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Hurricane Debby (1982)
Encyclopedia
Hurricane Debby was the strongest tropical cyclone
of the 1982 Atlantic hurricane season
, peaking with winds of 135 mph (215 km/h). The fourth named storm of the season, it lasted roughly one week over the Atlantic Ocean
, affecting Puerto Rico
, Bermuda
, Nova Scotia
, and Newfoundland. Light damage was reported from winds over the Caribbean Sea. Debby also prompted some evacuations in Bermuda, with people either boarding up their homes or leaving the island completely.
Debby formed as a westward moving tropical wave
off the coast of Africa
on September 3. It began as a small and diffused storm, heading westward and possibly getting a circulation on September 7, but the circulation was gone by the next day. The wave was estimated to have spawned a tropical depression on September 13 near the Dominican Republic
and strengthened into a tropical storm the next day, at which time it attained the name Debby. The storm moved north, grazing Bermuda
and soon approached the Canadian province of Newfoundland. Strengthening into a hurricane, the storm gradually turned towards the northeast and reached its peak intensity on September 18 as a minimal Category 4 hurricane on the Saffir–Simpson Hurricane Scale with winds of 135 mph (215 km/h) and a minimum pressure of 950 mbar
(hPa
; 28.05 inHg). Not long after attaining this intensity, the forward motion of the storm rapidly increased and Debby began to weaken. By September 20, the storm was moving at roughly 60 mph (95 km/h) towards the east as it transitioned into an extratropical cyclone
. Another extratropical cyclone absorbed Debby shortly after.
on 3 September. The disturbance was small and completely lost identification within 24 hours of formation. Satellite imagery indicated that the disturbance may have gained some circulation on 7 September, but the circulation was gone by the next day. The remaining tropical wave moved into the Lesser Antilles
on 11 September and a reconnaissance
aircraft
was deployed. The aircraft found circulation; however, by the next day, only a strong wave was detected. Atmospheric conditions became more favorable for development, yielding lower wind shear near Hispaniola
for the days to come. The system moved into this area as the latest Reconnaissance aircraft was deployed, declaring it a tropical depression on 13 September near the Dominican Republic
.
The next Reconnaissance aircraft that investigated the system discovered a minimal pressure of 1005 mbar
(28.67 inHg) and winds of 45 mph (70 km/h) in the depression's center, prompting an upgraded to Tropical Storm Debby on the morning of 14 September. Uncertainty arose as to whether Debby would in time interact with an approaching trough, or enter the influence of a ridge over the southeastern United States. The storm was later picked up by the trough, moving away from land and moved to the north. Debby strengthened further, becoming a minimal hurricane late on 14 September. The hurricane deepened further, reaching max winds of 110 mph (180 km/h), a Category 2 storm. Debby approached Bermuda in this time, and on 16 September, Debby passed 80 miles (130 km) west of the island and continued north.
Debby began to slow down to 5 mph (10 km/h) early on 17 September as another trough in the westerlies arrived and the system entered it. As the hurricane entered the trough, its forward speed picked up from 5 mph (10 km/h) to 30 mph (50 km/h). During this time, Debby reached Category 4 strength, reaching a peak intensity of 135 mph (215 km/h) and a minimal pressure of 950 mbar (28.05 inHg). Debby passed just south of Cape Race, Newfoundland and started accelerating to the east at 60 mph (100 km/h) by 20 September, weakening moderately. Debby kept its identity while crossing the North Atlantic Ocean, weakened into a tropical storm at 0600 UTC 20 September and was absorbed by a major storm over Ireland
and Great Britain
.
Starting in the 1982 season (with Debby), the Hurricane Hunter Aircraft (also known as P-3s) began running a new mission for NOAA's Hurricane Research Division. The mission was to drop dropwindsondes
that deployed very-low Omega frequency signals. These signals were to estimate the sonde's motion compared to the aircraft in certain areas in a storm.
. The U.S. Virgin Islands reported rain of about three inches and five inches in the Dominican Republic
. The United States Navy
removed its 700 personnel on Bermuda's Air Force Base, placing them in a gymnasium nearby. Tourists by the thousands took the last-minute flights out of Bermuda
on 16 September as Debby drew near. Some of the airlines had pulled back the amount of flights going in and out of the island. Eastern Airlines dropped from five flights to two, with them going to only New York City
, Newark, New Jersey
and Boston, Massachusetts.
The storm had sustained winds of 110 mph (180 km/h) winds, and forecasters were predicting that the hurricane's eye would be over the island the next day. Airlines canceled flights, buildings boarded up, and cruise liners were hurried out of their harbors in the time before Debby arrived. Rescue teams evacuated workers from Mobil
oil rigs in Debby's path as it neared. Bermuda experienced heavy gusts of wind, which caused minor damage with no injuries or fatalities. Power outages were reported on the island, though electricity was quickly restored. Numerous trees were knocked down on the island due to high winds. Heavy rains fell on Newfoundland and no damage was reported there. Nova Scotia also reported gale-force winds.
