Hurricane Humberto (1995)

Hurricane Humberto

Category 2 hurricane (SSHWS/NWS)
Hurricane Humberto just after interaction with Iris on August 27, 1995
Formed	August 22, 1995
Dissipated	September 1, 1995
Highest winds	1-minute sustained: 110 mph (175 km/h)
Lowest pressure	968 mbar (hPa); 28.59 inHg
Fatalities	None reported
Damage	None
Areas affected	No land areas
Part of the 1995 Atlantic hurricane season

Hurricane Humberto was the eighth named storm and the fourth hurricane of the busy 1995 Atlantic hurricane season. It was the first time that the name "Humberto" had been used, replacing the name Hugo, which was retired in 1989. It was a Cape Verde-type hurricane that never approached land as it tracked across the central Atlantic Ocean.

The storm developed west of the Cape Verde islands on August 21. It was upgraded to a tropical storm on August 22 and to a hurricane on August 23. For the first few days, it followed the wave that became Iris until a Fujiwhara interaction took place about midway between Cape Verde and the Lesser Antilles on August 25. Humberto peaked as a strong Category 2 hurricane and remained a hurricane until just before being absorbed by an extratropical cyclone on September 1.

The system originated from one of several powerful tropical waves that moved off the west coast of Africa in the second half of August. When the wave came off the African coast, it already had cyclonic rotation, although it was fairly disorganized. As the wave moved westward into open waters, it developed rapidly. Late on August 21, it formed a low-level circulation and was declared Tropical Depression Nine. The system quickly matured and was upgraded to Tropical Storm Humberto early on August 22. Beginning on a west-northwest track, it was clear from the outset that Humberto would not affect land, due to a weakness in the subtropical ridge to the north which would eventually turn the storm northward. Favorable outflow and distinct banding pattern quickly formed in a very conducive environment, with warm sea surface temperatures and low wind shear. Humberto intensified into a high-end tropical storm on the afternoon and evening of August 22. Early on August 23, the storm was upgraded to Hurricane Humberto.