Effects of Hurricane Isabel in Canada
Encyclopedia
The effects of Hurricane Isabel in Canada were fairly minor due to Isabel transitioning into an extratropical cyclone
before affecting the area. Hurricane Isabel
formed from a tropical wave
on September 6, 2003 in the tropical Atlantic Ocean
. It moved northwestward, and within an environment of light wind shear and warm waters it steadily strengthened to reach peak winds of 265 km/h (165 mph) on September 11. After fluctuating in intensity for four days, Isabel gradually weakened and made landfall on the Outer Banks
of North Carolina
with winds of 165 km/h (105 mph) on September 18. It quickly weakened over land and became extratropical over western Pennsylvania
the next day before entering southern Ontario
.
Impact from the storm was fairly minor, including downed trees and power lines across southern Ontario. Isabel was indirectly responsible for one traffic fatality. A group of researchers flew into Isabel over Lake Erie
and southern Ontario to study tropical cyclones transitioning into extratropical cyclones. The group also flew into two previous cyclones affecting Canada.
issued heavy rainfall and wind warnings for portions of southern Ontario. A gale warning was also issued for Lake Ontario
and the eastern region of Lake Erie. Subsequently, officials issued a gale warning for the Saint Lawrence River
and Georgian Bay
, and also extended the heavy rainfall warning to portions of northern Ontario. Most warnings were canceled when the extratropical remnant weakened further. A news report on September 14 warned conditions were probable for a repeat of the disaster caused by Hurricane Hazel
49 years prior, resulting in widespread media coverage on the hurricane.
A group of Canadian researchers organized a Convair 580
flight out of Ottawa
to fly into Isabel to study the structure of a storm transitioning into an extratropical cyclone by collecting data from radar
and dropsonde
s. The plane flew generally south of the center, and while passing through the area of heaviest precipitation, ice accumulated up to 25 mm (1 inch) thick, forcing the pilot to descend. The flight was the first Convair flight into a storm undergoing extratropical transition over land, though was similar to the two previous flights over water for Hurricane Michael
in 2000 and Tropical Storm Karen
in 2001.
, particularly in the Gulf of Maine
. No direct observations were recorded, though swells of 2 to 3 m (6 to 10 feet) were expected. Isabel produced rough surf in Lake Ontario while passing the lake, with waves reaching 4 m (13 ft) along the western portion of the lake. At Hamilton
, the waves surpassed seawalls and produced spray onto coastal streets. Rainfall first began affecting Ontario early on September 19 as the diminishing rainbands moved over the southern portion of the province. Precipitation reached 53.4 mm (2.1 inches) at Point Pelee, with 33.2 mm (1.3 inches) reported at Toronto Pearson International Airport
. Most of the rainfall fell near and west of the storm's track, causing localized flooding.
The strong pressure gradient between Isabel and a high pressure system
over eastern Canada produced strong easterly winds across Lakes Ontario and Erie. A buoy
in Lake Ontario reported a peak gust of 78 km/h (49 mph). On land, gusts of 73 km/h (45 mph) occurred in numerous locations, with Port Colborne
reporting a peak gust of 81 km/h (51 mph). The winds downed trees across southwestern Ontario, causing power outages after they fell onto power lines. One person died in a traffic fatality in Ontario as a result of the storm.
Power workers throughout Canada assisted the severely affected power companies from Maryland
to North Carolina
. Hydro-Québec
sent 25 teams to the New York City
area to assist in power outages.
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...
before affecting the area. Hurricane Isabel
Hurricane Isabel
Hurricane Isabel was the costliest and deadliest hurricane in the 2003 Atlantic hurricane season. The ninth named storm, fifth hurricane, and second major hurricane of the season, Isabel formed near the Cape Verde Islands from a tropical wave on September 6 in the tropical Atlantic Ocean...
formed from a 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...
on September 6, 2003 in the tropical 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...
