Meteorological History
A cold front moved off the East Coast of the United States late on July 13 and subsequently stalled over the western Atlantic Ocean. The front decayed and dissipated, leaving behind two areas of low pressure. The southern area was centered about 200 miles (320 km) south of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina and ultimately became Tropical Storm Beryl, while the northern area was centered about 290 miles (470 km) south-southeast of Cape Cod, Massachusetts. The northern area developed into an extratropical low on July 16 after an upper-level trough approached it from the west. Moving northeastward over warm water temperatures of 80–82° F (27–28° C), the trough weakened, and late on July 16 the system separated itself from the dissipating cold front. Shortly thereafter, a large burst of convection developed near the center, and it is estimated the system transitioned into a tropical depression early on July 17 while located about 240 miles (390 km) southeast of Nantucket, Massachusetts.
Accelerating northeastward, the depression encountered favorable conditions for development, and intensified into a tropical storm six hours after becoming a tropical cyclone. A large curved band of convection formed in the northern portion of the storm, with other banding features becoming more prominent. It continued to strengthen, and late on July 17 the storm attained peak winds of 50 mph (85 km/h) while located about 245 miles (395 km) south of Halifax, Nova Scotia. Shortly thereafter, the storm encountered much cooler water temperatures after leaving the Gulf Stream. The storm quickly weakened as the convection rapidly diminished, and on July 18 it degenerated into a non-convective remnant low. The remnants crossed Newfoundland before turning to the east-northeast, and on July 19 the system dissipated.
Operationally, the storm was classified as a non-tropical gale. However, a post-season analysis of the storm provided enough evidence of tropical characteristics to warrant classifying it as an unnamed tropical storm. Observations analyzed the storm as having a symmetric warm-core, whereas in real time it was considered subtropical. Additionally, the storm was first assessed as a frontal low in real-time, though subsequent analysis indicated no frontal features and no cold air entrainment around the time of its peak intensity.
Read more about this topic: 2006 Nova Scotia Tropical Storm
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