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Hurricane Eloise was the most destructive tropical cyclone of the 1975 Atlantic hurricane season. The fifth tropical storm, fourth hurricane, and second major hurricane of the season, Eloise formed as a tropical depression on September 13 to the east of the Virgin Islands. The depression tracked westward and intensified into a tropical storm while passing to the north of Puerto Rico. Eloise briefly attained hurricane intensity soon thereafter, but weakened back to a tropical storm upon making landfall over Hispaniola. A weak and disorganized cyclone, Eloise emerged into open waters of the northern Caribbean Sea; upon striking the northern Yucatan Peninsula, it turned north and began to re-intensify. In the Gulf of Mexico, the cyclone quickly matured and became a Category 3 hurricane on September 23. Eloise made landfall along the Florida Panhandle west of Panama City before moving inland across Alabama and dissipating on September 24. The storm produced torrential rainfall throughout the islands of Puerto Rico and Hispaniola, causing extensive flooding that led to severe damage and more than 40 deaths. Thousands of people in these areas became homeless as flood waters submerged numerous communities. As Eloise progressed westward, it affected Cuba to a lesser extent. In advance of the storm, about 100,000 residents evacuated from the Gulf Coast region. Upon making landfall in Florida, Eloise generated wind gusts of 155 miles per hour (249 km/h), which demolished hundreds of buildings in the area. The storm's severe winds, waves, and storm surge left numerous beaches, piers, and other coastal structures heavily impaired. Wind-related damage extended into inland Alabama and Georgia. Further north, torrential rains along the entire East Coast of the United States created an unprecedented and far-reaching flooding event, especially into the Mid-Atlantic States. In that region, an additional 17 people died as a result of freshwater flooding from the post-tropical storm; infrastructural and geological effects were comparable to those from Hurricane Agnes several years prior. Across the United States, damage amounted to approximately $560 million. The storm killed 80 people along its entire track; due to the severe damage, the name "Eloise" was retired from the Atlantic tropical cyclone naming lists. ==Meteorological history== The origins of Hurricane Eloise trace back to a tropical wave that emerged from the western coast of Africa on September 6, 1975. Satellite imagery indicated that the system was initially disjointed and poorly developed, although there was evidence of a low-level circulation. The disturbance tracked westward for several days as it slowly matured. On September 13, a ship called the ''Gulf Hansa'' recorded winds of around and seas in association with the system. Shortly thereafter, a reconnaissance aircraft found a center of circulation east of the Virgin Islands, and it is estimated that the storm became a tropical depression at 0600 UTC. The depression continued moving towards the west as it gradually strengthened. On September 16, the system attained tropical storm status and was designated Eloise;〔 accordingly, the first advisory on the system was issued by the San Juan Weather Bureau office. While in the vicinity of a strengthening anticyclone aloft, Eloise became better organized, and the storm rapidly intensified and reached Category 1 hurricane status 18 hours after being named. The cyclone soon made landfall on the Dominican Republic, inhibiting further development.〔 Although initially predicted to remain north of land, the storm moved across northern Hispaniola and then tracked across southeastern Cuba. After 36 hours with much of its circulation over mountainous terrain, Eloise deteriorated to a tropical storm on September 17.〔 The cyclone emerged over the open waters of the northern Caribbean on September 19, passing Jamaica to the north as it moved away from Cuba. Despite favorable upper-level conditions, its interaction with land—combined with the weakening of a ridge to the north—left the storm's center distorted. Eloise remained a fairly disorganized tropical storm until September 20, when it approached the Yucatan Peninsula and began to re-intensify. The storm crossed over the northern tip of the peninsula as it began to turn northward in response to an approaching trough. Between September 17 and September 21, however, reports on the storm were scarce, leading to uncertainty in its exact location and strength. Upon entering the Gulf of Mexico, Eloise quickly organized. The trough enhanced the wind divergence over the storm's center,〔 allowing it to strengthen once again to reach hurricane force about south of New Orleans, Louisiana.〔 On September 22, the cyclone intensified to attain Category 2 strength, and became a major hurricane of Category 3 status shortly thereafter as it turned towards the northeast.〔 Several ships penetrated the storm's center during its passage through the gulf. The hurricane also moved over two experimental buoys which recorded data on the storm, aiding meteorologists in their forecasts.〔 Hurricane Eloise continued to strengthen until it reached its peak winds of 125 mph (205 km/h) and a minimum barometric pressure of about 955 mbar (hPa; 28.2 inHg).〔 It moved ashore along the Florida Panhandle near Panama City on September 23. Shortly after making landfall, the hurricane rapidly degenerated. Just six hours later, it had weakened into a tropical storm, while situated over eastern Alabama.〔 It further weakened into a tropical depression at 0000 UTC on September 24. The depression transitioned into an extratropical storm over Virginia, and became indistinguishable by later that same day. The remnant moisture, however, merged with a weather front to produce widespread and heavy precipitation.〔〔 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 Eloise」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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