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1992 Atlantic hurricane season
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The 1992 Atlantic hurricane season officially began on June 1, 1992, and lasted until November 30, 1992. These dates conventionally delimit the period of each year when most tropical cyclones form in the Atlantic basin. However, the season got off to an early start when Subtropical Storm One formed in April, being the first recorded storm to form in this month until the 2003 season. Although the season had an active start, it had a slow end. Total activity was below average, likely because of the 1991-1994 El Niño.
The most notable storm of the season was Hurricane Andrew, the costliest natural disaster in U.S.
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Encyclopedia
The 1992 Atlantic hurricane season officially began on June 1, 1992, and lasted until November 30, 1992. These dates conventionally delimit the period of each year when most tropical cyclones form in the Atlantic basin. However, the season got off to an early start when Subtropical Storm One formed in April, being the first recorded storm to form in this month until the 2003 season. Although the season had an active start, it had a slow end. Total activity was below average, likely because of the 1991-1994 El Niño.
The most notable storm of the season was Hurricane Andrew, the costliest natural disaster in U.S. history until Hurricane Katrina in the 2005 season, and the third Category 5 hurricane to make landfall in the United States. The season also had several unusual landfalls, with Hurricanes Bonnie and Charley both striking the Azores, while Tropical Storm Danielle made landfall on the Delmarva Peninsula of Virginia.
Storms
Subtropical Storm One
The 1992 Atlantic hurricane season brought a subtropical storm in April, before the official start of the season. The unnamed subtropical storm formed on April 21 in the southwest Atlantic and dissipated on April 24. This was, according to the NHC, the first recorded storm to form in April; there would be Tropical Storm Ana in April of the 2003 season.
Tropical Depression One
A tropical depression formed in the western Caribbean on June 25, striking the west coast of Florida. Local rainfall amounts exceeded 20 inches.
Operationally, this system was designated Tropical Depression Two by the National Hurricane Center, due to the earlier subtropical storm, creating a flurry of activity amongst the media. The National Meteorological Center (NMC) used the designation of Tropical Depression One, which likely added to the confusion. Policy at the time kept subtropical and tropical cyclones on different numbering systems, which led to a second Tropical Depression Two later in June, creating even more media queries later in the month when that system formed.
Tropical Depression Two
A squall line which moved offshore New York and southern New England formed a mesoscale convective vortex, which fired new thunderstorm activity each day as it moved across the northern Atlantic. Once it reached mid-ocean, an increasingly northerly steering flow dropped the system down into the subtropics to the east of Bermuda, and it maintained decent organization. A small low pressure system embedded within a large, and relatively strong, surface high, reconnaissance found minimal tropical storm force winds with a rather high pressure of 1016 mbar at the center. The decision at the time was to keep the system a tropical depression due to its higher-than-standard atmosphere pressure. The system moved westward, eventually "shearing to death" as it raced ahead of a frontal zone.
The system was designated Tropical Depression Two because the policy on naming had been clarified after Tropical Depression One. Additional confusion was caused because of the apparent naming of two systems as "Tropical Depression Two".
Hurricane Andrew
A tropical wave moved off the coast of Africa on August 14, and organized into Tropical Depression Three on August 16 while located about halfway between the Windward Islands and the coast of Africa. It moved to the west-northwest, and strengthened into Tropical Storm Andrew on August 17. After reaching winds of 50 mph, strong southwesterly shear weakened the storm, and by August 20 it weakened to a minimal storm with a pressure of 1015 mbar. It bypassed the Lesser Antilles completely, and turned to the west in response to the building of a high pressure system to the north.
Upon turning to the west, a trough of low pressure positioned to the southwest of Andrew created an environment with little vertical shear and well-defined outflow. The storm quickly intensified due to its small size, and became a hurricane on August 22. Andrew rapidly intensified under ideal conditions for development, and on August 23 the hurricane peaked with winds of 175 mph. It crossed the Bahamas at that intensity, weakened slightly, and re-intensified to a 165 mph Category 5 hurricane before making landfall near Homestead, Florida. It weakened slightly over the state to a 135 mph hurricane, but restrengthened to a 145 mph hurricane over the Gulf of Mexico. A strong mid-latitude trough turned Andrew northward, where it greatly weakened before hitting west of Morgan City, Louisiana on August 26 as a 115 mph Category 3 hurricane. It turned northeastward, and dissipated over Tennessee on August 28.
Hurricane Andrew was by far the most intense hurricane of the year, and one of only two Category 5 hurricanes in the 1990s (the other was Mitch in 1998). The death toll of Andrew was only 26, largely due the well-executed evacuations. However, it caused a total of $26 billion in damage (1992 dollars), including $25 billion in Dade County (now Miami-Dade County) in Florida, $1 billion in Louisiana, and $250 million in the Bahamas, making it the most expensive hurricane in history until Hurricane Katrina surpassed it in 2005.