Tropical cyclone
A tropical cyclone is a storm system characterized by a large low-pressure center and numerous thunderstorms that produce strong winds and heavy rain. Tropical cyclones strengthen when water evaporated from the ocean is released as the saturated air rises, resulting in condensation of water vapor...
of the 1982 Atlantic hurricane season
1982 Atlantic hurricane season
The 1982 Atlantic hurricane season officially began on June 1, 1982 and lasted until November 30, 1982, and was a below average season. These dates conventionally delimit the period of each year when most tropical cyclones form in the Atlantic basin...
, peaking with winds of 135 mph (215 km/h). The fourth named storm of the season, it lasted roughly one week over the Atlantic Ocean
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
, affecting Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
, Bermuda
Bermuda
Bermuda is a British overseas territory in the North Atlantic Ocean. Located off the east coast of the United States, its nearest landmass is Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. It is about south of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, and northeast of Miami, Florida...
, Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...
, and Newfoundland. Light damage was reported from winds over the Caribbean Sea. Debby also prompted some evacuations in Bermuda, with people either boarding up their homes or leaving the island completely.
Debby formed as a westward moving tropical wave
Tropical wave
Tropical waves, easterly waves, or tropical easterly waves, also known as African easterly waves in the Atlantic region, are a type of atmospheric trough, an elongated area of relatively low air pressure, oriented north to south, which move from east to west across the tropics causing areas of...
off the coast of Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
on September 3. It began as a small and diffused storm, heading westward and possibly getting a circulation on September 7, but the circulation was gone by the next day. The wave was estimated to have spawned a tropical depression on September 13 near the Dominican Republic
Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic is a nation on the island of La Hispaniola, part of the Greater Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean region. The western third of the island is occupied by the nation of Haiti, making Hispaniola one of two Caribbean islands that are shared by two countries...
and strengthened into a tropical storm the next day, at which time it attained the name Debby. The storm moved north, grazing Bermuda
Bermuda
Bermuda is a British overseas territory in the North Atlantic Ocean. Located off the east coast of the United States, its nearest landmass is Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. It is about south of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, and northeast of Miami, Florida...
and soon approached the Canadian province of Newfoundland. Strengthening into a hurricane, the storm gradually turned towards the northeast and reached its peak intensity on September 18 as a minimal Category 4 hurricane on the Saffir–Simpson Hurricane Scale with winds of 135 mph (215 km/h) and a minimum pressure of 950 mbar
Bar (unit)
The bar is a unit of pressure equal to 100 kilopascals, and roughly equal to the atmospheric pressure on Earth at sea level. Other units derived from the bar are the megabar , kilobar , decibar , centibar , and millibar...
(hPa
Pascal (unit)
The pascal is the SI derived unit of pressure, internal pressure, stress, Young's modulus and tensile strength, named after the French mathematician, physicist, inventor, writer, and philosopher Blaise Pascal. It is a measure of force per unit area, defined as one newton per square metre...
; 28.05 inHg). Not long after attaining this intensity, the forward motion of the storm rapidly increased and Debby began to weaken. By September 20, the storm was moving at roughly 60 mph (95 km/h) towards the east as it transitioned into an extratropical cyclone
Extratropical cyclone
Extratropical cyclones, sometimes called mid-latitude cyclones or wave cyclones, are a group of cyclones defined as synoptic scale low pressure weather systems that occur in the middle latitudes of the Earth having neither tropical nor polar characteristics, and are connected with fronts and...
. Another extratropical cyclone absorbed Debby shortly after.
Meteorological history
A weather system moved off the coast of AfricaAfrica
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
on 3 September. The disturbance was small and completely lost identification within 24 hours of formation. Satellite imagery indicated that the disturbance may have gained some circulation on 7 September, but the circulation was gone by the next day. The remaining tropical wave moved into the Lesser Antilles
Lesser Antilles
The Lesser Antilles are a long, partly volcanic island arc in the Western Hemisphere. Most of its islands form the eastern boundary of the Caribbean Sea with the Atlantic Ocean, with the remainder located in the southern Caribbean just north of South America...
on 11 September and a reconnaissance
Reconnaissance
Reconnaissance is the military term for exploring beyond the area occupied by friendly forces to gain information about enemy forces or features of the environment....
aircraft
Aircraft
An aircraft is a vehicle that is able to fly by gaining support from the air, or, in general, the atmosphere of a planet. An aircraft counters the force of gravity by using either static lift or by using the dynamic lift of an airfoil, or in a few cases the downward thrust from jet engines.Although...
was deployed. The aircraft found circulation; however, by the next day, only a strong wave was detected. Atmospheric conditions became more favorable for development, yielding lower wind shear near Hispaniola
Hispaniola
Hispaniola is a major island in the Caribbean, containing the two sovereign states of the Dominican Republic and Haiti. The island is located between the islands of Cuba to the west and Puerto Rico to the east, within the hurricane belt...
for the days to come. The system moved into this area as the latest Reconnaissance aircraft was deployed, declaring it a tropical depression on 13 September near the Dominican Republic
Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic is a nation on the island of La Hispaniola, part of the Greater Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean region. The western third of the island is occupied by the nation of Haiti, making Hispaniola one of two Caribbean islands that are shared by two countries...
