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1991 Atlantic hurricane season
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The 1991 Atlantic hurricane season officially began on June 1, 1991, and lasted until November 30, 1991. These dates conventionally delimit the period of each year when most tropical cyclones form in the Atlantic basin. The season experienced relatively low activity with just eight named storms, likely as the result of a strong El Niño that lasted from 1991 to 1994.
Hurricane Bob was the most damaging storm of the season.
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Encyclopedia
The 1991 Atlantic hurricane season officially began on June 1, 1991, and lasted until November 30, 1991. These dates conventionally delimit the period of each year when most tropical cyclones form in the Atlantic basin. The season experienced relatively low activity with just eight named storms, likely as the result of a strong El Niño that lasted from 1991 to 1994.
Hurricane Bob was the most damaging storm of the season. The hurricane travelled up the east coast of the United States, making landfall in Rhode Island. It was responsible for 17 deaths and an estimated $1.5 billion (1991 US dollars) in damage.
The 1991 Halloween Nor'easter, which caused nearly $1 billion (1991 USD) in damages and killed 12 people, was closely tied to tropical activity, as it was fueled by the remnants of Hurricane Grace and led to the genesis of Hurricane Eight unofficially named Henri.
Storms
Tropical Storm Ana
Tropical Storm Ana began life as a non-tropical low which formed off the east coast of Florida on June 25 and looped across the state over the next few days. It returned to the Atlantic and developed into a tropical depression some south of Charleston, South Carolina on July 2.
The system accelerated to the northeast, running roughly parallel to the East Coast of the United States, and strengthened into a tropical storm late on July 3. It continued eastwards and lost tropical characteristics over the Atlantic on July 5. There were no damage or casualties related to Ana.
Tropical Depression Two
A tropical disturbance developed enough circulation to be designated Tropical Depression Two the western Gulf of Mexico on July 5. A tropical storm warning was issued for the Texas coast down to south of the Baffin Bay. On July 6, a tropical storm warning was issued for Mexico and discontinued later that same day. Two dissipated on July 6 after moving inland. It had maximum sustained winds of 35 mph (55 km/h) and a minimum pressure of 1003 mbar.
Hurricane Bob
An area of disturbed weather developed south of Bermuda on August 12, drifting southwest and becoming a tropical depression on August 16 while west of Nassau in the Bahamas. It strengthened into Tropical Storm Bob later the same day. It continued to strengthen as it moved northwest, and reached hurricane force on August 17, east of Daytona Beach, Florida. The storm reached Category 3 intensity on the Saffir-Simpson hurricane scale on August 19 while passing Norfolk, Virginia. The eye of the hurricane brushed the eastern tip of Long Island before making landfall in Rhode Island and passing over Newport. It weakened as it crossed Massachusetts, Maine, and New Brunswick, and the non-tropical remnant crossed the Atlantic and dissipated near Portugal on August 29.
Storm surges up to , and up to of rainfall, accompanied Bob's passage up the East Coast. 16 fatalities were reported from the USA and two in Canada, and the cost of damage was estimated at $1.5 billion (1991 USD), mostly in Massachusetts, making Bob the costliest hurricane in New England's history.
Tropical Depression Four
A tropical disturbance strengthened into Tropical Depression Four on August 24, near the Cape Verde Islands, with winds on 35 mph (55 km/h). There was very little change in strength while it neared the westernmost of the Cape Verde Islands. Four started weakening late on August 25 southwest of the islands. Four dissipated later that day.
Tropical Depression Five
A tropical system became Tropical Depression Five southwest of the Cape Verde Islands on August 28 with winds of 35 mph (55 km/h). It kept moving in a westward direction toward the Lesser Antilles, without change of strength. On August 31, Five started weakening and dissipated the same day.
Hurricane Claudette
Tropical Depression Six formed out of a non-tropical system southeast of Bermuda on September 4. It strengthened rapidly to reach peak winds of on the 7th, making it a Category 4 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson hurricane scale. Claudette curved around the central Atlantic passing southeast of Bermuda on September 8, continued eastwards and dissipated near the Azores on September 14. No damage or casualties were reported.