. It moved northwestward, and within an environment of light wind shear and warm waters it steadily strengthened to reach peak winds of 265 km/h (165 mph) on September 11. After fluctuating in intensity for four days, Isabel gradually weakened and made landfall on the Outer Banks
Outer Banks
The Outer Banks is a 200-mile long string of narrow barrier islands off the coast of North Carolina, beginning in the southeastern corner of Virginia Beach on the east coast of the United States....
of North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
with winds of 165 km/h (105 mph) on September 18. It quickly weakened over land and became extratropical over western Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
the next day before entering southern Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
.
Impact from the storm was fairly minor, including downed trees and power lines across southern Ontario. Isabel was indirectly responsible for one traffic fatality. A group of researchers flew into Isabel over Lake Erie
Lake Erie
Lake Erie is the fourth largest lake of the five Great Lakes in North America, and the tenth largest globally. It is the southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by volume of the Great Lakes and therefore also has the shortest average water residence time. It is bounded on the north by the...
and southern Ontario to study tropical cyclones transitioning into extratropical cyclones. The group also flew into two previous cyclones affecting Canada.
Preparations
Before moving into the country, Isabel was consistently forecast to enter Canada as an extratropical cyclone. On September 18, the Canadian Hurricane CentreCanadian Hurricane Centre
The Canadian Hurricane Centre is a division of the Meteorological Service of Canada, an agency of Canada's Department of the Environment, which exists to advise Canadians on the threat of tropical cyclones such as hurricanes and tropical storms...
issued heavy rainfall and wind warnings for portions of southern Ontario. A gale warning was also issued for Lake Ontario
Lake Ontario
Lake Ontario is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded on the north and southwest by the Canadian province of Ontario, and on the south by the American state of New York. Ontario, Canada's most populous province, was named for the lake. In the Wyandot language, ontarío means...
and the eastern region of Lake Erie. Subsequently, officials issued a gale warning for the Saint Lawrence River
Saint Lawrence River
The Saint Lawrence is a large river flowing approximately from southwest to northeast in the middle latitudes of North America, connecting the Great Lakes with the Atlantic Ocean. It is the primary drainage conveyor of the Great Lakes Basin...
and Georgian Bay
Georgian Bay
Georgian Bay is a large bay of Lake Huron, located entirely within Ontario, Canada...
, and also extended the heavy rainfall warning to portions of northern Ontario. Most warnings were canceled when the extratropical remnant weakened further. A news report on September 14 warned conditions were probable for a repeat of the disaster caused by Hurricane Hazel
Hurricane Hazel
Hurricane Hazel was the deadliest and costliest hurricane of the 1954 Atlantic hurricane season. The storm killed as many as 1,000 people in Haiti before striking the United States near the border between North and South Carolina, as a Category 4 hurricane...
49 years prior, resulting in widespread media coverage on the hurricane.
A group of Canadian researchers organized a Convair 580
Convair 240
The Convair CV-240 was an American airliner produced by Convair from 1947 to 1954, initially as a possible replacement of the ubiquitous Douglas DC-3. While featuring a more modern design, the 240 series was able to make some inroads as a commercial airliner and also had a long development cycle...
flight out of Ottawa
Ottawa
Ottawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...
to fly into Isabel to study the structure of a storm transitioning into an extratropical cyclone by collecting data from radar
Radar
Radar is an object-detection system which uses radio waves to determine the range, altitude, direction, or speed of objects. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, weather formations, and terrain. The radar dish or antenna transmits pulses of radio...
and dropsonde
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...
s. The plane flew generally south of the center, and while passing through the area of heaviest precipitation, ice accumulated up to 25 mm (1 inch) thick, forcing the pilot to descend. The flight was the first Convair flight into a storm undergoing extratropical transition over land, though was similar to the two previous flights over water for Hurricane Michael
Hurricane Michael (2000)
Hurricane Michael of the 2000 Atlantic hurricane season caused moderate damage in Atlantic Canada. The seventeenth tropical cyclone, thirteenth named storm, and eighth hurricane of the season, Michael developed from a non-tropical system to the southwest of Bermuda on October 15. The system...
in 2000 and Tropical Storm Karen
Hurricane Karen (2001)
Hurricane Karen was a hurricane of non-tropical origin that formed in October of the 2001 Atlantic hurricane season. It developed out of the interaction between a cold front and an upper level trough on October 10 located to the south of Bermuda, and quickly strengthened as an extratropical storm....
in 2001.
