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ABSTRACT
The 1999 Atlantic basin hurricane season produced 4 tropical storms and 8 hurricanes for a total of 12 named tropical cyclones. Seven of these affected land. Hurricane Floyd--the deadliest U.S. hurricane since Agnes in 1972--caused a disastrous flood event over the U.S. mid-Atlantic and northeastern coastal states, resulting in 56 U.S. deaths and 1 death in the Bahamas. Heavy rain from a tropical depression contributed to some 400 inland flood deaths in Mexico.
1. Introduction
There were 12 named tropical cyclones in the Atlantic Ocean, the Caribbean Sea, and the Gulf of Mexico during 1999. These cyclones are listed in Table 1, along with their dates, maximum 1-min surface wind speed, minimum central surface pressure, U.S. damage, and directly attributable deaths. Four of the tropical cyclones were tropical storms and eight reached hurricane intensity. The four tropical storms were at the 1950-99 average of 4.0, and the eight hurricanes were above the average of 5.9. In addition, there were four tropical depressions that did not reach tropical storm intensity. Five hurricanes attained category 4 intensity on the Saffir-Simpson hurricane scale (Simpson 1974). This is the most category 4 hurricanes in a single season since 1886.
After each cyclone has dissipated, a "best track" is determined, using all available data. The best track consists of 6-hourly center positions, maximum 1-min wind speed, and minimum central surface pressure. A record of Atlantic basin best tracks (Jarvinen et al. 1984) is maintained at the National Hurricane Center for tropical storms and hurricanes. Figure 1 is a map showing the best track positions of this year's named storms along with an indication of depression, storm, or hurricane stage.
Many of the tropical cyclones affected land. Bret, Floyd, and Irene made U.S. hurricane landfalls in Texas, North Carolina, and Florida, respectively. Floyd also hit the Bahamas as a hurricane. Dennis was nearly a hurricane at landfall in North Carolina. Tropical Storm Harvey went across Florida, Hurricane Jose hit the northern Leeward Islands, and Tropical Storm Katrina moved inland over Nicaragua. Lenny moved eastward over the northern Leeward Islands as a hurricane and its extensive rain and ocean swells affected much of the southern and eastern Caribbean.
Flooding from Floyd caused a disaster in the eastern United States...