.
The next Reconnaissance aircraft that investigated the system discovered a minimal pressure of 1005 mbar
Bar (unit)
The bar is a unit of pressure equal to 100 kilopascals, and roughly equal to the atmospheric pressure on Earth at sea level. Other units derived from the bar are the megabar , kilobar , decibar , centibar , and millibar...
(28.67 inHg) and winds of 45 mph (70 km/h) in the depression's center, prompting an upgraded to Tropical Storm Debby on the morning of 14 September. Uncertainty arose as to whether Debby would in time interact with an approaching trough, or enter the influence of a ridge over the southeastern United States. The storm was later picked up by the trough, moving away from land and moved to the north. Debby strengthened further, becoming a minimal hurricane late on 14 September. The hurricane deepened further, reaching max winds of 110 mph (180 km/h), a Category 2 storm. Debby approached Bermuda in this time, and on 16 September, Debby passed 80 miles (130 km) west of the island and continued north.
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
and Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
.
Starting in the 1982 season (with Debby), the Hurricane Hunter Aircraft (also known as P-3s) began running a new mission for NOAA's Hurricane Research Division. The mission was to drop dropwindsondes
Dropsonde
A dropsonde is a weather reconnaissance device created by the National Center for Atmospheric Research , designed to be dropped from an aircraft at altitude to more accurately measure tropical storm conditions as the device falls to the surface...
that deployed very-low Omega frequency signals. These signals were to estimate the sonde's motion compared to the aircraft in certain areas in a storm.
Preparations and impact
Rainfalls from Debby in Puerto Rico spread from three inches around the northern end of the island to ten inches in the southern ridge of the island. Rains in Puerto Rico peaked at 12.86 inches (326 mm) in PenuelasPeñuelas, Puerto Rico
Peñuelas is a municipality in Puerto Rico located in the southern coast of the island, south of Adjuntas, east of Guayanilla, west of Ponce and north of the Caribbean Sea. Peñuelas is spread over 12 wards and Peñuelas Pueblo . It is part of the Yauco Metropolitan Statistical Area...
. The U.S. Virgin Islands reported rain of about three inches and five inches in the Dominican Republic
Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic is a nation on the island of La Hispaniola, part of the Greater Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean region. The western third of the island is occupied by the nation of Haiti, making Hispaniola one of two Caribbean islands that are shared by two countries...
. The United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
removed its 700 personnel on Bermuda's Air Force Base, placing them in a gymnasium nearby. Tourists by the thousands took the last-minute flights out of Bermuda
Bermuda
Bermuda is a British overseas territory in the North Atlantic Ocean. Located off the east coast of the United States, its nearest landmass is Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. It is about south of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, and northeast of Miami, Florida...
on 16 September as Debby drew near. Some of the airlines had pulled back the amount of flights going in and out of the island. Eastern Airlines dropped from five flights to two, with them going to only New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, Newark, New Jersey
Newark, New Jersey
Newark is the largest city in the American state of New Jersey, and the seat of Essex County. As of the 2010 United States Census, Newark had a population of 277,140, maintaining its status as the largest municipality in New Jersey. It is the 68th largest city in the U.S...
and Boston, Massachusetts.
The storm had sustained winds of 110 mph (180 km/h) winds, and forecasters were predicting that the hurricane's eye would be over the island the next day. Airlines canceled flights, buildings boarded up, and cruise liners were hurried out of their harbors in the time before Debby arrived. Rescue teams evacuated workers from Mobil
Mobil
Mobil, previously known as the Socony-Vacuum Oil Company, was a major American oil company which merged with Exxon in 1999 to form ExxonMobil. Today Mobil continues as a major brand name within the combined company, as well as still being a gas station sometimes paired with their own store or On...
oil rigs in Debby's path as it neared. Bermuda experienced heavy gusts of wind, which caused minor damage with no injuries or fatalities. Power outages were reported on the island, though electricity was quickly restored. Numerous trees were knocked down on the island due to high winds. Heavy rains fell on Newfoundland and no damage was reported there. Nova Scotia also reported gale-force winds.
See also
- Other storms of the same name
External links
- Monthly Weather Review
- [ftp://ftp.nhc.noaa.gov/pub/storm_archives/atlantic/prelimat/atl1982/ Detailed information on all storms from 1982]