Tropical Storm Alice (1953)
| Tropical Storm (SSHWS/NWS) | |
Surface weather analysis of Alice on June 6
|
|
| Formed | May 25, 1953 |
|---|---|
| Dissipated | June 6, 1953 |
| Highest winds |
1-minute sustained: 70 mph (110 km/h) |
| Lowest pressure | 997 mbar (hPa); 29.44 inHg |
| Fatalities | Several unconfirmed |
| Damage | Minimal |
| Areas affected | Central America, Cuba, Florida |
| Part of the 1953 Atlantic hurricane season | |
Tropical Storm Alice was the first tropical cyclone in the Atlantic Ocean to receive a female name. It was a rare off-season tropical cyclone that hit Central America, Cuba, and Florida in late May to early June 1953. Alice formed on May 25 in the western Caribbean, and executed a large loop over Central America. It passed over western Cuba, causing heavy rainfall and possibly several casualties from drowning. It then executed another loop in the Gulf of Mexico, reached a peak intensity of 70 mph (110 km/h), and weakened before hitting the Florida panhandle on June 6. Although heavy rainfall occurred in Florida, there was little damage.
In May and June 1953, an unusually long-lasting upper-level low persisted across Mexico and Central America. On May 25, a weak warm-core surface circulation developed east of Nicaragua. It moved around the upper-level low, bringing it to the northwest and later looping to the south through Honduras and Central America. The system weakened over land, but it re-intensified over the western Caribbean Sea, moving over western Cuba as a 50 mph (80 km/h) tropical storm on May 31. Advisories for Alice did not begin until June 1, when the storm entered the Gulf of Mexico.
Around the time the cyclone's naming, reconnaissance aircraft reported winds of around 65 mph (105 km/h), and subsequently Alice executed another loop off the northwest coast of Cuba. Alice weakened quickly to minimal tropical storm status, due to interaction with a cold front off Florida. It deteriorated so much that advisories were discontinued, with Miami Weather Bureau meteorologist James George remarking that "no danger [existed there] whatsoever." After again passing near the Cuban coast, Alice turned to the northwest and began re-strengthening. On June 5, reconnaissance aircraft estimated 70 to 75 mph (110 to 120 km/h) winds in brief squalls northeast of the center, along with a pressure of 997 hectopascals (29.4 inHg); this would be its peak intensity. The storm again weakened as it approached the Florida peninsula, and Alice made landfall just west of Panama City Beach on June 6 as a minimal tropical storm. It dissipated shortly thereafter.
...
Wikipedia