Hurricane Debbie (1969)

Hurricane Debbie

Category 3 major hurricane (SSHWS/NWS)
Hurricane Debbie on August 20, 1969
Formed	August 14, 1969
Dissipated	August 25, 1969
Highest winds	1-minute sustained: 120 mph (195 km/h)
Lowest pressure	951 mbar (hPa); 28.08 inHg
Areas affected	Newfoundland, Bermuda
Part of the 1969 Atlantic hurricane season

Hurricane Debbie was an intense and long-lived hurricane that formed during August 1969. The fifth tropical cyclone, fourth named storm, third hurricane and second major hurricane of the 1969 Atlantic hurricane season, Debbie formed on August 14 in the southern Atlantic Ocean and took a general northwesterly path until turning northward into the central Atlantic. The storm was characterized by numerous fluctuations in intensity, and it reached winds corresponding to Category 3 status on the Saffir–Simpson Hurricane Scale on four separate occasions. The hurricane bypassed the island of Bermuda to the southeast on August 22, before ultimately brushing southeastern Newfoundland with strong winds. It dissipated over the cold waters east of Greenland. Although Debbie had little effect on land, it was extensively researched and was subject to a weather modification experiment by Project Stormfury, in which it was seeded with silver iodide.

A disturbance associated with a tropical wave strengthened into a tropical depression on August 14. The system had significantly organized by August 15, and it intensified into a tropical storm at 1200 UTC that day. Upon its designation, Debbie was moving west-northwestward at approximately 15 mph (24 km/h) and it was predicted to gradually gain power. It attained Category 1 hurricane strength on August 16 as it turned toward the northwest. It continued to mature, and at around 1200 UTC the next day, it achieved winds corresponding to Category 2 on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale. On August 18, Debbie further intensified to Category 3 status, making it a major hurricane.

However, the storm quickly downgraded, and by August 19 it was once again at minimal hurricane force. At roughly the same time, it turned more to the west, although it maintained a general northwesterly path. The abrupt weakening may have been the result of a seeding experiment carried out on the storm in an attempt to deteriorate it. By later in the day, Debbie had begun to restrengthen. It resumed Category 3 intensity on August 20, despite a minor oscillation in magnitude during the day. At this point, the cyclone acquired peak winds of 120 mph (195 km/h); shortly thereafter, its lowest recorded barometric pressure fell to 951 millibars.