1986 Atlantic hurricane season

The 1986 Atlantic hurricane season was a very inactive season that produced 10 depressions, 6 named storms, 4 hurricanes, and no major hurricanes. The season officially began on June 1, 1986, and lasted until November 30, 1986. These dates conventionally delimit the period of each year when most tropical cyclones form in the Atlantic basin. During the 1986 season, the first subtropical depression formed in the first week of June, while the last tropical cyclone dissipated at the end of the third week of November. The 1986 season had lower than average activity because of an ongoing El Niño, and was the least active season in the North Atlantic since the 1983 Atlantic hurricane season. This was also the first season since 1972 to have no major hurricanes.

|align="center" colspan="2"|Record high activity

|30

|15

|7†

|align="center" colspan="2"|Record low activity

|0†

|align="left"|CSU || May 29, 1986 || 8 || 4 || N/A ||

|align="left"|CSU || July 28, 1986 || 7 || 4 || N/A || In May, a total of 8 named storms were expected, with four hurricanes expected, 15 days with hurricanes, and a total of 35 days with a tropical storm active in the northern Atlantic Ocean. In July, the numbers were dropped to a total of 7 named storms, 4 hurricanes, 10 hurricane days, and 25 days with a named tropical storm, which almost perfectly verified. CSU lowered their numbers from the previous prediction after data indicated high sea-level pressure anomalies over the Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico and westward-oriented zonal wind anomalies, both of which favored less tropical cyclone activity.

Season summary

;June 1

0000 UTC (8:00 p.m. EDT May 31) – The 1986 Atlantic hurricane season officially begins.

;June 5

0000 UTC (8:00 p.m. EDT June 4) – Subtropical Depression One formed near the Bahamas.

;June 6

0000 UTC (8:00 p.m. EDT June 5) – Subtropical Depression One acquired tropical characteristics and strengthened into Tropical Storm Andrew.

;June 24

1800 UTC (1:00 p.m. CDT) – Tropical Depression Two strengthened into Tropical Storm Bonnie.

;August 15

1200 UTC (8:00 a.m. EDT) – The subtropical depression transitioned into a tropical depression southeast of Charleston, South Carolina.
2:00 p.m. EDT (1800 UTC) - Tropical Depression Seven strengthened into Tropical Storm Danielle.

;September 11

0000 UTC (8:00 p.m. EDT September 10) – Tropical Depression Eight strengthened into Tropical Storm Earl.

;November 19

0600 UTC (2:00 a.m. EDT) – Tropical Depression Nine strengthened into Tropical Storm Frances.

;November 22

0000 UTC (8:00 p.m. EDT) – Tropical Storm Frances merged with an extratropical storm. which is classified as "below normal". ACE is, broadly speaking, a measure of the power of the hurricane multiplied by the length of time it existed, so storms that last a long time, as well as particularly strong hurricanes, have high ACEs. ACE is only calculated for full advisories on tropical systems at or exceeding or tropical storm strength. Subtropical cyclones are excluded from the total.

Systems

Tropical Storm Andrew

In early June, a large area of disturbed weather persisted over the Greater Antilles, bringing heavy rains to the islands. The area moved northward, developing a circulation over the Bahamas. Strong upper-level winds caused the structure to resemble a subtropical cyclone, and as a result, the system was classified as a subtropical depression on June 5. The depression moved to the northwest and transitioned into a tropical storm on June 6; it was named Andrew about southeast of Charleston, South Carolina. The storm approached the South Carolina coast within before recurving to the northeast on June 7. before being absorbed by a low pressure system over Canada on June 8. Waves reached heights of off the coast of the Carolinas, which killed a person on Ocracoke Island. Three companions were also swept out, all of whom made it back to shore. At Wrightsville Beach and Carolina Beach, at least 40 swimmers were caught in the currents, four of whom were hospitalized. The precursor to the storm produced heavy rainfall across Jamaica that caused a deadly flood event. and with continued favorable conditions attained hurricane status on June 25 to the south of Louisiana.

