Tropical Storm Dottie
| Tropical storm (SSHWS/NWS) | |
Tropical Storm Dottie prior to its South Carolina landfall on August 21, 1976
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| Formed | August 18, 1976 |
|---|---|
| Dissipated | August 21, 1976 |
| Highest winds |
1-minute sustained: 50 mph (85 km/h) |
| Lowest pressure | 996 mbar (hPa); 29.41 inHg |
| Fatalities | 4 |
| Areas affected | Southeast United States, Bahamas |
| Part of the 1976 Atlantic hurricane season | |
Tropical Storm Dottie was the ninth tropical cyclone and fourth named storm of the 1976 Atlantic hurricane season. The precursor to Dottie formed in the Gulf of Mexico on August 17 and organized into a tropical depression on August 18. The storm drifted towards the east, and, after peaking as a moderate tropical storm, it accelerated northeastward and made landfall on Florida. Upon re-emerging in the Atlantic, Dottie turned northward and moved ashore near Charleston, South Carolina. Damage from the storm was primarily insignificant and limited to gusty winds, heavy rainfall, and high tides; however, a fishing boat capsized in the Bahamas, resulting in the deaths of four people.
Dottie originated in an area of low pressure that formed on August 17, about 150 mi (240 km) northwest of Key West, Florida. The center of the disturbance soon began to consolidate while barometric pressure fell 8 mbar in 24 hours; it was declared a tropical depression at 0000 UTC on August 18. The depression drifted east and northeastward over the next day, though it began to accelerate on August 19. The cyclone further intensified to tropical storm status by 1200 UTC. Operationally, however, it was not named until later that day.
Having made landfall in southwestern Florida, Dottie quickly proceeded northeastward before re-emerging into the Atlantic Ocean. High pressure building to the north of the storm indicated it would turn more towards the west, but it moved nearly due northward. The cyclone attained its peak intensity with winds of 50 mph (85 km/h) at 0600 UTC on August 20 and subsequently began to weaken; by the time Dottie made landfall in Charleston, South Carolina later that evening, it was barely of tropical storm intensity. It deteriorated into a tropical depression on August 21 and dissipated shortly thereafter. The remnant low pressure system turned southward and once again entered the Atlantic before turning westward and crossing the Florida peninsula.
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