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Hurricane Marilyn was the fifteenth tropical depression and thirteenth named storm of the unusually busy 1995 Atlantic hurricane season, following closely on the heels of Hurricane Luis. Hurricane Marilyn was the most powerful storm to hit the Virgin Islands since Hurricane Hugo of 1989. Marilyn formed late in the UTC day on September 13, and reached hurricane strength soon thereafter. Marilyn struck the Lesser Antilles on September 14 at Category 1 strength, and intensified to nearly Category 3 strength by the time it reached the U.S. Virgin Islands. A Hurricane Hunter reconnaissance flight reported hail, which is unusual for tropical cyclones. After heading north past Bermuda, Marilyn weakened and became extratropical on September 22. The remnant circulation wandered the Atlantic Ocean from September 23 - October 1, just south of Nova Scotia. Marilyn peaked at 115 mph (185 km/h), but was predicted to reach 125 mph (205 km/h) (maximum Category 3-status). Marilyn is directly responsible for thirteen deaths, most due to drowning on boats or offshore. Eleven thousand people were left homeless on the island of St. Thomas, and estimated damages were set at $2 billion (1995 USD)〔 in the USVI The same area would be struck by Hurricane Bertha the next year, while still repairing from Hurricanes Luis and Marilyn,〔(Hurricane Bertha Update )〕 then successively hit by Hortense, Erika, Georges, Jose, Lenny and Debby. ==Meteorological history== Marilyn's origins were from a tropical wave that formed off the African coast on September 7. Large, low-level winds were included in the wave's circulation, but little convection existed. The system continued west for a few days at about next to an anticyclonic aloft. On September 12, satellite pictures viewed the disorganized wave and declared it Tropical Depression Fifteen, after convection had increased. Tropical Depression Fifteen strengthened rapidly, becoming Tropical Storm Marilyn six hours later. One day after being named, Marilyn was upgraded to hurricane status, while turning on a more northwesterly track.〔 For the next few days, Marilyn's track took it towards the west-northwest and to the northwest, due to a weakness in the subtropical ridge. Marilyn was a Category 1 hurricane; it passed north of Barbados and Martinique.〔 Marilyn passed over Dominica, and just Îles des Saintes and southwest of Guadeloupe on September 14, bringing heavy rains and strong winds with it. Marilyn continued on its northwesterly track, making landfall in the U.S. Virgin Islands on September 15, packing winds of , a strong Category 2 strength hurricane. The eyewall, east-southeast of the center of Marilyn, passed over Saint Thomas later that day. After passing over Puerto Rico, Marilyn entered back into the Atlantic Ocean on September 16.〔 A low had formed near Marilyn, which may have enhanced outflow from the system. An eye formed in the center of Marilyn, and the storm reached a peak intensity of 949 millibars and winds of only 115 mph (185 km/h), a lower-end Category 3 hurricane. At this time, Marilyn was predicted to peak in wind speeds of 120–125 mph (190–195 km/h). Reconnaissance data found a concentric pair of eyewall wind maxima. Marilyn started weakening rapidly, falling from peak-level winds of down to 102 mph (164 km/h).〔 The central pressure also rose up 20 mbars in only 10 hours. This rapid weakening was caused by westerly shear and dry air entrained in the system, a decaying eyewall, and especially cool waters upwelled from the previous powerful storm, Hurricane Luis. As Marilyn weakened to Category 1 hurricane status and moved north-northwest, it passed about west of Bermuda on September 19. As Marilyn encountered more westerly shear, it weakened to below hurricane status and made its extratropical transition on September 20, centered in the northeastern Atlantic.〔 The remnant circulation continued to erratically move through the central Atlantic Ocean for another 10 days before being absorbed by a frontal low on September 30. A Hurricane Hunter reconnaissance flight reported hail, which is unusual for tropical cyclones.〔 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 Marilyn」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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