summer, though many storms were weak. This season featured a total of 19 named storms, 10 hurricanes, and 2 major hurricanes. This season is tied for third most active along with, 1887, 1995, 2010, and 2011. The strongest storm was Hurricane Sandy, a late-season hurricane that caused over $75 billion in damages.
Timeline[]
Storms[]
Tropical Storm Alberto[]
Tropical storm (SSHWS) | |||
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Duration | May 19 – May 22 | ||
Peak intensity | 60 mph (95 km/h) (1-min) 995 mbar (hPa) |
Alberto was a short-lived pre-season tropical storm near the southeastern U.S. coast.[1]
Tropical Storm Beryl[]
Tropical storm (SSHWS) | |||
---|---|---|---|
| |||
Duration | May 26 – May 30 | ||
Peak intensity | 70 mph (110 km/h) (1-min) 992 mbar (hPa) |
Beryl was a pre-season tropical storm that made landfall in northeastern Florida and subsequently affected portions of the southeastern United States. It was the strongest pre-season tropical cyclone of record to make landfall in the United States.[2]
Hurricane Chris[]
Category 1 hurricane (SSHWS) | |||
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| |||
Duration | June 18 – June 22 | ||
Peak intensity | 85 mph (140 km/h) (1-min) 974 mbar (hPa) |
Chris was a category 1 hurricane (on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale) of non-tropical origins. No June tropical cyclone became a hurricane farther north than Chris.[3]
Tropical Storm Debby[]
Tropical storm (SSHWS) | |||
---|---|---|---|
| |||
Duration | June 23 – June 27 | ||
Peak intensity | 65 mph (100 km/h) (1-min) 992 mbar (hPa) |
Debby was a large tropical storm that formed in the south-central Gulf of Mexico and made landfall in the Florida Big Bend region. It caused considerable freshwater flooding, primarily in central and northern Florida.[4]
Hurricane Ernesto[]
Category 2 hurricane (SSHWS) | |||
---|---|---|---|
| |||
Duration | August 1 – August 10 | ||
Peak intensity | 100 mph (155 km/h) (1-min) 973 mbar (hPa) |
Ernesto was a weak tropical storm as it passed through the Windward Islands and eastern Caribbean Sea. It quickly strengthened over the northwestern Caribbean Sea and became a category 2 hurricane (on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale) just before landfall along the coast of the southern Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico.[5]
Tropical Storm Florence[]
Tropical storm (SSHWS) | |||
---|---|---|---|
| |||
Duration | August 3 – August 6 | ||
Peak intensity | 60 mph (95 km/h) (1-min) 1002 mbar (hPa) |
Florence was a short-lived tropical storm over the eastern Atlantic Ocean that dissipated east of the northern Leeward Islands.[6]
Tropical Storm Helene[]
Tropical storm (SSHWS) | |||
---|---|---|---|
| |||
Duration | August 9 – August 18 | ||
Peak intensity | 45 mph (75 km/h) (1-min) 1004 mbar (hPa) |
Helene had two brief periods of existence as a tropical cyclone and made landfall as a tropical depression near Tampico, Mexico.[7]
Hurricane Gordon[]
Category 2 hurricane (SSHWS) | |||
---|---|---|---|
| |||
Duration | August 15 – August 20 | ||
Peak intensity | 110 mph (175 km/h) (1-min) 965 mbar (hPa) |
Gordon reached category 2 status (on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale) in the north Atlantic. It weakened to a category 1 hurricane before it moved over Santa Maria Island in the Azores.[8]
Hurricane Isaac[]
Category 1 hurricane (SSHWS) | |||
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| |||
Duration | August 21 – September 1 | ||
Peak intensity | 80 mph (130 km/h) (1-min) 965 mbar (hPa) |
Isaac was a tropical cyclone that spent most of its life as a tropical storm but became a category 1 hurricane (on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale) a few hours before making landfall in southeastern Louisiana. The cyclone produced heavy rainfall and inland flooding across portions of the Caribbean as it moved through the Lesser Antilles, and it made landfalls along the southwestern peninsula of Haiti and extreme eastern Cuba. Isaac became a large tropical cyclone and caused extensive storm surge and inland flooding over southern Mississippi and southeastern Louisiana. Isaac is estimated to be directly responsible for 34 deaths: 24 in Haiti, 5 in the Dominican Republic, and 5 in the United States.[9]
Tropical Storm Joyce[]
Tropical storm (SSHWS) | |||
---|---|---|---|
| |||
Duration | August 22 – August 24 | ||
Peak intensity | 40 mph (65 km/h) (1-min) 1006 mbar (hPa) |
Joyce was a short-lived tropical storm over the eastern North Atlantic that did not affect land.[10]
Hurricane Kirk[]
Category 2 hurricane (SSHWS) | |||
---|---|---|---|
| |||
Duration | August 28 – September 2 | ||
Peak intensity | 105 mph (165 km/h) (1-min) 970 mbar (hPa) |
Kirk was a small category 2 hurricane (on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale) that spent its life over the central and northeastern Atlantic.[11]
Hurricane Leslie[]
Category 1 hurricane (SSHWS) | |||
---|---|---|---|
| |||
Duration | August 30 – September 11 | ||
Peak intensity | 80 mph (130 km/h) (1-min) 968 mbar (hPa) |
Leslie was a long-lived tropical cyclone but a short-lived category 1 hurricane (on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale) that skirted Bermuda and made landfall as a strong extratropical storm along the Burin Peninsula of southeastern Newfoundland. Hurricane Leslie was also the eighth tropical storm to form in August, tying a record for most named storms in a month[12]
Hurricane Michael[]
Category 3 hurricane (SSHWS) | |||
---|---|---|---|
| |||
Duration | September 3 – September 11 | ||
Peak intensity | 115 mph (185 km/h) (1-min) 964 mbar (hPa) |
Michael was briefly a category 3 hurricane (on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale) as it moved over the east-central Atlantic Ocean. Michael is only the fifth major hurricane in the satellite era to develop from a disturbance of non-tropical origin.[13]
