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The 1980 Atlantic hurricane season officially began on June 1, 1980, and lasted until November 30, 1980. These dates conventionally delimit the period of each year when most tropical cyclones form in the Atlantic basin. The season was fairly active, with eleven storms forming, of which nine reached hurricane strength.
Only three storms made landfall in the 1980 season. The most notable storm was Hurricane Allen, a powerful Category 5 hurricane that travelled across the Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico, causing widespread damage and hundreds of deaths. Additionally, Tropical Storm Danielle flooded the northeast coast of Texas, and Tropical Storm Hermine was responsible for flooding in Mexico.
[edit] Storms
[edit] Hurricane Allen
- Main article: Hurricane Allen
Like most Atlantic hurricanes, Allen originated as a tropical wave that moved off the coast of Africa. Allen reached tropical storm strength on August 2, and on the 3rd moved between Barbados and St. Lucia as a hurricane. Now in the Caribbean Sea, The storm passed just south of Hispaniola, then continued west between Cuba and Jamaica.
Allen stayed south of Cuba, and passed through the Yucatan Channel into the Gulf of Mexico. The center of Hurricane Allen finally struck land in southern Texas near the border with Mexico. Allen underwent a rapid drop in intensity just before its only landfall, described by a National Weather Service statement as "miraculous".
Allen was one of the strongest Atlantic hurricanes of record, with maximum sustained winds at 190 mph at its peak. It became a Category 5 on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale on August 5; Allen reached that strength two more times thereafter. While the storm was passing south of Cuba, its wind field extended so far as to cause gale force winds to be recorded in the Florida Keys on the far side of Cuba.
Allen killed roughly 250 people, mostly in Haiti. Property damage was estimated at over $1 billion (1980 US dollars), mostly to the U.S. and Haiti.
[edit] Hurricane Bonnie
Bonnie formed midway between Cape Verde and the Windward Islands on August 14. The storm moved almost due north, strengthening into a hurricane. A companion tropical system formed near Bonnie, but never exceeded depression strength. Bonnie continued north until it became extratropical on August 19.
Hurricane Bonnie caused no known damage. Bonnie is the only Atlantic hurricane to move due north without recurving during its entire lifespan.
[edit] Hurricane Charley
An extratropical storm moved off the Atlantic coast of the United States on August 20. As it moved over the ocean, its circulation closed, and it took on subtropical characteristics. The storm followed a looping path generally to the east. On the 23rd, it reached hurricane strength and began moving almost due east. Charley weakened and was absorbed by an extratropical cyclone on August 26 without ever affecting land.
[edit] Tropical Storm Danielle
Danielle formed as a tropical depression off the coast of Louisiana on September 4. As it moved west, it strengthened, reaching tropical storm intensity on the 5th while just south of Cameron, Louisiana. It struck land near Galveston, Texas a few hours later. Danielle weakened over land, but its circulation was tracked as far inland as Del Rio, Texas.
Wind and wave damage from Danielle was minimal. However, heavy rainfall caused flooding in the Beaumont - Port Arthur area of Texas. The Beaumont airport recorded 17.16 inches (436 mm) of rain, setting a new 24-hour record for that location.
[edit] Hurricane Earl
Hurricane Earl was the first of a short series of Cape Verde-type hurricanes to form in early September. Earl was named on September 6, although re-analysis showed that it actually reached tropical storm strength on the 4th. The storm followed a curving path roughly centered on the Azores. It reached hurricane strength on September 8 before weakening and becoming extratropical on the 10th.
Earl caused no reported damage to land or shipping.
[edit] Hurricane Frances
A strong low pressure system moved off the African coast on September 5 and rapidly strengthened, reaching hurricane intensity by the 7th. Frances moved slowly to the west, reaching its peak intensity of 115 mph winds (Category 3 on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale). Its track curved north while weakening due to unfavorable conditions. It then turned northeast and was absorbed by another low pressure system over the north Atlantic on September 20.
Reports of strong tropical storm force winds were received from ships, but no damage was reported except for minor squalls in Cape Verde.
