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Hurricane Gert (1999)

 
Hurricane Gert (1999)

 
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Hurricane Gert (1999)
 
 
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Hurricane Gert was the seventh named storm and the fourth major hurricane of the moderately active 1999 Atlantic hurricane season
1999 Atlantic hurricane season

The 1999 Atlantic hurricane season officially began on June 1, 1999, and lasted until November 30, 1999. These dates conventionally delimit the period of each year when most tropical cyclones form in the Atlantic basin....
. A Cape Verde-type hurricane, Gert formed on September 11 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 km? including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area....
 before heading west-northwest and reaching a peak wind speed of 150 mph by September 15 over the open central Atlantic east-northeast of the Leeward Islands
Leeward Islands

The Leeward Islands are the northern islands of the Lesser Antilles chain of islands, part of the West Indies. They are situated where the Caribbean Sea meets the western Atlantic Ocean....
. Although Gert's center did not make landfall, its strength caused heavy surf along Bermuda
Bermuda

Bermuda is a British overseas territory in the Atlantic Ocean. Located off the east coast of the United States, it is situated around 1770 kilometres northeast of Miami, Florida, and 1350 kilometres south of Halifax Regional Municipality, Canada....
 and Atlantic Canada
Atlantic Canada

File:Atlantic Canada.svgAtlantic Canada, also known as the Atlantic provinces, is the List of regions of Canada of Canada comprising four Provinces and territories of Canada located on the Atlantic Ocean: the three Maritimes ? New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island ? and Newfoundland and Labrador....
, which left two fatalities.






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Hurricane Gert was the seventh named storm and the fourth major hurricane of the moderately active 1999 Atlantic hurricane season
1999 Atlantic hurricane season

The 1999 Atlantic hurricane season officially began on June 1, 1999, and lasted until November 30, 1999. These dates conventionally delimit the period of each year when most tropical cyclones form in the Atlantic basin....
. A Cape Verde-type hurricane, Gert formed on September 11 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 km? including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area....
 before heading west-northwest and reaching a peak wind speed of 150 mph by September 15 over the open central Atlantic east-northeast of the Leeward Islands
Leeward Islands

The Leeward Islands are the northern islands of the Lesser Antilles chain of islands, part of the West Indies. They are situated where the Caribbean Sea meets the western Atlantic Ocean....
. Although Gert's center did not make landfall, its strength caused heavy surf along Bermuda
Bermuda

Bermuda is a British overseas territory in the Atlantic Ocean. Located off the east coast of the United States, it is situated around 1770 kilometres northeast of Miami, Florida, and 1350 kilometres south of Halifax Regional Municipality, Canada....
 and Atlantic Canada
Atlantic Canada

File:Atlantic Canada.svgAtlantic Canada, also known as the Atlantic provinces, is the List of regions of Canada of Canada comprising four Provinces and territories of Canada located on the Atlantic Ocean: the three Maritimes ? New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island ? and Newfoundland and Labrador....
, which left two fatalities. Gert's outer rainbands also brought heavy rains and 75 mph
MPH

mph is a three-letter acronym that refers to miles per hour, a measurement of speedMPH may also refer to:* Master of Public Health, a Master's degree in public health...
 winds to Bermuda
Bermuda

Bermuda is a British overseas territory in the Atlantic Ocean. Located off the east coast of the United States, it is situated around 1770 kilometres northeast of Miami, Florida, and 1350 kilometres south of Halifax Regional Municipality, Canada....
 and Atlantic Canada
Atlantic Canada

File:Atlantic Canada.svgAtlantic Canada, also known as the Atlantic provinces, is the List of regions of Canada of Canada comprising four Provinces and territories of Canada located on the Atlantic Ocean: the three Maritimes ? New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island ? and Newfoundland and Labrador....
.

Meteorological history

A tropical wave
Tropical wave

Tropical waves, or easterly waves, also known as African easterly waves in the Atlantic region, are a type of atmospheric Trough , an elongated area of relatively Low pressure area, oriented north to south, which move from east to west across the tropics causing areas of cloudiness and thunderstorms....
 moved 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 km? including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area....
 on September 11. The disturbance continued to move westward and strengthened to Tropical Depression Nine at 1200 UTC. After forming, the disorganized depression moved westward at 20 mph
MPH

mph is a three-letter acronym that refers to miles per hour, a measurement of speedMPH may also refer to:* Master of Public Health, a Master's degree in public health...
 (17 knots, 32 km/h), where it strengthened into Tropical Storm Gert on September 12.

Still moving westward, Gert further intensified and became a hurricane on September 13. Located 1200 miles (1931 km) east of the Windward Islands
Windward Islands

The Windward Islands are the southern islands of the Lesser Antilles....
, Hurricane Gert developed a well-defined eye and its winds increased to 125 mph
MPH

mph is a three-letter acronym that refers to miles per hour, a measurement of speedMPH may also refer to:* Master of Public Health, a Master's degree in public health...
 (110 knots, 204 km/h). On September 15, Gert reached Category 4
Category 4

Category 4 can refer to:*Category 4 Tropical Cyclone on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale.*Category 4 Pandemic on the Pandemic Severity Index...
 status, and the winds then peaked at 150 mph
MPH

mph is a three-letter acronym that refers to miles per hour, a measurement of speedMPH may also refer to:* Master of Public Health, a Master's degree in public health...
 (241 km/h) and the barometric pressure dropped to 930 millibars as the center was located 60 miles (97 km) north of Guadeloupe
Guadeloupe

Guadeloupe is an island group or archipelago located in the eastern Caribbean Sea at , with a land area of 1,628 square kilometres . It is an overseas department of France....
.