Hurricane Nadine[]
Category 1 hurricane (SSHWS) | |||
---|---|---|---|
| |||
Duration | September 10 – October 3 | ||
Peak intensity | 90 mph (150 km/h) (1-min) 978 mbar (hPa) |
Nadine was an unusually long-lived tropical cyclone that completed three loops over the eastern subtropical Atlantic. Nadine attained hurricane strength on two occasions, a record thirteen days apart.[14]
Tropical Storm Oscar[]
Tropical storm (SSHWS) | |||
---|---|---|---|
| |||
Duration | October 3 – October 5 | ||
Peak intensity | 50 mph (85 km/h) (1-min) 994 mbar (hPa) |
Oscar was a short-lived tropical storm over the eastern Atlantic Ocean that did not affect land.[15]
Tropical Storm Patty[]
Tropical storm (SSHWS) | |||
---|---|---|---|
| |||
Duration | October 11 – October 13 | ||
Peak intensity | 45 mph (75 km/h) (1-min) 1005 mbar (hPa) |
Patty was a short-lived, nearly stationary tropical storm over the western Atlantic Ocean just east of the Bahamas.[16]
Hurricane Rafael[]
Category 1 hurricane (SSHWS) | |||
---|---|---|---|
| |||
Duration | October 12 – October 17 | ||
Peak intensity | 90 mph (150 km/h) (1-min) 969 mbar (hPa) |
Rafael moved across the northern Leeward Islands as a tropical storm and became a category 1 hurricane (on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale) over the Atlantic well south of Bermuda.[17]
Hurricane Sandy[]
Category 3 hurricane (SSHWS) | |||
---|---|---|---|
| |||
Duration | October 22 – October 29 | ||
Peak intensity | 115 mph (185 km/h) (1-min) 940 mbar (hPa) |
Sandy was a classic late-season hurricane in the southwestern Caribbean Sea. The cyclone made landfall as a category 1 hurricane (on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale) in Jamaica, and as a 100-kt category 3 hurricane in eastern Cuba before quickly weakening to a category 1 hurricane while moving through the central and northwestern Bahamas. Sandy underwent a complex evolution and grew considerably in size while over the Bahamas, and continued to grow despite weakening into a tropical storm north of those islands. The system re-strengthened into a hurricane while it moved northeastward, parallel to the coast of the southeastern United States, and reached a secondary peak intensity of 85 kt while it turned northwestward toward the mid-Atlantic states. Sandy weakened somewhat and then made landfall as a post-tropical cyclone near Brigantine, New Jersey with 70-kt maximum sustained winds. Because of its tremendous size, however, Sandy drove a catastrophic storm surge into the New Jersey and New York coastlines. Preliminary U.S. damage estimates are near $50 billion, making Sandy the second-costliest cyclone to hit the United States since 1900. There were at least 147 direct deaths recorded across the Atlantic basin due to Sandy, with 72 of these fatalities occurring in the mid-Atlantic and northeastern United States. This is the greatest number of U.S. direct fatalities related to a tropical cyclone outside of the southern states since Hurricane Agnes in 1972.[18]
Tropical Storm Tony[]
Tropical storm (SSHWS) | |||
---|---|---|---|
| |||
Duration | October 22 – October 25 | ||
Peak intensity | 50 mph (85 km/h) (1-min) 1000 mbar (hPa) |
Tony was a short-lived and relatively weak tropical storm that remained over the central Atlantic through its lifetime.[19]
Storm names[]
The following names were used for named storms in the North Atlantic in 2012. The names not retired from this list will be used again in the 2018 season. This is the same list used in the 2006 season. The names Kirk, Oscar, Patty, Rafael, Sandy, and Tony were used for Atlantic storms for the first time in 2012 (and only, in the case of Sandy). The names not assigned are marked in gray.
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Retirement[]
On April 11, 2013, at the 35th Session of the World Meteorological Organization's Regional Association Hurricane Committee, the WMO retired the name Sandy from its rotating name lists. It was replaced with Sara for the 2018 Atlantic hurricane season.
References[]
- ↑ http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/data/tcr/AL012012_Alberto.pdf
- ↑ http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/data/tcr/AL022012_Beryl.pdf
- ↑ http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/data/tcr/AL032012_Chris.pdf
- ↑ http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/data/tcr/AL042012_Debby.pdf
- ↑ http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/data/tcr/AL052012_Ernesto.pdf
- ↑ http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/data/tcr/AL062012_Florence.pdf
- ↑ http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/data/tcr/AL072012_Helene.pdf
- ↑ http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/data/tcr/AL082012_Gordon.pdf
- ↑ http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/data/tcr/AL092012_Isaac.pdf
- ↑ http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/data/tcr/AL102012_Joyce.pdf
- ↑ http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/data/tcr/AL112012_Kirk.pdf
- ↑ http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/data/tcr/AL122012_Leslie.pdf
- ↑ http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/data/tcr/AL132012_Michael.pdf
- ↑ http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/data/tcr/AL142012_Nadine.pdf
- ↑ http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/data/tcr/AL152012_Oscar.pdf
- ↑ http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/data/tcr/AL162012_Patty.pdf
- ↑ http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/data/tcr/AL172012_Rafael.pdf
- ↑ http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/data/tcr/AL182012_Sandy.pdf
- ↑ http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/data/tcr/AL192012_Tony.pdf