Hurricane Babe (1977)

Hurricane Babe

Category 1 hurricane (SSHWS/NWS)
Tropical Storm Babe soon after moving inland on September 5
Formed	September 3, 1977
Dissipated	September 9, 1977
Highest winds	1-minute sustained: 75 mph (120 km/h)
Lowest pressure	995 mbar (hPa); 29.38 inHg
Fatalities	None reported
Damage	$13 million (1977 USD)
Areas affected	Florida, Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina and Virginia
Part of the 1977 Atlantic hurricane season

Hurricane Babe was the second named storm and the first to impact the United States during the below-average 1977 Atlantic hurricane season. Forming out of a tropical wave on September 3, Babe began as a subtropical cyclone in the eastern Gulf of Mexico. The storm gradually intensified as it tracked westward. On September 5, the storm turned north and acquired enough tropical characteristics. Later that day, Babe intensified into a hurricane and attained its peak strength with winds of 75 mph (120 km/h) and a barometric pressure of 995 mbar (hPa; 29.38 inHg). Several hours later, the hurricane made landfall in Louisiana and quickly weakened. By September 6, Babe had weakened to a tropical depression and later dissipated early on September 9 over North Carolina.

Hurricane Babe produced minimal impact throughout its path in the United States. The most significant impact occurred in Louisiana where the storm caused $10 million (1977 USD; $39.5 million 2017 USD) in damage, mainly from crop losses. An additional $3 million (1977 USD; $11.9 million 2017 USD) in losses resulted from tornadoes spawned by Babe. Heavy rainfall in North Carolina, peaking at 8.99 in (228 mm) triggered flash flooding but little damage. No fatalities resulted from the hurricane. Coincidentally, a typhoon, also named Babe, existed at exactly the same time as Hurricane Babe.

Hurricane Babe originated from a tropical wave that exited the western coast of Africa on August 23. Tracking westward, the wave eventually entered the Gulf of Mexico on September 2. Upon entering the gulf, a surface circulation developed; however, convection associated with the system was not concentrated around the center. The newly formed system then interacted with an upper tropospheric cyclonic vortex situated near the Florida coastline. The following day, Convective banding features around the cyclone led to the National Hurricane Center (NHC) upgrading the system to Tropical Storm Babe. Although classified a tropical storm, Babe was not fully tropical, it was later classified as a subtropical cyclone. The forward motion of Babe had slowed significantly from when it was a wave but maintained the westward direction.