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Hurricane Alma was one of only four Atlantic tropical cyclones to reach hurricane status in the month of May. It developed on May 17, 1970 north of Panama, and rapidly intensified on May 20 to peak winds of , near Jamaica and the Cayman Islands. It stalled south of Cuba and deteriorated due to wind shear, and by May 22 it weakened to tropical depression status. After progressing northwestward and crossing western Cuba, Alma reorganized in the Gulf of Mexico, although continued shear prevented strengthening. It moved across Florida on May 25, and on May 27 it dissipated off the coast of Virginia. The storm first brought gusty winds and heavy rainfall to Jamaica and the Cayman Islands. While it was weakening, Alma produced flooding in central and eastern Cuba, causing seven deaths and forcing 3,000 people to evacuate. Moderate precipitation spread across Florida, while thunderstorms from the storm caused light damage and killed one girl. Moisture from the storm spread up the Atlantic coast. ==Meteorological history== Late on May 17, the US National Hurricane Center, reported that a tropical depression had formed about to the southeast of Kingston, Jamaica. Over the next couple of days, the depression became better organized as it moved towards the northwest; on May 19 it entered an area of favorable environmental conditions, which enabled the depression to rapidly intensify. On May 20 it strengthened into a tropical storm, at which point it was given the name Alma. That day, it rapidly strengthened under favorable developmental conditions, which included low wind shear, strong upper-level outflow, and apparent eastward inflow. Later on May 20, a Navy reconnaissance plane recorded winds of , which proved to be the peak intensity of Alma. It became one of only four Atlantic hurricanes on record in the month of May. Subsequent to its peak intensity, increasing westerly shear disrupted the storm's circulation and thermal pattern, which caused rapid weakening to tropical storm strength and later tropical depression status.〔 By May 22, the low pressure area became poorly defined after stalling south of Cuba; with only a few squalls and showers, advisories were discontinued on Alma. The remnants of Alma continued westward near the Cayman Islands, and later turned to the north, passing over western Cuba.〔 On May 24, the low pressure area reorganized as spiral rainbands became more evident on radar, and Alma was re-classified as a tropical depression. As the depression approached the Florida coast, radar imagery indicated the system remained well-organized, with a spiral band structure around an eye feature; however, wind shear limited convection and strength, and Alma moved ashore as a depression near Cedar Key on May 25. It turned northeastward and moved across the southeastern United States, becoming extratropical in North Carolina on May 27. After moving off the coast of Virginia, the remnants of Alma were absorbed by an approaching cold front. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Hurricane Alma (1970)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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