Hurricane Frances (1992)
Encyclopedia
Hurricane Frances was the final named storm of 1992 Atlantic hurricane season
. The ninth tropical cyclone, sixth named storm, and fourth hurricane of the season, Frances developed on October 23 from an area of low pressure southeast of Bermuda
. Immediately developing into a tropical storm, Frances quickly intensified into a hurricane later on October 23. The next day after formation, Hurricane Frances peaked as a moderate category 1 hurricane before encountering cooler waters. Encountering cooler waters of the northern Atlantic, Frances weakened and was downgraded to a tropical storm on October 25 as a result. Continuing to trek over cooler water, Frances eventually became extratropical on October 27.
, which had developed near the tail end of a nearly stationary frontal
trough
. Strong wind shear
over the Atlantic initially kept deep convection displaced from the western quadrant of the low pressure area. While the western side had little to no deep convection, the eastern side was elongated, stretching from the north-northwest to the south-southeast. It is possible that several tropical wave
s frequently increased convection on south-southeast side of the low pressure area, which was suggested by satellite imagery. Thereafter, wind shear began to decrease on on October 21, allowing possibly a tropical wave to greatly increase convection, resulting in the formation of a gale circulation. Just after the formation of the gale circulation, deep convection began to rotation cyclonically around the center and the ships "Migaea" and "Sparrow" reported that the system was intensifying as it transitioned into a tropical cyclone. The two ships "Migaea" and "Sparrow" also reported winds of 60 mph (95 km/h) on the morning of October 23, with gusts as high as 85 mph (135 km/h).
After several signs of organization, it was estimated that Tropical Storm Frances had developed early on October 23, while situation about 400 miles (644 km) south-southeast of Bermuda
. Advisories were operationally not issued on Tropical Storm Frances until 1500 UTC October 23, which was nine hours after it actually developed. In addition, upon the operational development, maximum sustained winds were reported at 40 mph (65 km/h), although winds were nearly hurricane force in post-analysis. Just after development on October 23, the "Sparrow" reported wind gusts of almost 75 mph (120 km/h), although the wind direction shifted from southeast to northwest, causing the measurement to briefly decrease to as low as 40 mph (65 km/h). Observation from ships and satellites indicated that a possible eye
was forming with Tropical Storm Frances, beginning as early as the morning of October 23, although the eye was not confirmed until around 1600 UTC. Frances rapidly intensified into a hurricane later that day, although it was operationally reported to have became a hurricane early on October 24. After intensifying into a hurricane, Frances accelerated at 25 mph (35 km/h) to the northeast, which was the result of stronger steering flow. By the following day, Hurricane Frances attained its peak intensity with maximum sustained winds of 85 mph (140 km/h) and a minimum barometric pressure of 976 mbar
(hPa
; 28.82 inHg
).
Thereafter attaining peak intensity, Hurricane Frances headed into colder waters by October 25, beginning to weaken in the process. While beginning a weakening tread, the eye of Hurricane Frances became less visible on satellites, and it had been downgraded to a tropical storm later that day. Tropical Storm Frances continued to persist for the following day, October 26, while still accelerating to the northeast. Deep convection persisted around the low-level circulation of Frances, although nearly ceasing to exist by early October 27. Simultaneously, the wind field of Tropical Storm Frances became more broad, indicating that the storm was losing tropical characteristics. Tropical Storm Frances was declared extratropical
by 0600 UTC October 27, but continued as an extratropical cyclone for three days.
Hurricane Frances had minimal impacts on land, limited to rainfall on the island of Newfoundland. Rainfall across the island of Newfoundland was generally lightly less than one in (25.4 mm), although peaking at 2.8 in (73 mm). No other effects on land were reported in association with Hurricane Frances.
Although Hurricane Frances had a minimal impact on land, there were a few boating incidents at over the north-central Atlantic Ocean. A sailor was reported as missing late in October, although his disappearance was not confirmed if it was directly in relation to Hurricane Frances. Another ship named the "Sparrow" encountered Frances as the precursor extratropical storm and a tropical storm on October 22 and October 23, becoming partially disabled, and the only passenger aboard suffered a broken rib.
1992 Atlantic hurricane season
The 1992 Atlantic hurricane season had one of the latest dates on record for the first named storm. The season officially began on June 1, 1992, and lasted until November 30, 1992. It was the least active hurricane season in nine years due to a strong El Niño...
. The ninth tropical cyclone, sixth named storm, and fourth hurricane of the season, Frances developed on October 23 from an area of low pressure southeast 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...
. Immediately developing into a tropical storm, Frances quickly intensified into a hurricane later on October 23. The next day after formation, Hurricane Frances peaked as a moderate category 1 hurricane before encountering cooler waters. Encountering cooler waters of the northern Atlantic, Frances weakened and was downgraded to a tropical storm on October 25 as a result. Continuing to trek over cooler water, Frances eventually became extratropical on October 27.
Meteorological history
The origins of Hurricane Frances have been traced back to an extratropical cycloneExtratropical 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...
