Hurricane Noel
| Category 1 hurricane (SSHWS/NWS) | |
Hurricane Noel near peak intensity
|
|
| Formed | October 28, 2007 |
|---|---|
| Dissipated | November 5, 2007 |
| (Extratropical after November 2, 2007) | |
| Highest winds |
1-minute sustained: 80 mph (130 km/h) |
| Lowest pressure | 980 mbar (hPa); 28.94 inHg |
| Fatalities | 222 total |
| Damage | $580 million (2007 USD) |
| Areas affected | Leeward Islands, Puerto Rico, Hispaniola, Jamaica, Cuba, Turks and Caicos Islands, Bahamas, Florida, East Coast of the United States, Atlantic Canada, Greenland |
| Part of the 2007 Atlantic hurricane season | |
Hurricane Noel was the fourteenth named storm and sixth hurricane of the 2007 Atlantic hurricane season. Noel formed on October 27 from the interaction between a tropical wave and an upper-level low in the north-central Caribbean. It strengthened to winds of 60 mph (97 km/h) before making landfall on western Haiti and the north coast of eastern Cuba. It turned northward, and on November 1 it attained hurricane status. The hurricane accelerated northeastward after crossing the Bahamas, and on November 2 it became an extratropical cyclone. (The Canadian Hurricane Centre classified Noel as a post-tropical storm until 2200 UTC November 4 when it determined that it had lost all tropical characteristics.)
The storm caused at least 163 direct deaths along its path, primarily in Hispaniola, due to flooding and mudslides. It was the deadliest North Atlantic hurricane of the 2007 season. After its transition to post-tropical, Noel became a very strong low pressure system causing flooding and wind damage over Maine and Eastern Canada. It even dropped snow over some areas of Eastern Quebec and Labrador.
A tropical wave exited the coast of Africa on October 16. It tracked westward, initially without organization, and by October 22 was interacting with a trough while approaching the Lesser Antilles. This caused a low pressure area to develop on October 23 about 175 mi (282 km) east-northeast of the northern Lesser Antilles. The system continued westward with disorganized convection, and was unable to develop further due to strong wind shear. Despite the shear, convection increased as barometric pressures dropped in association with the organizing system. Turning west-southwestward, the low passed over the United States Virgin Islands on October 25 and just southeast of Puerto Rico the next day. Decreasing wind shear on October 27 allowed the thunderstorms to increase over the center late on October 27. After further organization, the system developed into Tropical Depression Sixteen at 0000 UTC on October 28, about 215 mi (346 km) south-southeast of Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Initially, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) forecast the depression to track west-northwestward, brushing southwestern Haiti before moving ashore along south-central Cuba.
...
Wikipedia