Hurricane Arlene (1987)

Hurricane Arlene

Category 1 hurricane (SSHWS/NWS)
Hurricane Arlene at peak intensity
Formed	August 10, 1987
Dissipated	August 23, 1987
Highest winds	1-minute sustained: 75 mph (120 km/h)
Lowest pressure	987 mbar (hPa); 29.15 inHg
Fatalities	None reported
Damage	$8,000 (1987 USD)
Areas affected	Bahamas, Bermuda, Spain and Italy (while extratropical)
Part of the 1987 Atlantic hurricane season

Hurricane Arlene was the first named storm and longest-lived tropical cyclone of the 1987 Atlantic hurricane season. Forming out of an area of low pressure associated with a decaying frontal system along the North Carolina coastline, Arlene tracked in a general eastward direction across the Atlantic Ocean, taking an erratic track with several curves. On August 13, the storm brushed Bermuda as a weak tropical storm before continuing out to sea. On August 20, the storm briefly stalled before becoming a hurricane two days later. Early on August 24, the storm transitioned into an extratropical cyclone over the far north Atlantic before curving southeast and dissipating near the Iberian Peninsula on August 26.

In Bermuda, Arlene produced winds up to 58 mph (93 km/h) and waves up to 12 ft (3.7 m); however, little damage resulted from the storm. Offshore, a blind man was undertaking a challenge to become the first blind man to cross the Atlantic alone; he encountered rough seas and high winds from the storm, causing US$8,000 in damages to his ship over a two-day span. Between August 26 and 27, the remnants of the system produced heavy rains over portions of Western Europe.

Hurricane Arlene originated out of an area of low pressure associated with a decaying frontal system along the North Carolina coastline on August 8. Tracking towards the southeast in a gradual anticyclonic loop, the system slowly increased in organization and intensity. By August 10, the low neared the Bahamas but remained disorganized. The following day, while located over Andros Island, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) upgraded the system to a tropical depression, the third of the season, based on its appearance on satellite imagery.