, which had developed near the tail end of a nearly stationary frontal
Weather front
A weather front is a boundary separating two masses of air of different densities, and is the principal cause of meteorological phenomena. In surface weather analyses, fronts are depicted using various colored lines and symbols, depending on the type of front...
trough
Trough (meteorology)
A trough is an elongated region of relatively low atmospheric pressure, often associated with fronts.Unlike fronts, there is not a universal symbol for a trough on a weather chart. The weather charts in some countries or regions mark troughs by a line. In the United States, a trough may be marked...
. Strong wind shear
Wind shear
Wind shear, sometimes referred to as windshear or wind gradient, is a difference in wind speed and direction over a relatively short distance in the atmosphere...
over the Atlantic initially kept deep convection displaced from the western quadrant of the low pressure area. While the western side had little to no deep convection, the eastern side was elongated, stretching from the north-northwest to the south-southeast. It is possible that several 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...
s frequently increased convection on south-southeast side of the low pressure area, which was suggested by satellite imagery. Thereafter, wind shear began to decrease on on October 21, allowing possibly a tropical wave to greatly increase convection, resulting in the formation of a gale circulation. Just after the formation of the gale circulation, deep convection began to rotation cyclonically around the center and the ships "Migaea" and "Sparrow" reported that the system was intensifying as it transitioned into a tropical cyclone. The two ships "Migaea" and "Sparrow" also reported winds of 60 mph (95 km/h) on the morning of October 23, with gusts as high as 85 mph (135 km/h).
After several signs of organization, it was estimated that Tropical Storm Frances had developed early on October 23, while situation about 400 miles (644 km) south-southeast 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...
. Advisories were operationally not issued on Tropical Storm Frances until 1500 UTC October 23, which was nine hours after it actually developed. In addition, upon the operational development, maximum sustained winds were reported at 40 mph (65 km/h), although winds were nearly hurricane force in post-analysis. Just after development on October 23, the "Sparrow" reported wind gusts of almost 75 mph (120 km/h), although the wind direction shifted from southeast to northwest, causing the measurement to briefly decrease to as low as 40 mph (65 km/h). Observation from ships and satellites indicated that a possible eye
Eye (cyclone)
The eye is a region of mostly calm weather found at the center of strong tropical cyclones. The eye of a storm is a roughly circular area and typically 30–65 km in diameter. It is surrounded by the eyewall, a ring of towering thunderstorms where the second most severe weather of a cyclone...
was forming with Tropical Storm Frances, beginning as early as the morning of October 23, although the eye was not confirmed until around 1600 UTC. Frances rapidly intensified into a hurricane later that day, although it was operationally reported to have became a hurricane early on October 24. After intensifying into a hurricane, Frances accelerated at 25 mph (35 km/h) to the northeast, which was the result of stronger steering flow. By the following day, Hurricane Frances attained its peak intensity with maximum sustained winds of 85 mph (140 km/h) and a minimum barometric pressure of 976 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...
; 28.82 inHg
Inch of mercury
Inches of mercury, ' is a unit of measurement for pressure. It is still widely used for barometric pressure in weather reports, refrigeration and aviation in the United States, but is seldom used elsewhere....
).
Thereafter attaining peak intensity, Hurricane Frances headed into colder waters by October 25, beginning to weaken in the process. While beginning a weakening tread, the eye of Hurricane Frances became less visible on satellites, and it had been downgraded to a tropical storm later that day. Tropical Storm Frances continued to persist for the following day, October 26, while still accelerating to the northeast. Deep convection persisted around the low-level circulation of Frances, although nearly ceasing to exist by early October 27. Simultaneously, the wind field of Tropical Storm Frances became more broad, indicating that the storm was losing tropical characteristics. Tropical Storm Frances was declared extratropical
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...
by 0600 UTC October 27, but continued as an extratropical cyclone for three days.
Preparations and Impact
The government of Bermuda issued a tropical storm warning and a hurricane watch in relation to Frances beginning on 2100 UTC October 22. As the threat of Hurricane Frances threatening the island of Bermuda became lesser, the tropical storm warning and hurricane watch was discontinued on October 24.Hurricane Frances had minimal impacts on land, limited to rainfall on the island of Newfoundland. Rainfall across the island of Newfoundland was generally lightly less than one in (25.4 mm), although peaking at 2.8 in (73 mm). No other effects on land were reported in association with Hurricane Frances.
Although Hurricane Frances had a minimal impact on land, there were a few boating incidents at over the north-central Atlantic Ocean. A sailor was reported as missing late in October, although his disappearance was not confirmed if it was directly in relation to Hurricane Frances. Another ship named the "Sparrow" encountered Frances as the precursor extratropical storm and a tropical storm on October 22 and October 23, becoming partially disabled, and the only passenger aboard suffered a broken rib.
See also
- Other storms of the same name
- Timeline of the 1992 Atlantic hurricane seasonTimeline of the 1992 Atlantic hurricane seasonThe 1992 Atlantic hurricane season was a below-average season that produced six named tropical cyclones. The season officially started on June 1, 1992 and finished on November 30; however, Subtropical Storm One formed outside the official timeline on April 21...