Atlantische Hurrikansaison 1983
Vorlage:Infobox hurricane season The 1983 Atlantic hurricane season officially began on June 1, 1983, and lasted until November 30, 1983. These dates conventionally delimit the period of each year when most tropical cyclones form in the Atlantic basin. The season had very little activity, with only four named storms, less than half of the average ten. It is the least active season since ACE recording began in 1950.
The most notable storm of 1983 was Hurricane Alicia, which travelled inland over the U.S. city of Houston, Texas; it was the first hurricane to strike the nation in over three years, ending what was (as of the Vorlage:Tcseason) the longest such gap recorded. Hurricane Barry was responsible for widespread damage to Mexican fishing villages near the US-Mexico border.
Storms
Hurricane Alicia
Vorlage:Hurricane main Vorlage:Infobox hurricane small
Alicia formed in the north-central Gulf of Mexico on August 15. It travelled west, strengthening into a hurricane. It quickly reached Category 3 strength as it approached the Texas coastline, and made landfall at Galveston, Texas on August 18 at maximum intensity. The storm moved northward, its eye passing over Houston. Alicia retained its tropical characteristics well inland, finally becoming extratropical and merging with another system over northern Kansas on the 21st.
Houston suffered heavy damage, including thousands of shattered glass panes from downtown skyscrapers. In the end, Alicia killed 22 people and caused $2 billion (1983 US dollars) in damage ($5.1 billion in 2000 dollars).
Alicia was the first storm for which the National Hurricane Center issued numeric landfall probabilities. Probabilities had been calculated for prior storms for use in the issuing of hurricane watches and warnings, but this was the first time the raw numeric probabilities were released to the public. The probabilities issued were accurate, indicating that Galveston and surrounding portions of the upper Texas coast were the most likely area to be struck.
Hurricane Barry
Vorlage:Infobox hurricane small
An African tropical wave crossed the Atlantic Ocean and briefly strengthened into Tropical Storm Barry just off the east coast of Florida on August 24. Barry weakened to a depression as it made landfall near Melbourne, but crossed the Florida peninsula intact and continued west across the Gulf of Mexico. In the central Gulf, it began restrengthening, and was a minimal Category 1 hurricane when it struck northeastern Mexico.
No casualties were reported from Barry, but numerous fishing boats were sunk in Mexico, along with the destruction of several hundred homes. Barry is credited with helping to relieve drought conditions in inland parts of northeastern Mexico.
Hurricane Chantal
Vorlage:Infobox hurricane small
An area of disturbed weather south of Bermuda took on tropical characteristics on September 10 and was named Tropical Storm Chantal. Chantal travelled generally northeast, missed Bermuda, and strengthened to a minimal hurricane. The storm weakened and dissipated in the face of a front on the 14th.
Tropical Storm Dean
Vorlage:Infobox hurricane small
Dean was a short-lived storm that had its origins as a subtropical storm that developed between Bermuda and the Bahamas on September 26. The subtropical storm headed north-northeast and became tropical the next day. It then turned northwest, and struck the coast of Virginia on September 30. It dissipated several hours later. Dean was one of two tropical storms ever to make landfall in Eastern Shore, Virginia, the other being Tropical Storm Bret of the Vorlage:Tcseason. Damage was limited to minor beach erosion and flooding.
Other storms
There were also two tropical depressions that did not develop into tropical storms. Both developed near the Lesser Antilles in the latter part of July. Powerful wind shear destroyed both before they could strengthen.
Accumulated Cyclone Energy (ACE) Rating
| ACE (104kt2) – Storm: Source | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6.38 | Alicia | |||
| 2 | 4.27 | Chantal | |||
| 3 | 3.14 | Barry | |||
| 4 | 3.07 | Dean | |||
The table on the right shows the ACE for each storm in the season. The ACE is, broadly speaking, a measure of the power of the hurricane multiplied by the length of time it existed for, so hurricanes that lasted a long time have higher ACEs (such as Alicia). The 1997 season had an ACE of 16.86 (17) which is below average and currently the lowest season on record since the 1914 season which had 2.53 in ACE.
Why was the 1983 season so inactive?
The season was very inactive because of strong upper-level wind shear. The wind shear was contributed by a variety of factors including an El Niño and a slow phase in a cycle of Atlantic hurricane favorability. The wind shear was unusually strong throughout the Caribbean and open Atlantic. It disrupted convection in areas of disturbed weather so they could not develop. The area where the shear was minimal - a region encompassing the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic north of the Bahamas and east of Florida - is where the four named storms developed.
1983 storm names
The following names were used for named storms that formed in the north Atlantic in 1983. The names not retired from this list were used again in the 1989 season. It was the first time these names had been used since the post-1978 change in naming. Names that were not assigned are marked in Vorlage:Tcname unused.
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Retirement
Vorlage:Seealso The World Meteorological Organization retired one name in the spring of 1984: Alicia. It was replaced in the Vorlage:Tcseason by Allison.
See also
External links
- Monthly Weather Review
- Detailed information on all storms from 1983 from NHC
- U.S. Rainfall information for storms from 1983 from HPC
- NOAA 1983 report