The 2007 Atlantic hurricane season was an active one in terms of named storms, but most of the storms were weak and short-lived. This season was notable for having two category 5 hurricanes - Dean and Felix - and the first season in which two category 5 hurricanes made landfall at this intensity. This season began relatively early, with the formation of Subtropical Storm Andrea on May 9. The season ended fairly late as well, with the post-season Tropical Storm Olga dissipating on December 12. This season featured a total of 17 total depressions, 15 named storms, 6 hurricanes, and only 2 major hurricanes.
Dean was a classic Cape Verde cyclone that moved through the Caribbean as a major hurricane, passing very close to Jamaica and later making landfall on the east coast of the Yucatan Peninsula as a category 5 hurricane. Dean, the first Atlantic hurricane since Andrew of 1992 to reach land at category 5 strength, was responsible for 32 deaths.[4]
Erin was a tropical storm that formed in the Gulf of Mexico and made landfall along the Texas coast as a tropical depression. The tropical cyclone directly caused nine fatalities and its remnants caused seven more, mostly as a result of inland flooding due to heavy rainfall. Erin will also be remembered for its unusual, brief strengthening, although not as a tropical cyclone, over Oklahoma.[5]
Hurricane Felix was a small, but powerful, category 5 hurricane (on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale) that caused major damage in northeastern Nicaragua.[6]
Gabrielle was a tropical storm that made landfall along the Cape Lookout National Seashore in eastern North Carolina, and then exited the coast less than 12 hours later near Kill Devil Hills.[7]
Humberto was a short-lived tropical cyclone that made landfall in extreme southeastern Texas as a strong category 1 hurricane (on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale). The hurricane is notable for its exceptionally rapid intensification near the coast of Texas from a tropical depression into a hurricane within 19 hours.[9]
Tropical Depression Ten was a short-lived cyclone that formed over the eastern Gulf of Mexico on 21 September and made landfall early on 22 September along the Florida panhandle.[10]
Hurricane Lorenzo was a category 1 hurricane (on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale) that made landfall in Mexico south of Tuxpan - in virtually the same location that Hurricane Dean had struck a month earlier.[13]
Noel took an erratic track across Hispaniola and Cuba as a tropical storm before becoming a hurricane as it exited the northwestern Bahamas. Torrential rainfall from Noel produced devastating floods and loss of life in the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Jamaica, eastern Cuba and the Bahamas. Noel then evolved into a large and powerful extratropical cyclone that brought hurricane force wind gusts to portions of the northeastern United States and eastern Canada.[15]
Olga was a short-lived out of season tropical storm that produced torrential rains, flooding, and loss of life across portions of the Dominican Republic, Haiti, and Puerto Rico. Olga’s remnants continued across the northwestern Caribbean Sea and into the eastern Gulf of Mexico before being absorbed by a cold front over central Florida.[16]
Storm names[]
Andrea
Barry
Chantal
Dean
Erin
Felix
Gabrielle
Humberto
Ingrid
Jerry
Karen
Lorenzo
Melissa
Noel
Olga
Pablo (unused)
Rebekah (unused)
Sebastien (unused)
Tanya (unused)
Van (unused)
Wendy (unused)
Retirement[]
On May 13, 2008, at the 30th Session of the World Meteorological Organization's Regional Association IV Hurricane Committee, the WMO retired the names Dean, Felix, and Noel from its rotating name lists. The names were replaced with Dorian, Fernand, and Nestor for the 2013 season.