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The 1986 Atlantic hurricane 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.
The 1986 season had lower than average activity because of an El Niño event, and was the first season since 1972 to have no major hurricanes. Few storms caused significant damage; Hurricane Bonnie caused heavy rains and flooding across southeast Texas when it made landfall near Sea Rim State Park. Hurricane Charley caused limited damage in North Carolina and Massachusetts, but crossed the Atlantic as an extratropical low pressure system and caused considerable damage in Ireland and Great Britain.
[edit] Storms
[edit] Tropical Storm Andrew
Tropical Depression One formed on June 5 north of the Bahamas. It strengthened into Tropical Storm Andrew the next day. Andrew headed along the East Coast of the United States, causing riptides and high surf along the shore but little else. Andrew dissipated south of Cape Cod. One person drowned off the North Carolina coast in high surf, but no significant damage was reported.
[edit] Hurricane Bonnie
During late June, a frontal trough drifted into the northeastern Gulf of Mexico, and by June 22 a surface circulation formed. Tracking west-northwestward, it developed into Tropical Depression Two on June 23 while located about 330 miles (535 km) south of Pensacola, Florida. The next day, it attained tropical storm status, and with continued favorable conditions attained hurricane status on June 25 to the south of Louisiana. Bonnie turned to the northwest and made landfall near Sea Rim State Park in Texas. The storm quickly weakened over land as it turned to the north and northeast, and on June 28 it was absorbed by an approaching frontal zone in southeastern Missouri.
Prior to moving ashore, 22,000 people were evacuated. Upon making landfall, Hurricane Bonnie produced a storm surge peaking at 5.2 feet (1.5 m) at Sabine Pass. Rainfall from the storm peaked at 13 inches (330 mm) in Ace, Texas, which caused some street flooding and destroyed a small dam in Liberty County, Texas. The hurricane also spawned eleven tornadoes, which, in combination with moderate winds, destroyed about 25 residencies in southwestern Louisiana. Three storm deaths occurred in the Port Arthur, Texas area; two deaths occurred from separate car accidents, and another occurred after a partially paralyzed woman died in a house fire. Hurricane Bonnie caused minor damage totaling $2 million (1986 USD, $3.5 million 2006 USD).
[edit] Hurricane Charley
A tropical depression formed off the coast of the Florida Panhandle and moved inland. The depression moved off the coast near Savannah, Georgia and strengthened into Tropical Storm Charley. Continuing up the coastline, the storm strengthened into a hurricane before moving across the Outer Banks and Delmarva Peninsula. Charley turned out to sea, became extratropical in the North Atlantic, and later brought severe weather across Great Britain and Ireland on August 25.
As the hurricane moved up the East Coast of the United States, it caused moderate yet beneficial rainfall. Charley's wind and slow movement caused 2 to 3 foot higher tides, causing $1.015 million in damage (1986 USD, $1.7 million 2005 USD). Five deaths were reported from the hurricane, of which three were from a plane crash.[3] When it hit Europe as an extratropical storm, Charley's strong winds and rain caused structural damage to houses and bridges, along with large-scale uprooting of trees. Abnormally large amounts of rainfall occurred, particularly in Ireland, resulting in extensive flooding amounting to over 5 inches in an already wet and cold month. Damage amounted to IR£25 million (1986 Irish Pounds, €47 million 2002 Euro, $57.5 million 2005 USD).[4][5]
[edit] Tropical Storm Danielle
On September 1, a tropical wave moved off the coast of Africa and headed westward. The disturbance was below the 10 degree latitude as it organized into a tropical depression on September 7 and then a tropical storm later that day. Danielle peaked as a 60 mph storm on the 8th, while Reconnaissance Aircraft reported gusts of up to hurricane force. After passing through the Lesser Antilles, Danielle encountered vertical wind shear, and on the 10th it dissipated in the central Caribbean Sea. [1] The remnants continued westward and ultimately regenerated into Tropical Storm Lester. [2]
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,[1] 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. [3] Danielle also destroyed twelve homes on the island of Barbados. [4] In Trinidad and Tobago, strong flooding of up to four feet caused 27 landslides, destroying four bridges. The storm caused $8 million dollars in damage in Tobago. [5] Total damage from the storm amounted to $9.2 million (1986 USD), mostly to crops, though no deaths were reported. [6]
[edit] Hurricane Earl
The strongest storm of the season began as a tropical wave off Africa on September 4. After moving across the tropical Atlantic Ocean it strengthened as Tropical Depression Five on September 10 while about 1240 miles (2000 km) east of Puerto Rico. The depression quickly strengthened and reached hurricane strength the next day, peaked as a Category 2 on September 12 as it made a half circle, weakened to a Category 1 on September 16 and bounced back the way it came. Earl then turned north and became extratropical southeast of Newfoundland on September 19. At its peak, Earl had sustained winds of 105 mph (170 km/h) and a minimum central pressure of 979 mbar. [6]
[edit] Hurricane Frances
Tropical Depression Six formed on November 18 and quickly strengthened into a tropical storm. The storm curved northeast and strengthened further, reaching hurricane strength on November 20. However, a high pressure system to the north caused the storm to fall apart. Frances was absorbed by an extratropical low on the 21st.
[edit] Accumulated Cyclone Energy (ACE) Rating
| ACE (104kt²) – Storm: Source |
| 1 |
19.7 |
Earl |
4 |
2.94 |
Bonnie |
| 2 |
5.63 |
Charley |
5 |
2.19 |
Andrew |
| 3 |
3.80 |
Frances |
6 |
1.56 |
Danielle |
| Total= 35.7925 (36) |
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.
[edit] Storm names
The following names were used for named storms that formed in the north Atlantic in 1986. No names were retired, so it was used again in the 1992 season. This is the same list used for the 1980 season except for Andrew, which replaced Allen. A storm was named Andrew for the first time in 1986. Names that were not assigned are marked in gray.
- Andrew
- Bonnie
- Charley
- Danielle
- Earl
- Frances
- Georges (unused)
|
- Hermine (unused)
- Ivan (unused)
- Jeanne (unused)
- Karl (unused)
- Lisa (unused)
- Mitch (unused)
- Nicole (unused)
|
- Otto (unused)
- Paula (unused)
- Richard (unused)
- Shary (unused)
- Tomas (unused)
- Virginie (unused)
- Walter (unused)
|
[edit] Retirement
- See also: List of retired Atlantic hurricane names
The World Meteorological Organization retired no names used in the 1986 season.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
[edit] External links
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Tropical cyclones of the 1986 Atlantic hurricane season
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![[6]](ftp://ftp.nhc.noaa.gov/pub/storm_archives/atlantic/prelimat/atl1986/earl/prelim03.gif){kind=link}