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Hurricane Hortense was the first hurricane to make landfall in Guadeloupe and Puerto Rico since Hurricane Hugo in 1989. The eight tropical cyclone, eight named storm, and sixth hurricane of the 1996 Atlantic hurricane season, Hortense developed on September 3 from a tropical wave in the central Atlantic Ocean. Initially a tropical depression, it headed westward without significant strengthening for four days due to unfavorable upper-level winds. While nearing the Lesser Antilles upper-level winds decreased, allowing the depression to become Tropical Storm Hortense on September 7. Hortense crossed Guadeloupe on September 8 and entered the Caribbean Sea. By on the following day, it was upgraded to a hurricane while curving northwestward. Hortense made landfall in Puerto Rico on September 9 and brushed Dominican Republic shortly thereafter. After re-entering the Atlantic, Hortense began to substantially strengthened and peaked as a 140 mph (220 km/h) Category 4 hurricane early on September 13. Thereafter, the storm steadily weakened as it tracked rapidly north-northeastward. Early on September 15, Hortense made landfall in Nova Scotia as a minimal Category 1 hurricane. It quickly weakened further to a tropical storm before re-entering the Atlantic to the south of Newfoundland. Late on September 15, Hortense transitioned into an extratropical cyclone and subsequently merged with a frontal system about 24 hours later. The storm produced heavy rainfall and gusty winds as it passed through the Lesser Antilles. On Guadeloupe, damage was most significant to crops, with over 50% of banana plantains destroyed. Localized flooding was reported on Martinique. Impact was most significant in Puerto Rico. Across the island, 11,463 houses were severely damaged. About 1.4 million people on Puerto Rico were left without electricity – equivalent to about 40% of the island's population. Damage in Puerto Rico was estimated at $153.4 million (1996 USD). There were also 19 deaths, most of which due to drowning during flash floods. In the Dominican Republic, strong winds damaged a number of buildings and houses, and downed several power lines. Flooding also forced the closure of several roads and impacted 80% of crops in Samaná Province. At least three fatalities were confirmed in that country. The storm brought strong winds to the Bahamas and Turks and Caicos Islands, and lesser winds to Bermuda. Later in its duration, Hortense struck Nova Scotia, bringing heavy rainfall and hurricane force winds to isolated locations. There were many power outages, trees blown down, roofs torn away, and roads damaged in the state. New Brunswick, Newfoundland, and Prince Edward Island were also impacted, though not as severely as in Nova Scotia. Damage in Atlantic Canada reached approximately $3.64 million. ==Meteorological history== A tropical wave and a broad low-pressure area associated with it exited the west coast of Africa near Dakar, Senegal on August 30. The low-pressure area, which had deepened to by August 31, moved south of Cape Verde. Although deep convection was minimal on satellite imagery, the system possessed a well-defined low- to mid-level circulation. After crossing several National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration buoys early on September 3, it was determined that the system developed into Tropical Depression Eight at 1200 UTC on that same day, while located about halfway between Cape Verde and the Lesser Antilles. Under the influence of strong high pressure ridge, the depression tracked almost due westward, without significant intensification. Convection remained sporadic and disorganized, with a reconnaissance flight finding a board circulation and a few squall on September 6. While nearing the Leeward Islands, upper-level winds reduced to a favorable level, causing strengthening and allowing deep convection to increase.〔 At 0600 UTC on September 7, the depression had intensified into Tropical Storm Hortense. A reconnaissance flight around that time reported winds of , confirming that the storm was strengthening. Early on September 8, Hortense struck Guadeloupe with winds of 60 mph (95 km/h). Shortly thereafter, intensification slowed, due to increased vertical wind shear by upper-level short wave in the eastern Caribbean Sea. Convection diminished, with satellite imagery showing a tropical cyclone with the low-level circulation exposed. The short-wave soon left the area, causing wind shear to decrease and convection quickly re-developed. By early on September 9, Hortense was upgraded to a hurricane, while curving northwestward. Around 0600 UTC on the following day, the storm made landfall near Guánica, Puerto Rico with winds of 80 mph (130 km/h);〔 this made it the first hurricane landfall on the island since Hurricane Hugo in 1989. Initially, most tropical cyclone forecast models anticipated that Hortense would pass south of the island and instead strike the Dominican Republic. After two hours, Hortense emerged into the Mona Passage and brushed the eastern tip of Dominican Republic; Punta Cana near the eastern tip of the country reported the calm of the eye on September 10. Land interaction with Hispaniola weakened the storm slightly, though it would soon re-strengthen.〔 While tracking east of Turks and Caicos Islands on September 11, Hortense became a Category 2 hurricane and further to a Category 3 hurricane by early on the following day. Continuing to intensify, Hortense also reached Category 4 intensity on September 12. Around that time, a developing trough centered over the Eastern United States caused the storm to curve almost due northward and accelerate. At 0000 UTC on September 13, Hortense attained its peak intensity with a maximum sustained wind speed of 140 mph (220 km/h) and a minimum barometric pressure of . After maintaining Category 4 intensity for 24 hours, the storm weakened back to a Category 3 hurricane. While passing well east of Bermuda, Hortense was downgraded to a Category 2 hurricane early on September 14. Later that day, the storm weakened further to a Category 1 hurricane. Early on September 15, Hortense made its final landfall near West Quoddy, Nova Scotia with winds of 75 mph (120 km/h). Hortense weakened over Nova Scotia and was a tropical storm when it re-emerged into the Atlantic less than nine hours after landfall. By 1800 UTC on September 15, Hortense transitioned into an extratropical cyclone while just south of Newfoundland. The remnants of the storm merged with a frontal system on the following day.〔 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 Hortense」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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