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2015 Atlantic hurricane season
2015 Atlantic hurricane season summary map
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)
Atlantic hurricane seasons
2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017

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[]

Hurricane Kate (2015)Hurricane JoaquinTropical Storm Ida (2015)Tropical Depression Nine (2015)Tropical Storm Henri (2015)Tropical Storm Grace (2015)Hurricane Fred (2015)Tropical Storm ErikaHurricane Danny (2015)Tropical Storm Claudette (2015)Tropical Storm Bill (2015)Tropical Storm Ana (2015)Saffir–Simpson hurricane wind scale

Storms[]

Tropical Storm Ana[]

Tropical storm (SSHWS)
Ana May 9 2015 1540Z Ana 2015 track
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)
Bill 2015-06-16 1955Z Bill 2015 track
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)
Claudette 2015-07-13 1800Z (cropped) Claudette 2015 track
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)
Danny 2015-08-21 1115z Danny 2015 track
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)
Erika 2015-08-27 1725Z Erika 2015 track
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)
Fred 2015-08-31 1215Z Fred 2015 track
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)
Grace 2015-09-06 Grace 2015 track
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)
Henri 2015-09-10 1425Z Henri 2015 track
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)
09L 2015-09-16 1350Z 09-L 2015 track
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)
Ida 2015-09-22 1625Z Ida 2015 track
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)
Joaquin 2015-10-03 1437Z Joaquin 2015 track
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)
Kate 2015-11-11 1440Z Kate 2015 track
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.

  • Henri
  • Ida
  • Joaquin
  • Kate
  • Larry (unused)
  • Mindy (unused)
  • Nicholas (unused)
  • Odette (unused)
  • Peter (unused)
  • Rose (unused)
  • Sam (unused)
  • Teresa (unused)
  • Victor (unused)
  • Wanda (unused)


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
2015 North Atlantic tropical cyclone statistics
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[]

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