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The 1977 Atlantic hurricane season officially began on June 1, 1977, and lasted until November 30, 1977. These dates conventionally delimit the period of each year when most tropical cyclones form in the Atlantic basin.
The 1977 Atlantic hurricane season was below average in activity, with 6 tropical storms forming, of which 5 became hurricanes. The only notable storm of the season was Hurricane Anita, which hit Mexico as a Category 5 hurricane, killing 10 people.
[edit] Storms
[edit] Hurricane Anita
- Main article: Hurricane Anita
Hurricane Anita formed on August 29 in the central Gulf of Mexico and moved west, rapidly intensifying, to become a hurricane on August 30. It reached Category 5 intensity on September 2 before making landfall in northeastern Mexico. It killed 10 people, though due to the sparse population of the area damage figures are not available.
[edit] Hurricane Babe
The tropical depression that became Hurricane Babe formed in the northeastern Gulf of Mexico on September 3. Inititally subtropical in nature, having formed with the help of an upper level low, the storm developed tropical characteristics on September 4. After moving west-southwestward, the storm moved more northerly towards the Louisiana coast. As it approached the coast, it strengthened to a hurricane, though only briefly, as it made landfall on the morning of September 5. Babe rapidly weakened to a tropical depression over Louisiana, and brought heavy rain over Alabama, Mississippi, northern Georgia, and South Carolina, before dissipating on September 9. Because of the heavy rains, Babe caused $10 million in damage ($32 million in 2005 USD), but caused no fatalities.
In a unique coincidence, Typhoon Babe existed in the 1977 Pacific typhoon season at the same time.
[edit] Hurricane Clara
The same system that spawned Hurricane Babe also spawned Hurricane Clara. A convective cloud mass with a spiral band of gale-force winds northeast of Babe moved away from the system. As it moved over Georgia and South Carolina, it became better organized, and became a tropical depression on September 5, located just north of Charleston, South Carolina. As the storm moved eastward, it strengthened to a tropical storm on September 8, located 200 miles east of Cape Hatteras. Later that day it attained hurricane status, but before long, strong upper-level winds sheared the system apart. A weakened Clara executed a tight loop east of Bermuda, and went out to sea, dissipating on September 12.
[edit] Hurricane Dorothy
Hurricane Dorothy formed from a tropical wave on September 26, located about halfway between Bermuda and the central Bahamas. The storm moved northeastward, brushing Bermuda to the south, and gradually strengthened. On September 28, Dorothy became a hurricane northeast of Bermuda, but the next day, it lost tropical characteristics while located south of Cape Race, Newfoundland.
[edit] Hurricane Evelyn
The tropical depression that became Hurricane Evelyn formed on October 13, located about 400 miles south of Bermuda. After hitting the island on October 14, Evelyn strengthened to a hurricane while racing northward. On October 15, Evelyn lost its tropical characteristics while located over southwestern Newfoundland.
[edit] Tropical Storm Frieda
Tropical Storm Frieda formed in the western Caribbean Sea on October 16. After reaching a peak of 60 mph winds on October 18, it steadily weakened until its landfall near Belize City, Belize on October 19.
[edit] Inactivity
The 1977 season was very inactive, with only 6 named storms. The Atlantic basin was not alone in this inactivity, though; the 1977 Pacific hurricane season was also inactive as was the 1977 Pacific typhoon season. The cause is unknown.
[edit] Accumulated Cyclone Energy (ACE) Rating
| ACE (104kt2) – Storm: Source |
| 1 |
12.8 |
Anita |
4 |
2.43 |
Evelyn |
| 2 |
3.68 |
Clara |
5 |
1.71 |
Babe |
| 3 |
3.36 |
Dorothy |
6 |
0.773 |
Frieda |
| Total= 24.71 (25) |
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] 1977 storm names
The following names were used for named storms (tropical storms and hurricanes) that formed in the North Atlantic in 1977. Names that were not assigned are marked in gray.
- Anita
- Babe
- Clara
- Dorothy
- Evelyn
- Frieda
- Grace (unused)
|
- Hannah (unused)
- Ida (unused)
- Jodie (unused)
- Kristina (unused)
- Lois (unused)
- Mary (unused)
- Nora (unused)
|
- Odel (unused)
- Penny (unused)
- Raquel (unused)
- Sophia (unused)
- Trudy (unused)
- Virginia (unused)
- Willene (unused)
|
[edit] Retirement
- See also: List of retired Atlantic hurricanes
The name Anita was later retired. Because the list used for this season was not used again after a new list containing male names came into usage in the 1979 season, it was not replaced with any particular name.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
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Tropical cyclones of the 1977 Atlantic hurricane season
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