Hurricane Alberto (1982)
| Category 1 hurricane ( SSHWS ) | ||
|---|---|---|
.JPG) |
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| Emergence | 2nd June 1982 | |
| resolution | June 6, 1982 | |
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Peak wind speed |
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| Lowest air pressure | 985 mbar ( hPa ; 29.1 inHg ) | |
| dead | 23 direct | |
| Property damage | $ 85 million (1982) | |
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Affected areas |
Cuba , Florida | |
| Season overview: 1982 Atlantic hurricane season |
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Hurricane Alberto was the first tropical cyclone of the 1982 Atlantic hurricane season and caused the worst flooding in western Cuba in more than thirty years. The hurricane developed from a weather disruption in the southern Gulf of Mexico on June 2 . The system organized itself very quickly and reached hurricane status the next day. Alberto was the earliest hurricane of the year in the Atlantic basin since Hurricane Alma in May 1970. Shortly after Alberto had reached its peak wind speeds of around 140 km / h, Alberto began to weaken due to approaching winds at altitude. While the original projections had assumed a northwestern trajectory to Florida , the system turned sharply west and moved on a wandering path across the eastern Gulf of Mexico before breaking up on June 6.
In western Cuba, Alberto caused heavy rains, which led to flash floods with severe damage. The storm damaged 8,745 homes and destroyed 154, leaving hundreds of people homeless. The extensive rains lasted more than a few weeks after the storm and the damage amounted to about 85 million US dollars (in 1982 prices). At least 23 people were killed by the hurricane and its impact on Cuba. In Florida, the effects of turning off were far less than originally thought.
Storm course
At the end of May, a tropical fault continuously developed over the northwestern Caribbean Sea . This migrated westward to Yucatán and on June 1, a circulating cloud formation formed from the convection zone, which was connected to a low pressure area . The system moved northeast into the Gulf of Mexico and its development continued. As a result, a circulation movement developed on the surface and the National Hurricane Center classified Tropical Low Pressure Area One about 65 km north-northwest of Cancún . By Hurricane Hunter the presence of the tropical lows was confirmed the day. Presumably in the early morning of June 3rd, the low pressure area intensified into a tropical storm. At that time it was located about 240 km north-northwest of the western tip of Cuba and, according to observations from a ship about 185 km south of the center, the wind speed was about 75 km / h. An Air Force flight was scheduled, but not carried out, because the Cuban government did not consent to the plane touching Cuban airspace.
Alberto intensified rapidly on his move northeast through the southeastern Gulf of Mexico, reaching category 1 hurricane strength on the Saffir-Simpson hurricane wind scale within nine hours of being classified as a tropical storm. Late on June 3rd, Alberto reached wind peaks of 140 km / h. At this point the center was about 195 km west-southwest of Key West , Florida. Shortly thereafter, strong westerly winds at altitude affected the convection of the hurricane, which had weakened into a tropical storm by the morning of June 4. Weak steering wind currents caused a sharp change in course to the west. The system wandered over the Gulf of Mexico, separating the center of circulation from convection, and by the morning of June 5th Alberto had become a convectionless tropical depression. As such, Alberto drifted east-northeast and then turned more east before disintegrating late on June 6 about 115 km off the coast of Florida.
Preparations
Due to the sudden development and the initially assumed train path over the southwest of Florida, the National Hurricane Center in Miami initially issued warnings of a tropical storm and a few hours later of a hurricane for the coast between the Dry Tortugas and Marathon in the Florida Keys , as well as the southwest mainland coast to Fort Myers . An advance warning was also issued, stretching from Marathon to Jupiter Inlet . At the time the hurricane warning was issued, Alberto was moving on a steady northeast course and projections showed a direct hit in Key West within twelve hours and an impact on the mainland at Key Largo within 24 hours. In addition, most of the calculation models assumed that Alberto would then cross south Florida further northeast (only one of the computer models, which was not available at the time, calculated the weak steering winds that prevented the center of the storm from reaching Florida) . The authorities therefore ordered the forced evacuation along the southwest coast of Florida. More than 1,000 residents left their homes and sought emergency shelters. Air Florida canceled all flights to Key West. Many of the residents on the islands of the Lower Florida Keys could no longer reach the mainland and the authorities organized their accommodation in Key West. Schools and public institutions in Monroe County have been closed and expendable personnel have been sent home.
Effects
Alberto's rain bands resulted in heavy rains and flash floods over western Cuba. The rainfall was 1012 mm, the fourth highest rainfall in Cuba since 1963. Several hundred Cubans were made homeless because of the floods. More than 50,000 residents had to be evacuated because of the floods, which in the northwestern part of the country were described as the worst since 1950. The storm left around 250,000 uprooted banana trees and damaged 8,745 buildings; 71 houses in the province of Pinar del Río and 83 buildings in the capital Havana were destroyed by Alberto. Six factories in the capital province were also damaged. The passage of Alberto interrupted the power supply and telephone connections in several districts. The Cuban military was deployed to help people cut off from the outside world by the floods and to clean up fallen trees. Two days after the closest rapprochement, the number of victims reached 11; it later rose to 23 or 24. Of these, three were in Havana and 20 in the province of Pinar del Rio.
