|
Tropical Storm Carrie was a strong tropical storm that affected the East Coast of the United States in early September 1972. The third tropical cyclone of the 1972 Atlantic hurricane season, Carrie formed on August 29 from a complex sequence of meteorological events starting with the emergence of a tropical wave into the Atlantic in the middle of August. Tracking generally northward throughout its life, Carrie reached an initial peak intensity as a moderate tropical storm before nearly weakening back into tropical depression status. The storm began to reintensify in a baroclinic environment after turning toward the northwest; its winds of as it was transitioning into an extratropical system eclipsed the cyclone's previous maximum strength. The extratropical remnants of Carrie skirted eastern New England before making landfall in Maine on September 4 and dissipating over the Gulf of Saint Lawrence during the next two days. Carrie had a minimal impact on the East Coast south of New England, limited to increased swells, gusty winds, and light rainfall. The worst conditions occurred over southeastern New England, where wind gusts reached and rainfall exceeded . Damage was most severe along and slightly inland from the coast. Thousands of people became stranded on offshore islands of Massachusetts after dangerous conditions created by the storm prompted the suspension of steamship service. Overall damage was generally light, with total monetary losses valued at $1,780,000, and four deaths are blamed on the storm. ==Meteorological history== The origins of Tropical Storm Carrie are traced back to a tropical wave—an elongated area of low atmospheric air pressure—that emerged from the western coast of Africa on August 15, 1972. A relatively strong weather system, the wave progressed westward, but by the time it had reached the Leeward Islands ten days later, it had degenerated substantially. The influence of a nearby upper-level low pressure system caused the disturbance to further deteriorate, and the resultant remnant circulation drifted toward the northwest; by August 28, it was situated at a position just offshore southeastern Florida. The low pressure system maintained a cold core and had not yet established itself at the surface. On August 29, the low began moving northward in response to an approaching trough. For the first time, a low-level circulation center had been identified in association with the system, and the storm became a tropical depression at 1200 UTC while located east of the central Florida peninsula. The depression tracked steadily northeastward as it gradually intensified.〔 On August 31, reconnaissance aircraft flying into the cyclone reported maximum sustained winds of up to around .〔 Post-storm reanalysis estimated the depression had strengthened into a tropical storm at around 0000 UTC on August 31.〔 Operationally, however, it was not recognized as such until 2200 UTC that day, when it was assigned the name Carrie. At the time, the system was located approximately east of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. A small storm, Carrie slowed drastically in forward movement as it curved northward. By the time it was identified as a tropical storm in real-time, Carrie had already reached its initial peak intensity with maximum sustained winds of and a minimum central pressure of , and strong wind shear inhibited immediate strengthening as it continue to slow to a drift. On September 1, Carrie began to weaken, and by early on September 2, it had dwindled to a minimal tropical storm with winds of only .〔〔 Satellite imagery indicated that the storm's center of circulation had become distorted with little or no associated convection. At its weakest, the storm's highest winds were found far from the center, likely generated more by the increasing pressure gradient in relation to an anticyclone to the north than by the low pressure center itself.〔 A low pressure system moving through the Mid-Atlantic states pulled Carrie northwest, back toward the United States East Coast, at an accelerated forward speed. Later on September 2, the storm had begun to show signs of reorganization, including an improved appearance on satellite imagery and the development of some thunderstorm activity, although significant reintensification was considered unlikely. However, with the advance of a trough embedded in the westerlies, Carrie quickly deepened under the influence of baroclinic processes. While the storm's maximum sustained winds increased, it also began to shed its tropical characteristics and resemble an extratropical cyclone.〔 Moving once again toward the north-northeast, Carie was declared extratropical by the National Hurricane Center during the late afternoon on September 2. In the official Atlantic Hurricane Database, however, Carrie is listed as a tropical cyclone until 1800 UTC on September 3, at which point it possessed winds of and a central barometric pressure of . As a result, these data are considered representative of the storm's peak intensity.〔 Regardless of its status, the storm was a large and intense system as it progressed north and neared New England, generating strong winds and rough surf along the coast. Having fully transitioned into an extratropical system, the storm made landfall near Eastport, Maine on September 4 and slowly weakened as it continued north up the Gulf of Saint Lawrence.〔 The cyclone fully dissipated on September 6 in the Gulf.〔 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「Tropical Storm Carrie (1972)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|