The 2001 Atlantic hurricane season was an active season, and featured a total of 17 tropical cyclones, 15 named storms, 9 hurricanes, and 4 major hurricanes. The two most notable storms were Allison and Michelle. Allison, the costliest and deadliest storm of the season, stalled near the Gulf Coast, dumping tremendous amounts of rain, causing 55 deaths, and $9 Billion 2001 USD in damage. Michelle, the strongest storm of the season, struck Cuba as a Category 3, causing $2 Billion 2001 USD in damage.
Tropical Storm Allison developed over the northwestern Gulf of Mexico and moved inland over the upper Texas coast, producing extremely heavy rainfall and catastrophic floods in the Houston area. Allison then acquired subtropical characteristics and continued to produce heavy rainfall and flooding near its track from Louisiana eastward to North Carolina, and then northward along the U.S. east coast to Massachusetts.[1]
Poorly-organized for most of its life cycle, Chantal was a tropical storm that made landfall near the Mexico-Belize border. Development was hindered by a strong low- to mid-level easterly flow that contributed to a rapid translation speed and persistent westerly shear.[3]
Erin was the third of a series of four “interrupted track” tropical cyclones during the 2001 Atlantic hurricane season. After re-forming, it strengthened to a category three hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale, just to the east of Bermuda.[5]
Felix was the second major hurricane (category 3 on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale) of the season. It remained over the open waters of the eastern Atlantic Ocean, but briefly threatened the Azores Islands.[6]
Gabrielle made landfall on the Florida west coast as a tropical storm with 60-knot sustained winds and then became a category one hurricane (on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale) as it moved across the northwest Atlantic Ocean. It produced major river floods over west-central Florida and at the lower St. Johns River and also caused heavy rain over southeastern Newfoundland.[7]
Karen was a category 1 hurricane that originated from a baroclinic system. The cyclone passed just south of Bermuda as a powerful extratropical low and subtropical storm, and produced hurricane force wind gusts and widespread damage on the island. Karen later made landfall on Nova Scotia as a weak tropical storm.[11]
Michelle was a late-season Category 4 hurricane. It was the strongest hurricane to hit Cuba since 1952, and it left a trail of death and destruction from Central America to the Bahamas.[13]
Tenacious late season Hurricane Olga roamed over the Atlantic Ocean for about a week.[15]
Storm names[]
Allison
Barry
Chantal
Dean
Erin
Felix
Gabrielle
Humberto
Iris
Jerry
Karen
Lorenzo
Michelle
Noel
Olga
Pablo (unused)
Rebekah (unused)
Sebastien (unused)
Tanya (unused)
Van (unused)
Wendy (unused)
Retirement[]
In Spring 2002, it was announced the World Meteorological Organization had retired the names, Allison, Iris, and Michelle for the damage and deaths caused by the storms. They were replaced with Andrea, Ingrid, and Melissa for the 2007 Atlantic hurricane season.
