Tropical Storm Lee (2011)
| Tropical storm (SSHWS/NWS) | |
Tropical Storm Lee near peak intensity on September 2
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| Formed | September 2, 2011 |
|---|---|
| Dissipated | September 6, 2011 |
| (Extratropical after September 5) | |
| Highest winds |
1-minute sustained: 60 mph (95 km/h) |
| Lowest pressure | 986 mbar (hPa); 29.12 inHg |
| Fatalities | 18 total |
| Damage | $1.6 billion (2011 USD) |
| Areas affected | United States Gulf Coast and Eastern United States |
| Part of the 2011 Atlantic hurricane season | |
Tropical Storm Lee was the twelfth named storm and thirteenth system overall of the 2011 Atlantic hurricane season, developing from a broad tropical disturbance over the Gulf on September 1. It was designated as Tropical Storm Lee the next day. The system was rather large, and due to drifting, Lee brought flash flooding to the Gulf Coast. Flooding associated with the rains caused significant property damage in the areas, with drowning deaths reported in both Mississippi and Georgia. Elsewhere, the storm helped spread wildfires that destroyed homes and killed two people in Texas, and a traffic accident in Alabama resulted in one death. Rough surf offshore drowned one person in each of these states. Lee spawned 30 confirmed tornadoes in the United States. After becoming extratropical, Lee caused historic flooding in Pennsylvania, New York, and Canada, mainly Quebec and Ontario.
Lee was the first subtropical or tropical storm to make landfall in Louisiana since Hurricane Gustav in 2008. Damage total is estimated to be around $1.6 billion.
In late August 2011, much of the western Caribbean came under the influence of abundant tropical moisture. Combined with favorable upper diffluence, the moisture allowed for a perpetual area of disturbed weather to form; this in return contributed to the genesis of a weak tropical wave, or an elongated low-pressure feature at the lower levels of the atmosphere. The wave initiated a more or less westward, then west-northwestward drift across the Yucatán Peninsula toward the Gulf of Mexico, although it remained largely disorganized while doing so. After arriving in the gulf on August 31, the system failed to develop much under initially high wind shear; however, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) forecast some potential for the formation of a tropical cyclone in a day or two. Strong convection increased mainly to its east during the next day, and by 2300 UTC data from a reconnaissance aircraft confirmed the presence of a closed circulation center. At this point, the system was considered sufficiently organized to be upgraded to a tropical depression, with its center located 255 mi (360 km) to the southwest of the mouth of the Mississippi River.
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