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Gone With the Wind
By dtewes in Sky Watch
December 5, 2007

Image     The 2007 hurricane season is behind us now, giving meteorologists and researchers time to catch their breath and analyze what happened.
   Only four of the 14 named storms struck the United States in 2007. But half of the U.S. storms affected Texas, including Tropical Storm Erin south of Victoria and Hurricane Humberto.
      Overall it was a quiet season for the United States, although the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reported these interesting facts:

  • Eight storms formed in the Atlantic Basin during September - tying September 2002 for having the most storm formations during any given month.
  • For the first time in recorded history, two Category 5 hurricanes made landfall in the Atlantic Basin during the same season. Hurricane Dean hit the Yucatan Peninsula near Costa Maya on Aug. 21 with 165 mph winds, followed by Hurricane Felix on Sept. 2, near Punta Gorda, Nicaragua, with 160 mph winds.
  • With a central pressure of 906 millibars, Hurricane Dean had the third lowest pressure at landfall – behind the Labor Day 1935 Hurricane in the Florida Keys and Hurricane Gilbert of 1988 in Cancun, Mexico. Dean is also the first Category 5 hurricane to make landfall in the Atlantic Basin since Hurricane Andrew hit South Florida in 1992.
  • Hurricane Humberto grew from a tropical depression with top winds of 35 mph into a hurricane with winds of 85 mph within 24 hours - only three others storms (Celia 1970, Arlene and Flora 1963) intensified faster during a 24-hour period from below tropical storm strength.