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ABSTRACT
The 2007 Atlantic hurricane season had 15 named storms, including 14 tropical storms and 1 subtropical storm. Of these, six became hurricanes, including two major hurricanes, Dean and Felix, which reached category 5 intensity (on the Saffir-Simpson hurricane scale). In addition, there were two unnamed tropical depressions. While the number of hurricanes in the basin was near the long-term mean, 2007 became the first year on record with two category 5 landfalls, with Hurricanes Dean and Felix inflicting severe damage on Mexico and Nicaragua, respectively. Dean was the first category 5 hurricane in the Atlantic basin to make landfall in 15 yr, since Hurricane Andrew (1992). In total, eight systems made landfall in the basin during 2007, and the season's tropical cyclones caused approximately 380 deaths. In the United States, one hurricane, one tropical storm, and three tropical depressions made landfall, resulting in 10 fatalities and about $50 million in damage.
1. Overview
Activity during the 2007 Atlantic hurricane season was near average, with 15 named storms, including 14 tropical storms and 1 subtropical storm. Six of the named storms became hurricanes, with two becoming major hurricanes, corresponding to category 3 or greater on the Saffir-Simpson hurricane scale (Saffir 1973; Simpson 1974). For the 40-yr period 1967-2006, the Atlantic basin averages for named storms, hurricanes, and major hurricanes are 11, 6, and 2, respectively. Even though the number of named storms was above average, many of these systems were short lived and weak. In fact, the 2007 season recorded a total of eight cyclones that lasted 2 days or less, tying the 2005 season for the largest number of such short-lived storms.
In terms of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) accumulated cyclone energy (ACE) index (Bell et al. 2000), which measures the collective strength and duration of named storms and hurricanes, the season produced about 84% of the 19512000 median activity, within the near-normal tercile of activity. This percentage is the lowest observed since 2002, making 2007 the third-lowest Atlantic season in terms of ACE since 1995. Interestingly, while the two years lower than 2007 in terms of ACE (1997 and 2002) were considered El Niño years, 2007 was a La Niña year. During 2007, Bell et al. (2008) note that...