Tropical Storm Fay (2008)

Tropical Storm Fay

Tropical storm (SSHWS/NWS)
International Space Station view of Fay over Florida near peak strength
Formed	August 15, 2008
Dissipated	August 29, 2008
(Extratropical after August 27, 2008)
Highest winds	1-minute sustained: 70 mph (110 km/h)
Lowest pressure	986 mbar (hPa); 29.12 inHg
Fatalities	13 direct, 23 indirect
Damage	$560 million (2008 USD)
Areas affected	Leeward Islands, Puerto Rico, Hispaniola, Jamaica, Cayman Islands, Isle of Youth, Cuba, Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas, Tennessee, Kentucky, West Virginia
Part of the 2008 Atlantic hurricane season

Tropical Storm Fay was a strong and unusual tropical storm that moved erratically across the state of Florida and the Caribbean Sea. The sixth named storm of the 2008 Atlantic hurricane season, Fay formed from a vigorous tropical wave on August 15 over the Dominican Republic. It passed over the island of Hispaniola, into the Gulf of Gonâve, across the island of Cuba, and made landfall on the Florida Keys late in the afternoon of August 18 before veering into the Gulf of Mexico. It again made landfall near Naples, Florida, in the early hours of August 19 and progressed northeast through the Florida peninsula, emerging into the Atlantic Ocean near Melbourne on August 20. Extensive flooding took place in parts of Florida as a result of its slow movement. On August 21, it made landfall again near New Smyrna Beach, Florida, moving due west across the Panhandle, crossing Gainesville and Panama City, Florida. As it zigzagged from water to land, it became the first storm in recorded history to make landfall in Florida four times. Thirty-six deaths were blamed on Fay. The storm also resulted in one of the most prolific tropical cyclone related tornado outbreaks on record. A total of 81 tornadoes touched down across five states, three of which were rated as EF2. Damage from Fay was heavy, estimated at $560 million.

A tropical wave moved off the coast of Africa on August 7 without any significant convection, with an associated low pressure area moving southwestward away from the coast. It passed just south of the Cape Verde Islands, and tracked generally westward with a subtropical ridge centered to its north over the Azores. Late on August 9, an area of convection developed in association with the wave. With generally favorable conditions for development, the system began slowly organizing, to the extent that on August 10, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) remarked for its potential to become a tropical depression in a few days. By August 11, however, the thunderstorm activity became disorganized and limited, though the next day convection reformed by the time it was located about 650 mi (1050 km) east of the Lesser Antilles. The hurricane hunters first flew into the system on August 12, though the flight only reported a broad area of low pressure.