August Hurricanes On the Horizon As Climate Favors Tropical Storms

Aug 01, 2018

Emergency Management

August Hurricanes Likely

Although the 2018 Atlantic Hurricane Season had an early start this year, August hurricanes may steal the show. August is typically the perfect month for hurricanes as tropical activity ramps up during the late-summer month.

According to our meteorologists, August hurricanes form often thanks to the month’s favorable environment. There are three major factors that increase tropical activity during August. First, light winds dominate the atmosphere’s upper levels. Second, ocean temperatures are typically warmest during August. Last,

August’s environment also includes an easier path for disturbances to move westward. These disturbances, also called tropical waves, have an easier time moving off the west coast of Africa all the way to the Caribbean and United States. All these factors combine to make August hurricanes a large threat.

August By the Numbers

On average, we only see two named storms develop in the Atlantic before August 1st arrives. That’s scary to think about, considering we saw 17 named storms during the 2017 Atlantic Hurricane Season!

It’s even scarier when we look at this season and see we’re running slightly ahead. As of August 1, 2018, this year’s hurricane season already has three named storms under its belt. Subtropical Storm Alberto formed in late May. Back-to-back hurricanes Beryl and Chris followed Alberto in early to-mid June.

August normally sees three new named storms form by the end of the month. August hurricanes likely develop in three regions of the Atlantic Basin:

The Gulf of Mexico and northern Caribbean
The area of the central Atlantic east of the Lesser Antilles
The western Atlantic stretching from the Bahamas northward along Florida and up to the Carolinas

In the past, August has been notorious for some of the strongest and most damaging hurricanes. Hurricane Carol ravaged Long Island and New England back in 1954. This Category 2 storm hit on August 31. In 1992, Hurricane Andrew hit Florida as a Category 5 storm on August 23. Perhaps the best-known August hurricane was Hurricane Katrina. This destructive storm devastated New Orleans and the central Gulf Coast on August 29, 2005.

Have the Right Hurricane Tools

The best way to be ready for Hurricane Season 2018 is to have the right tools under your belt. Businesses across the Gulf and Atlantic coasts need real-time weather data from hyperlocal sensors along with the latest NWS warnings to ensure they are protecting their assets from Mother Nature.

There’s nothing we can do to stop hurricanes, but there is plenty we can do to prepare. Tools like Sferic Maps make it easy for business continuity professionals and emergency management crews to see hurricanes in real-time and track weather data layers like rainfall amount, wind speeds, and spaghetti plots for tropical storms.

This hurricane season, give your organization the advantage it needs when combating hurricanes with Sferic Maps. You can start a free, 30-day trial of our premier weather visualization software to help you combat August hurricanes. Just click the link below to get your free software!

2017 August Hurricane Recap

Flooding in Houston, TX after Hurricane Harvey

Mother Nature kept the Atlantic on its toes last August with four named storms and one tropical depression.

Franklin

Hurricane Franklin started the month off by strengthening into a Category 1 hurricane on August 9 off the coast of Mexico. Franklin weakened back into a tropical storm on August 10 after making landfall over eastern Mexico.

Gert

Gert was a tropical storm that formed on August 13 and churned over the open western Atlantic before strengthening into a hurricane on August 14. Hurricane Gert then raced out into the northern Atlantic by August 17.

Harvey

The next two August hurricanes were less forgiving than Franklin and Gert. The third storm was Hurricane Harvey. If you remember, Harvey devastated southeastern Texas at the end of August with heavy rain and damaging wind.

Harvey first developed into a Tropical Storm over the open Atlantic on August 17 and entered the eastern Caribbean. Then it lost strength and became a remnant low-pressure just two days later. After re-strengthening in the Gulf of Mexico, Harvey regained its tropical storm status on August 24. Harvey then developed into a Category 4 hurricane the following day after rapid intensification.

Hurricane Harvey made landfall as a Category 4 hurricane between Port Aransas and Port O’Connor, Texas. It had maximum sustained winds of 130mph and dumped over 30 inches of rain across the Houston area. This caused catastrophic flooding and damage.

Irma

The August hurricane of the 2017 season was Irma. Hurricane Irma closed out the month by developing into a tropical storm on August 30 over the open Atlantic Ocean. It quickly strengthened into a Category 1 hurricane on August 31 and reached Category 3 status that same day. Irma then made a long trek towards the northeastern Caribbean and strengthened into a Category 5 by September 5.

Hurricane Irma devastated several islands, including Barbuda and Saint Martin. Hurricane Irma skimmed north of Puerto Rico on September 6 while still a Category 5. Irma continued to unleash high winds and heavy rains at the Turks and Caicos and Cuba. Irma then made landfall in the Florida Keys and southwest Florida on September 10.