[edit] Hurricane Georges
Georges initially formed as a tropical depression over the central Atlantic on September 1. This depression remained weak for the next several days as it travelled west-northwest. Interaction with a non-tropical low disrupted the depression and destroyed its circulation. On September 5, a subtropical system began forming out of the depression's remnants as they began turning to the northeast. The subtropical depression strengthened and became tropical, finally becoming a named storm on September 7 as it passed north of Bermuda. The tropical storm intensified into a hurricane, one of few to do so north of 40°N. After passing Cape Race, Georges lost its tropical characteristics over cold water. Georges caused no known damage.
[edit] Tropical Storm Hermine
An African tropical wave that traversed the Atlantic Ocean organized into a tropical storm off the coast of Honduras on September 21. After grazing Honduras, a disorganized Tropical Storm Hermine made landfall just north of Belize City on the 22nd. After crossing the Yucatán Peninsula, Hermine briefly emerged over the Bay of Campeche where it restrengthened before recurving back into the Mexican coast. The storm drifted inland and dissipated on September 26.
Hermine caused freshwater flooding in Mexico, but no exact figures were received by the National Hurricane Center. No reports on Honduras and Belize were received by the NHC, but meteorologists stated that similar flooding likely occurred there as well.
[edit] Hurricane Ivan
Ivan was an unusual storm, forming from an extratropical system that had been tracked off the coast of Portugal since late September. The extratropical storm moved erratically southwest past the Azores, slowly acquiring tropical characteristics. On October 4, the system became a named tropical storm. Tropical Storm Ivan rapidly intensified to a Category 2 hurricane, tracking first west-northwest, then sharply turning to the northeast. Ivan merged with an extratropical system and a front on October 11.
Ivan's formation was unexpected, occurring over cold water and in a portion of the Atlantic where tropical development is uncommon; it was the farthest northeast any tropical system had formed until Hurricane Vince formed far further northeast in the 2005 season[1]. The hurricane caused no known damage, as the storm never affected land and no ships experienced hurricane-force winds.
[edit] Hurricane Jeanne
Jeanne was another unusual storm, becoming one of a handful of November hurricanes in the Gulf of Mexico, and the first recorded to have reached hurricane status while already in the Gulf. Jeanne began as a tropical depression near the coast of Nicaragua on November 8. The depression reached tropical storm strength the next day as it moved through the Yucatan Channel. Jeanne turned westward over the central Gulf, and strengthened into a hurricane. As the hurricane entered the western Gulf, it weakened to a tropical storm. It meandered for several days until a cold front moving off the Texas coast destroyed the storm's circulation. The systems merged on November 16.
Damage was limited to shipping, which was caught by surprise by the late-season storm. Fringe effects of Hurricane Jeanne triggered a record-breaking 23.28 inches (591 mm) of rain at Key West, Florida within a 24-hour period.
[edit] Hurricane Karl
A large extratropical low formed off the southeastern coast of the United States on November 21. The low moved away from the coast, and a convective cloud mass began forming near the low's center. By November 25, the cloud mass showed distinct signs of being a tropical system, and when its intensity was estimated at hurricane strength, it was classified as Hurricane Karl. Karl followed a curving cyclonic path, first east, then north. It approached the Azores on the 27th, but did not approach close enough to affect the islands. By November 28, Hurricane Karl had become extratropical. No damage is associated with the storm.
[edit] Accumulated Cyclone Energy (ACE) Rating
| ACE (104kt2) – Storm: Source |
| 1 |
52.3 |
Allen |
7 |
4.46 |
Hermine |
| 2 |
37.2 |
Frances |
8 |
4.36 |
Karl |
| 3 |
18.6 |
Ivan |
9 |
3.67 |
Charley |
| 4 |
8.75 |
Bonnie |
10 |
2.78 |
Georges |
| 5 |
7.36 |
Jeanne |
11 |
0.533 |
Danielle |
| 6 |
6.65 |
Earl |
|
|
|
| Total= 146.7099 (147) |
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] 1980 storm names
The following names were used for named storms that formed in the north Atlantic in 1980. The names not retired from this list were used again in the 1986 season. All of the names on the list were used for the first time, except Frances which was used in 1961, 1968, and 1976. Names that were not assigned are marked in gray.
- Allen
- Bonnie
- Charley
- Danielle
- Earl
- Frances
- Georges
|
- Hermine
- Ivan
- Jeanne
- Karl
- 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 hurricanes
The World Meteorological Organization retired one name in the spring of 1981: Allen. It was replaced in 1986 season by Andrew.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
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Tropical cyclones of the 1980 Atlantic hurricane season
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