The heavy rains continued for some time after Alberto passed through, causing severe losses in the tobacco harvest . Around 900 t of the finest varieties of the harvest that had already been brought in were destroyed because wind and rain damaged barns in which the tobacco was stored, and a further 1300 t of tobacco leaves were damaged. In the province of Pinar del Rio, Alberto left thousands of damaged houses as well as around 400 drowned animals, mainly cattle. The damage totaled an estimated $ 85 million (1982; about $ 178 million in 2006, adjusted for inflation).
Storm winds and heavy rainfall also hit the lower Florida Keys ; Key West recorded 160 mm of precipitation within 24 hours, the highest wind speed was measured at 115 km / h in the Dry Tortugas . Heavy rain also fell in southern Florida and the eastern Keys; the highest rainfall recorded there was 418 mm in Tavernier . Alberto caused three tornadoes and a waterspout along the island chain, damaging several boats near Stock Island . One tornado lifted a moving car, slightly injuring the driver, while another tore down two telegraph poles, disrupting traffic on the Overseas Highway for some time. The damage caused by the tornadoes amounted to $ 275,000 (1982).
Despite the extensive damage and death toll caused by Alberto, his name was not removed from the list of tropical cyclone names by the World Meteorological Organization ; it was used again in 1988 , 1994 , 2000 , and 2006 .
Individual evidence
- ^ A b Gilbert Clark: Atlantic Hurricane Season of 1982 ( English , PDF) National Hurricane Center. 1983. Retrieved on April 2, 2008. ( Page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ^ A b c National Hurricane Center: Hurricane Alberto Preliminary Report (GIF) 1982. Retrieved April 2, 2008.
- ↑ Associated Press: Cuban Government Bars USAF Jet From Entering Storm . June 4, 1982. Retrieved April 14, 2008 from LexisNexis.
- ↑ a b National Hurricane Center: Hurricane Alberto Preliminary Report (Page 2) (GIF) 1982. Retrieved April 2, 2008.
- ↑ a b c Washington Post: Florida Spared as Hurricane Alberto Fizzles . June 5, 1982, p. A8. Retrieved April 12, 2008 from LexisNexis.
- ↑ a b Randall Hackley: News Report on Hurricane Alberto , Associated Press. June 3, 1982. Retrieved April 12, 2008 from LexisNexis.
- ↑ Instituto Nacional de Recursos Hidráulicos: Lluvias intensas observadas y grandes inundaciones reportadas ( Spanish ) 2003. Archived from the original on March 12, 2007. Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved April 4, 2008.
- ↑ a b Washington Post: 23 Cubans Die in Hurricane Alberto . June 6, 1982, p. A14. Retrieved April 12, 2008 from LexisNexis.
- ^ A b c d Associated Press: News Report on Hurricane Alberto . June 5, 1982. Retrieved April 12, 2008 from LexisNexis.
- ↑ Latin America Weekly Report 23/82: Cuba / Hurricane . Jun 11, 1982, p. 11. Retrieved April 12, 2008 from LexisNexis.
- ^ United Press International: News Report on Hurricane Alberto . June 6, 1982. Retrieved April 12, 2008 from LexisNexis.
- ^ Associated Press: News Report on Hurricane Alberto (2) . June 5, 1982. Retrieved April 12, 2008 from LexisNexis.
- ^ Les Kjos: News Report on Hurricane Alberto , United Press International. June 5, 1982. Retrieved April 12, 2008 from LexisNexis.
- ↑ Latin America Commodities Report 13/82: CUBA: Tobacco crop hit by bad weather . July 2, 1982, p. 2. Retrieved April 12, 2008 from LexisNexis.
- ^ EM-DAT: The International Disaster Database: Disaster List for Cuba . Center for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters. 2007. Archived from the original on May 13, 2007. Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved April 4, 2008.
- ↑ David Roth: Rainfall summary for Hurricane Alberto (1982) . Hydrometeorological Prediction Center. 2006. Archived from the original on October 8, 2006. Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved April 4, 2008.
- ↑ Tom Grazulis and Bill McCaul: Every Hurricane that has Spawned a Tornado . The Tornado Project. 2006. Retrieved April 12, 2008.
- ^ National Climatic Data Center: Event Report for Florida . 1982. Archived from the original on May 19, 2011. Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved April 4, 2008.
- ^ National Climatic Data Center: Event Report for Florida . 1982. Archived from the original on May 19, 2011. Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved April 4, 2008.