Tropical Storm Danny
Danny formed from a tropical wave south-southwest of Cape Verde on September 7. It headed generally toward the Leeward Islands but dissipated on September 11 without approaching land.
Tropical Storm Erika
Erika formed from a tropical wave in the central Atlantic, becoming a tropical storm on September 9. It interacted with Hurricane Claudette and headed northeast towards the Azores, which it passed over on September 12 as an extratropical system. No damage or casualties were reported.
Tropical Storm Fabian
Fabian formed in the Gulf of Honduras from the interaction of a cold front with a tropical wave. It became a tropical storm on October 15 southwest of the Isle of Youth, and passed over that island and the west of mainland Cuba before losing its tropical characteristics between Florida and the Bahamas. The tropical storm reached its peak intensity of winds before becoming extratropical.
Up to of rain fell on Cuba, but no damage or casualties were reported. Rainfall on Florida was minimal.
Tropical Depression Ten
A tropical wave moved off the coast of Africa on October 19. A weak circulation developed on the 23rd, and the system organized into a tropical depression on October 24. Upper level shear quickly hindered any additional development, and the depression dissipated on the 25th.
Hurricane Grace
Grace developed from a subtropical system south of Bermuda, becoming a tropical storm on October 27 and a hurricane the next day. After drifting northwards for a while it was forced rapidly to the east by a powerful extratropical cyclone off New England. It passed south of Bermuda on October 29 but winds on the island reached no more than at that time. Later that day it merged with a frontal system, having never affected land.
The remnants of Hurricane Grace, however, contributed to the formation of the destructive 1991 Halloween Nor'easter.
Hurricane Eight
The 1991 Halloween Nor’easter (commonly called "The Halloween Storm" or "The Perfect Storm"), an extratropical cyclone that had forced Hurricane Grace east, caused severe coastal damage and flooding in New England, and several fatalities.
After passing its peak as an extratropical storm, the system drifted southwards over the warmer waters of the Gulf Stream, and the center acquired the characteristic convection features of a tropical storm on November 1. A reconnaissance flight the next day discovered hurricane-force winds. It was decided not to assign a name to avoid confusion and undue public alarm, as the hurricane's radius was only about and it continued to be surrounded by an extratropical gale vastly larger in size. Had the storm been named the storm would have been named Henri. It headed rapidly north-eastwards and weakened to a tropical storm before making landfall near Halifax, Nova Scotia. No damage or casualties were attributed to the tropical phase of the storm.
The genesis of a hurricane within an extratropical cyclone is unusual but not unique - 1980's Hurricane Karl had a similar origin.
Accumulated Cyclone Energy (ACE) Rating
| ACE (104kt2) – Storm: Source |
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| 1 | 14.0 | Claudette | 5 | 2.06 | Danny |
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| 2 | 7.97 | Bob | 6 | 1.97 | Erika |
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| 3 | 3.83 | Grace | 7 | 1.25 | Ana |
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| 4 | 2.12 | Eight | 8 | 0.763 | Fabian |
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| Total= 33.97 (34) |
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The table on the right shows the ACE for each storm in the season. The ACE is, broadly speaking, a measure of the power of the hurricane multiplied by the length of time it existed for, so hurricanes that lasted a long time have higher ACEs.
Storm names
The following names were used for named storms that formed in the Atlantic basin in 1991. The names not retired from this list were used again in the 1997 season. This is the same list used for the 1985 season except for Erika and Grace, which replaced Elena and Gloria. Storms were named Erika and Grace for the first time in 1991. Names that were not assigned are marked in .
Retirement
The World Meteorological Organization retired one name in the spring of 1992: Bob. It was replaced in the 1997 season by Bill.
See also
External links
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- [ftp://ftp.nhc.noaa.gov/pub/storm_archives/atlantic/prelimat/atl1991/ Detailed information on all storms from 1991]
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