Tropical Storm Arlene (1993)

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This article is about the Atlantic tropical storm of 1993; for other storms named Arlene, see Hurricane Arlene.

Tropical Storm Arlene

tropical storm (SSHS)

Tropical Storm Arlene near its Texas landfall on June 19, 1993.

Formed

June 18, 1993

Dissipated

June 21, 1993

Highest
winds

40 mph (65 km/h) (1-minute sustained)

Lowest pressure

1006 mbar (hPa; 29.72 inHg)

Fatalities

29 direct (20 as tropical wave)

Damage

$55 million (1993 USD)
$77 million (2006 USD)

Areas
affected

El Salvador, Yucatan Peninsula, Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas

Part of the
1993 Atlantic hurricane season

Tropical Storm Arlene was the first named storm of the 1993 Atlantic hurricane season. Formed on June 18 where it moved west-northwest and made landfall on the Texas coast between June 19 and 21, 1993. Arlene left 29 fatalities (20 of them while a tropical wave) and $55 million dollars (1993 USD) damage.

1 Storm History
2 Impact
3 Lack of retirement
4 See also
5 External links

[edit] Storm History

Storm path

A tropical wave was detected in the Caribbean Seaover Central America on June 9. The system moved westward, bringing heavy rains that killed 20 people in El Salvador.^[1] Strong wind shear prohibited the system from strengthening as it moved into the Gulf of Mexico. On June 16 the tropical wave interacted with an upper-level low which caused some inaccuracies in the forecast. The data produced by the National Hurricane Center indicates that an 1008 mbar low formed over the Yucatan Peninsula. But when hurricane hunter aircraft flew in, they only found a broad area of low pressure, despite the fact that satellite photo shows the system developing very well and it was declared a tropical depression on June 18. The center of the storm was south of a low pressure system to the north and that low forced the depression to move west-northwest. During another flight into the storm, the hurricane hunter crews reported a 1006 mbar reading but could not get an accurate fix.^[1] On June 19, a comma shaped band of thunderstorms formed around the center and the depression was upgraded to a tropical storm and was given the name Arlene.^[1] Arlene moved northwestward at 2-3 mph before nearly stalling because of a frontal system passing by. On June 20, Tropical Storm Arlene made landfall over Padre Island,Texas , 90 miles south of Corpus Christi. The storm quickly weakened to a depression shortly after landfall. The remnants of the storm was tracked over the lower Rio Grande valley of southern Texas and northeastern Mexico.^[1]

[edit] Impact

Rainfall from Arlene

The tropical wave that became Arlene, brought heavy rains across Central America for several days. Heavy rainfall was also reported in Mexico. The rains from the tropical wave caused a landslide that left 20 people dead in El Salvador. In Mexico, flooding from Arlene caused five fatalities and $33 million dollars (1993 USD) in damage.^[1] The states of Veracruz, Campeche, Yucatán, San Luis Potosí, Quintana Roo, Nuevo León, Jalisco, and Mexico.[1] In Texas, Arlene dropped heavy rain, the highest was 326.4 mm in Henderson. ^[1] Rainfall ranging from 9-11 inches were reported in other parts of Texas. In addition, a funnel cloud was reported near Corpus Christi but never touched the ground. ^[2] The rainfall from Arlene caused numerous reports of flooding. In Wallicy County, flooding damaged over 400 homes and 12 businesses which totaled up to $1 million dollars (1993 USD). 200 homes in Starr County were also damaged. ^[2] A storm tide from Arlene caused minimal beach erosion along the Texas/Louisiana coast. ^[1] In Louisiana, Arlene's outer rainbands dropped 7-10 inches of rain across the southwestern part of the state. However there were no reports of damage. ^[3]

In all, Arlene left 29 people dead and $55 million dollars (1993 USD) in damage.

[edit] Lack of retirement

Since the damage was minimal, the name Arlene was not retired and it was used again in 1999 and 2005 and will be used again in 2011, making it the most used name for an Atlantic tropical cyclone.