Prior to moving ashore, 22,000 people were evacuated. Upon making landfall, Bonnie produced a storm surge peaking at at Sabine Pass. Rainfall from the storm peaked at in Ace, Texas, which caused some street flooding and destroyed a small dam in Liberty County. The hurricane also spawned eleven tornadoes, which, in combination with moderate winds, destroyed about 25 residences in southwestern Louisiana. Three deaths occurred in the Port Arthur, Texas, area; two from separate car accidents and another after a partially paralyzed woman died in a house fire. Bonnie caused damage totaling approximately $42 million.

Tropical Depression Three

The third tropical depression of the season was detected early on July 23 in the open waters of the Atlantic, southeast of Bermuda. While about north of the island on July 27, the storm was moving northward at while winds were about 30 mph (50 km/h), after maintaining sustained winds of 35 mph (55 km/h) on the previous two days. Later that afternoon, aircraft reconnaissance found no well-defined circulation and the storm's status was reduced from a depression. The depression never threatened any land areas.

Unnumbered tropical depression

A tropical disturbance was detected on August 4 in the northwestern Gulf of Mexico along the lower Texas coast. The low-pressure system moved slowly toward land, limiting the system's development. On August 5, the system became organized enough to be considered a tropical depression. The storm moved inland overnight, dumping several inches of rain over South Texas and causing street flooding in Brownsville and nearby South Padre Island. The system caused rainfall up to in some areas but had no major problems attributed to it. This storm was not carried as a depression operationally, and thus has no assigned number.

Hurricane Charley

A trough of low pressure persisted over Florida on August 11. After organizing and merging with a decaying frontal trough,

The storm brought light to moderate rains along its path through the southeastern United States, alleviating drought conditions in Georgia and South Carolina. In North Carolina, tidal flooding and downed trees were the primary impact. The storm brought high winds to southeastern Virginia, where 110,000 people lost power. Minor damage extended along the Atlantic coastline northward through Massachusetts. Charley caused about $15 million in damage in the United States and five deaths, all due to indirect causes. The extratropical remnants of Charley brought heavy rainfall and strong winds to the British Isles, causing at least 11 deaths. In Ireland, the rainfall set records for 24‑hour totals, including an accumulation of more than , which remains the highest daily precipitation total in the country. Consequently, widespread flooding occurred, with two rivers overflowing their banks. In the Dublin area, 451 buildings were flooded, some up to a depth of . In the United Kingdom, the storm downed trees and power lines, as well as flooded rivers.

Tropical Storm Danielle

On September 1, a tropical wave moved off the coast of Africa and headed westward.

The islands of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines experienced wind gusts up to hurricane-force, causing severe power outages and causing roof damage. In the Grenadines, the storm drove a coast guard ship aground, while five people were injured and hundreds of homes were destroyed. Torrential rainfall produced several mudslides, which, in turn, damaged roads, bridges, electricity, and water services. Danielle also destroyed twelve homes on the island of Barbados. In Trinidad and Tobago, strong flooding of up to four feet caused 27 landslides, destroying four bridges. The storm caused $8 million in damage in Tobago. Total damage from the storm amounted to $9.2 million, mostly to crops. After moving across the Atlantic, the wave developed into Tropical Depression Eight at 18:00 UTC on September 10 while about east of Puerto Rico. By late on September 10, Earl intensified into a hurricane and then reached Category 2 intensity on September 12. The upper trough and a high-pressure system caused Earl to accelerate north-northeastward beginning on September 17. developing into a tropical depression at 18:00 UTC on November 18 approximately north of the Lesser Antilles. Early on the following day, the depression intensified into Tropical Storm Frances, based on a ship reporting winds of 40 mph (65 km/h). Frances turned northeastward on November 19 and strengthened into a hurricane on the following day, This is the same list used for the 1980 season except for Andrew, which replaced Allen, and was used for the first time in 1986. No names were retired from this list following the season, and it was used again for the 1992 season.

{| style="width:90%; clear:both;"

Andrew
Bonnie
Charley
Danielle
Earl
Frances

Season effects

This is a table of all of the tropical cyclones that formed in the 1986 Atlantic hurricane season. It includes their name, duration, peak classification and intensities, areas affected, damage, and death totals. Deaths in parentheses are additional and indirect (an example of an indirect death would be a traffic accident), but were still related to that storm. Damage and deaths include totals while the storm was extratropical, a wave, or a low, and all of the damage figures are in 1986 USD.

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References

External links

Monthly Weather Review
U.S. Rainfall information on tropical cyclones from 1986