On September 16, a dropzone released by a hurricane hunter plane recorded wind speeds of 160-170 mph (261-275 km/h) and an unofficial pressure of 868 millibars. However, data from another dropzone recorded winds of 140 mph (225 km/h) at the surface. On September 17, Gert underwent recurvature and began to weaken when the storm interacted with an approaching upper level system. At 1500 UTC, the winds dropped to 120 mph (194 km/h). The next day, Gert briefly regained strength before weakening again on September 21. Because of the influence of the approaching upper level system, Gert rapidly moved to the northeast. The center of Gert passed 150 miles (241 km) east of Bermuda
Bermuda

Bermuda is a British overseas territory in the Atlantic Ocean. Located off the east coast of the United States, it is situated around 1770 kilometres northeast of Miami, Florida, and 1350 kilometres south of Halifax Regional Municipality, Canada....
. Gert then weakened to a tropical storm as it by passed the Canadian Maritimes on September 22, before merging with an extratropical storm. Gert was one of five Category 4 hurricanes to form during the 1999 season, a record tied with the 2005 season
2005 Atlantic hurricane season

The 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was the most active List of Atlantic hurricane seasons in recorded history, repeatedly shattering previous records....
.

Preparations

Gert's approach to Bermuda
Bermuda

Bermuda is a British overseas territory in the Atlantic Ocean. Located off the east coast of the United States, it is situated around 1770 kilometres northeast of Miami, Florida, and 1350 kilometres south of Halifax Regional Municipality, Canada....
 prompted officials to issue a tropical storm warning on September 19, and then a hurricane warning the next day. Forecasters expected Gert to pass 100 miles east of the island. The next day, however, forecasters predicted that Gert would pass 75 miles east of Bermuda
Bermuda

Bermuda is a British overseas territory in the Atlantic Ocean. Located off the east coast of the United States, it is situated around 1770 kilometres northeast of Miami, Florida, and 1350 kilometres south of Halifax Regional Municipality, Canada....
 and that the center of the storm would not make landfall. At the same time, residents prepared for the storm as they evacuated from low-lying areas and schools were closed in order to be used as storm shelters. Nearly 700 residents left their homes while many tourists evacuated off the island. Cruise ships were diverted to safer areas and many flights were cancelled. As predicted, Gert's center was far away from the island, causing the warnings to be discontinued on September 21. In Newfoundland
Newfoundland and Labrador

Newfoundland and Labrador is a Provinces and territories of Canada of Canada, on the country's Atlantic Ocean coast in northeastern North America....
, offshore oil rigs stopped operations and workers were quickly evacuated.

Impact

As Gert's center bypassed Bermuda
Bermuda

Bermuda is a British overseas territory in the Atlantic Ocean. Located off the east coast of the United States, it is situated around 1770 kilometres northeast of Miami, Florida, and 1350 kilometres south of Halifax Regional Municipality, Canada....
, the storm dropped 0.53 inches (13.4 mm) of rain and wind gusts of 75-80 mph (121-130 km/h). Even though it did not make landfall, the storm still brought heavy surf to the island. The surf damaged a house and made roads impassable. There were also reports of moderate beach erosion and several dolphins escaped when their pool broke apart by the flying debris. Because of advanced warnings, there were no reports of deaths or injuries in Bermuda
Bermuda

Bermuda is a British overseas territory in the Atlantic Ocean. Located off the east coast of the United States, it is situated around 1770 kilometres northeast of Miami, Florida, and 1350 kilometres south of Halifax Regional Municipality, Canada....
. On the East Coast of the United States
East Coast of the United States

The East Coast of the United States, also known as the "Eastern Seaboard" or "Atlantic Seaboard", refers to the easternmost coastal states in the central and northern United States, which touch the Atlantic Ocean and stretch up to Canada....
, Gert generated a freak wave that caused two fatalities in Maine
Maine

The State of Maine is a U.S. state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America, bordering the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, New Hampshire to the southwest, the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast....
. In Newfoundland
Newfoundland and Labrador

Newfoundland and Labrador is a Provinces and territories of Canada of Canada, on the country's Atlantic Ocean coast in northeastern North America....
 there were no rainfall totals and gale force winds were reported. A 50 ft wave damaged a sea wall and sank several fishing boats. Two storage sheds were also destroyed by the storm. Three people were swept out to sea by the heavy surf, all were rescued. Damage in Newfoundland was estimated at $2 million (1999 CND, $1.4 million 1999 USD
United States dollar

The United States dollar is the unit of currency of the United States and was defined by the Coinage Act of 1792 to be between 371 and 416 grains of silver ....
, $1.7 million 2007 USD).

Because the damage from Hurricane Gert was not extreme, the name was not retired by the World Meteorological Organization
World Meteorological Organization

The World Meteorological Organization is an intergovernmental organization with a membership of 188 Member States and Territories. It originated from the International Meteorological Organization , which was founded in 1873....
, so it was used again in 2005 and will be used for the 2011 Atlantic hurricane season
2011

2011 will be a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. According to the North Korean Juche#Juche calendar, this will be Juche year 100....
.

See also

  • List of Atlantic hurricanes
  • Tropical cyclone
    Tropical cyclone

    A tropical cyclone is a storm characterized by a large low pressure system center and numerous thunderstorms that produce strong winds and flooding rain....


Sources