Hurricane Bonnie
The storm that would become Bonnie formed from a cold front on September 17. The depression, Tropical Depression Four, became Tropical Storm Bonnie in the early morning hours on the 18th, and became a hurricane in the early evening hours on the same day. Bonnie reached its peak intensity on September 21 when it reached Category 2 status on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale with top sustained winds of 110 mph. Strong upper-level westerly winds weakened the storm on September 23 as it drifted southwest. It weakened to tropical depression status then strengthened again on September 27, though remained disorganized. On the 27th, the deep convection diminished enough that the National Hurricane Center discontinued advisories. It moved to the east and re-organized into a tropical storm on the 28th. Bonnie briefly reached winds of 70 mph before weakening due to vertical shear while passing through the Azores Islands. The storm again became extratropical on September 30 to the east of the Azores.
Bonnie did affect the Azores but there were no damage reports received. However, one man was killed by a rock fall on the island of São Miguel.
Hurricane Charley
Charley formed on September 21 about 630 miles southwest of the Azores. It strengthened and became Tropical Storm Charley on the 22nd, and became a hurricane in the early morning hours on September 23. At peak intensity the storm reached 110 mph winds on September 24 at Category 2 status. Charley drifted southwest on September 25 and then moved northeast and accelerated. Charley weakened on September 26 as it moved into cooler waters. It weakened further on September 27 and dissipated late in the day. There was no damage or casualties related to Charley.
Tropical Storm Danielle
The storm that would become Danielle formed on September 18 off the U.S. East Coast. It became a tropical storm on the 22nd and moved parallel to the seaboard. The storm made landfall in Maryland on the Delmarva Peninsula and continued northwest where it dissipated. Danielle was a very rare tropical cyclone to make landfall in Virginia, one of only a few.
Two deaths were reported as a result of Danielle: a sailboat was battered and sunk by high seas off the coast of New Jersey.
Tropical Depression Seven
A tropical wave moved off of Africa on September 23. The wave remained poorly organized until the 25th, when the system began organizing and becoming Tropical Depression Seven. The depression moved to the west-northwest initially, but after shear exposed the center the system turned more to the northwest. The depression moved northward while cycling between intensification and weakening, reaching a minimum pressure of 1008 mb on the 30th. The depression dissipated on October 1.
Since Seven remained far from land, no damage was reported in connection to the depression.
Tropical Storm Earl
Earl was a Cape Verde system moving off the coast of Africa on September 18. On September 27 the system became a tropical depression 345 miles north of Hispaniola. The storm moved northwest toward the Bahamas and became stationary, where it began to strengthen. It became Tropical Storm Earl on September 29. It moved east and reached its peak intensity of 60 mph winds in the late evening hours of October 1.
There were no casualties or damage reported as a result of Earl.
Hurricane Frances
Frances formed south-southeast of Bermuda on October 18. Frances strengthened to tropical storm status on October 23, and it reached its peak intensity on the 24th with winds of 85 mph. Frances moved northeast into cooler waters and weakened substantially for the next two days. It became extratropical on October 27.
A sailor was classified as missing and one was injured on a sailboat.
Other storms
A polar low formed offshore the Mid-Atlantic States and moved up Chesapeake Bay into northern Virginia, with surprisingly warm mid-level temperatures and an eye feature, which was quite pronounced on WSR-88D radar imagery, and wind gusts to 87 mph/140 km/h at Chincoteague, Virginia on January 4. NASA indicated the existence of another possible tropical storm on May 16. It neared Bermuda and at its peak, had a well developed eye. Despite its organization, it was not recognized by the NHC and went unrecorded. There was an additional suspicious cyclone that rapidly formed in mid-September offshore the Mid-Atlantic, forming an eye as it moved a few hundred miles offshore New England, before striking Sable Island, Nova Scotia. One, if not all, of these cyclones could be included into the hurricane database, when the Atlantic hurricane reanalysis reaches 1992 (it is currently complete through 1920).
Accumulated Cyclone Energy (ACE) Rating
| ACE (104kt2) – Storm: Source |
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| 1 | 28.4 | Andrew | 4 | 3.27 | Earl |
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| 2 | 23.1 | Bonnie | 5 | 2.86 | Danielle |
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| 3 | 10.9 | Charley | 5 | 6.50 | Frances |
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| Total= 75.13 (75) |
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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. Subtropical Storm One is not included, as subtropical cyclones do not receive an ACE rating.
Storm names
The following names were used for named storms that formed in the north Atlantic in 1992. The names not retired from this list were used again in the 1998 season. This is the same list used for the 1986 season. Names that were not assigned are marked in .
Retirement
The World Meteorological Organization retired one name in the spring of 1993: Andrew. It was replaced in the 1998 season with Alex.
Season Effects
This is a table of the storms in 1992 and their landfalls, if any. Damage and deaths include totals while the storm was extratropical or a wave or low.
See also
External links
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- [ftp://ftp.nhc.noaa.gov/pub/storm_archives/atlantic/atl1992/ Detailed information on storms from the 1992 Atlantic hurricane season]
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