Tropical Cyclones [Index]

Monthly Global Tropical Cyclone Summary September 1997 [Summaries and Track Data] [Prepared by Gary Padgett]

                MONTHLY GLOBAL TROPICAL CYCLONE SUMMARY

                             SEPTEMBER, 1997


                                HIGHLIGHTS

  --> Lone Atlantic major hurricane of season narrowly misses Caribbean
      Islands -- brings hurricane force gusts to Azores
  --> Strongest hurricane on record in Eastern North Pacific
  --> Southwestern U.S. experiences rare tropical cyclone strike
  --> Marianas Islands struck by yet another supertyphoon
  --> North Indian hurricane affects India and Bangladesh

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                           ACTIVITY BY BASINS

  ATLANTIC (ATL) - North Atlantic Ocean / Caribbean Sea / Gulf of Mexico           

  Activity for September:  1 hurricane


                 Hurricane Erika (TC #6)   3-15 September
                 ----------------------------------------

       Hurricane Erika was the only Atlantic hurricane to form at low
    latitudes from a tropical wave during the 1997 season, and was the
    only hurricane to reach Category 3 on the Saffir/Simpson scale.  The
    hurricane narrowly missed the islands of the northeastern Caribbean,
    and later brought gales and hurricane force gusts to some of the
    islands in the Azores.

       Since the very interesting and informative preliminary storm report
    for Hurricane Erika has already been prepared by the staff of Hurricane
    Specialists at the Tropical Prediction Center/National Hurricane Center
    (TPC/NHC) in Miami, and is available on TPC's website, no more will be
    said here about this particular tropical cyclone.

       Interested persons should point their browser to the following URL:

              http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/erika.html

       This year was the first Atlantic hurricane season since 1925 in
    which the combined months of Aug/Sep produced only one tropical cyclone
    of at least tropical storm intensity. This dates back to well before the
    era of aerial reconnaissance of tropical cyclones in the Atlantic basin.
    The last year to have as few as two tropical storms in the two-month
    period was 1946, and that of course pre-dates the satellite era by
    many years.  Given that all years since the advent of meteorological
    satellites have seen at least three tropical storms/hurricanes during
    the August-September period, a one-storm year such as 1997 can be
    considered an extremely rare event indeed.