Impact
Swells from Isabel produced moderate surf conditions along the Atlantic coast of Nova ScotiaNova 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...
, particularly in the Gulf of Maine
Gulf of Maine
The Gulf of Maine is a large gulf of the Atlantic Ocean on the east coast of North America.It is delineated by Cape Cod at the eastern tip of Massachusetts in the southwest and Cape Sable at the southern tip of Nova Scotia in the northeast. It includes the entire coastlines of the U.S...
. No direct observations were recorded, though swells of 2 to 3 m (6 to 10 feet) were expected. Isabel produced rough surf in Lake Ontario while passing the lake, with waves reaching 4 m (13 ft) along the western portion of the lake. At Hamilton
Hamilton, Ontario
Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian province of Ontario. Conceived by George Hamilton when he purchased the Durand farm shortly after the War of 1812, Hamilton has become the centre of a densely populated and industrialized region at the west end of Lake Ontario known as the Golden Horseshoe...
, the waves surpassed seawalls and produced spray onto coastal streets. Rainfall first began affecting Ontario early on September 19 as the diminishing rainbands moved over the southern portion of the province. Precipitation reached 53.4 mm (2.1 inches) at Point Pelee, with 33.2 mm (1.3 inches) reported at Toronto Pearson International Airport
Toronto Pearson International Airport
Toronto Pearson International Airport is an international airport serving Toronto, Ontario, Canada; its metropolitan area; and the Golden Horseshoe, an urban agglomeration that is home to 8.1 million people – approximately 25% of Canada's population...
. Most of the rainfall fell near and west of the storm's track, causing localized flooding.
The strong pressure gradient between Isabel and a high pressure system
High pressure area
A high-pressure area is a region where the atmospheric pressure at the surface of the planet is greater than its surrounding environment. Winds within high-pressure areas flow outward due to the higher density air near their center and friction with land...
over eastern Canada produced strong easterly winds across Lakes Ontario and Erie. A buoy
Buoy
A buoy is a floating device that can have many different purposes. It can be anchored or allowed to drift. The word, of Old French or Middle Dutch origin, is now most commonly in UK English, although some orthoepists have traditionally prescribed the pronunciation...
in Lake Ontario reported a peak gust of 78 km/h (49 mph). On land, gusts of 73 km/h (45 mph) occurred in numerous locations, with Port Colborne
Port Colborne, Ontario
Port Colborne is a city on Lake Erie, at the southern end of the Welland Canal, in the Niagara Region of southern Ontario, Canada...
reporting a peak gust of 81 km/h (51 mph). The winds downed trees across southwestern Ontario, causing power outages after they fell onto power lines. One person died in a traffic fatality in Ontario as a result of the storm.
Power workers throughout Canada assisted the severely affected power companies from Maryland
Effects of Hurricane Isabel in Maryland and Washington, D.C.
The effects of Hurricane Isabel in Maryland and Washington, D.C., were among the most damaging from a tropical cyclone in the Baltimore-Washington Metropolitan Area, United States. Hurricane Isabel formed from a tropical wave on September 6, 2003, in the tropical Atlantic Ocean...
to North Carolina
Effects of Hurricane Isabel in North Carolina
The effects of Hurricane Isabel on North Carolina were the worst from a hurricane since Hurricane Floyd made landfall in 1999. Hurricane Isabel formed from a tropical wave on September 6, 2003 in the tropical Atlantic Ocean...
. Hydro-Québec
Hydro-Québec
Hydro-Québec is a government-owned public utility established in 1944 by the Government of Quebec. Based in Montreal, the company is in charge of the generation, transmission and distribution of electricity across Quebec....
sent 25 teams to the 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...
area to assist in power outages.
See also
- List of Canada hurricanes
- List of retired Atlantic hurricane names