The 2013 Atlantic hurricane season was one of the weakest seasons, but it has a high number of named storms, as this season was the first since 1994 with 0 major hurricanes, and the first since 1968 that had its strongest system being a Category 1 hurricane. 15 depressions formed, with 13 becoming tropical storms, 1 subtropical storm was discovered in a post-season analysis and as such, was not named. 2 of those tropical storms became hurricanes, but as the strongest hurricane was a only a high-end Category 1, none of the hurricanes became major hurricanes. The lack of strong storms was due an "unexpected significant weakening of the Atlantic Ocean thermohaline circulation between winter and spring." That caused the spring weather patterns, to continue throughout the season, such patterns being, strong vertical wind shear, mid-level moisture, and strong atmospheric stability.
The strongest storm was Hurricane Humberto, a high-end Category 1 that caused minimal damage, however, the costliest storm was Hurricane Ingrid, another Category 1 that, along with Hurricane Manuel in the Eastern Pacific, caused $5.7 Billion USD, in damages to Mexico. Manuel, caused most of the damage, however, Ingrid was directly responsible for $1.5 Billion USD, in damages.
Andrea was a tropical storm that made landfall on the northwest coast of the Florida Peninsula. It became a gale-force extratropical low over the southeastern United States.[TCR 1]
Barry was a tropical storm that produced heavy rainfall and flooding across portions of Central America, the Yucatan Peninsula, and eastern Mexico; the flooding resulted in five direct deaths.[TCR 2]
Chantal was a rare early July tropical storm that formed over the tropical Atlantic that rapidly passed through the central Lesser Antilles. It then dissipated over the central Caribbean Sea south of Hispaniola.[TCR 3]
Dorian was a tropical storm that formed over the far eastern Atlantic and then degenerated into a trough of low pressure east of the northern Leeward Islands. Several days later the system was briefly a tropical depression again near the northwestern Bahamas.[TCR 4]
Fernand was a short-lived tropical storm that formed in the southern Bay of Campeche and made landfall just to the north-northwest of Veracruz, Mexico. Heavy rainfall due to Fernand caused flash flooding and landslides that took the lives of 14 people.[TCR 6]
Humberto was a category 1 hurricane (on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale) that produced heavy rains and gusty winds over the Cape Verde Islands early in its twelve-day lifetime over the eastern Atlantic Ocean.[TCR 9]
Ingrid was a category 1 hurricane (on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale) over the southwestern Gulf of Mexico that made landfall as a tropical storm in northeastern Mexico. In combination with Eastern Pacific Hurricane Manuel, it caused widespread flooding and many casualties in Mexico.[TCR 10]
Karen was a tropical storm that formed near the Yucatan peninsula and moved northwestward into the north-central Gulf of Mexico, where it dissipated in a high-shear environment. It was one of only a small number of named storms that dissipated in the Gulf of Mexico without making landfall.[TCR 12]
Melissa was a subtropical storm that transitioned to a tropical cyclone over the central Atlantic Ocean. The storm brought large swells to Bermuda and northern portions of the Caribbean Islands, and produced strong winds over the western Azores Islands.[TCR 14]
As part of its routine post-season review, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) occasionally identifies from new data or meteorological interpretation a previously undesignated tropical or subtropical cyclone. The NHC re-analysis of 2013 has concluded that a short-lived low that developed south of the Azores during early December was a subtropical storm.[TCR 15]
Storm names[]
The following names were used for named storms that formed in the North Atlantic in 2013. The names not retired from this list will be used again in the 2019 season. This is the same list used in the 2007 season except for Dorian, Fernand, and Nestor, which replaced Dean, Felix, and Noel respectively. The names Dorian and Fernand were used for the first time this year. Names that were not used are marked in gray.
