Effects of Hurricane Noel in The United States - Meteorological History

Meteorological History

A tropical wave moved off the coast of Africa on 16 October. It tracked westward, and by 22 October the wave was approaching the Lesser Antilles with cyclonic turning and scattered convection; at the same time, an upper-level low was located to the north of the Leeward Islands. The interaction between the wave and the low produced a large mass of disturbed weather on October 23, and by the next day the system contained a well-defined low-level circulation about 100 mi (160 km) east-northeast of the northern Leeward Islands. Despite unfavorable upper-level winds, convection increased as surface pressures dropped in association with the organizing system. Based on its organization, the National Hurricane Center classified the system as Tropical Depression Sixteen early on October 28 while located about 195 mi (310 km) south-southeast of Port-au-Prince, Haiti.

By six hours after formation, the center became difficult to locate, though subsequently the depression became much better organized; a large area of convection developed over the center, with some rainbands to its south. Based on reports from Hurricane Hunters, the National Hurricane Center upgraded the depression to Tropical Storm Noel at 1815 UTC on October 28 while located about 150 mi (235 km) south-southeast of Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Noel began to lose organization as a nearby upper-level low increased wind shear, with the low-level circulation becoming ill-defined as it further interacted with the mountainous terrain of Haiti. The storm crossed western Haiti as a disorganized tropical storm on October 29, and subsequently began paralleling the northeastern coast of Cuba while moving around the southwestern periphery of a weakening ridge. On October 30, Tropical Storm Noel made landfall near Gibara, Cuba, with winds of about 60 mph (95 km/h). Early on October 31 Noel began drifting to the north-northwest, in response to the approach of a short-wave trough from the west and the eastward shift of the mid-level ridge. On October 31, Noel emerged off the north coast of Cuba, and subsequently the cyclone became better organized as the circulation became better associated with the convection. On October 31, the Canadian Hurricane Centre began tracking the cyclone.

At 1800 UTC on November 1, the storm passed over the Bahamian island of New Providence near the city of Nassau. Later that day Noel accelerated northeastward in the southwesterly flow ahead of an approaching trough. Based on reports from Hurricane Hunters, the National Hurricane Center upgraded Noel to hurricane status early on November 2 about 180 mi (285 km) north-northeast of Nassau, Bahamas. That day, Hurricane Noel made its closest approach to Florida. By late on November 2, the inner core had substantially diminished; as it began transitioning into an extratropical cyclone, the National Hurricane Center issued the final advisory on Hurricane Noel. Early on November 3, the cyclone attained winds of 85 mph (140 km/h), and it gradually turned to the north-northeast. The center of Noel approached Nova Scotia, and on November 4 it tracked across it and New Brunswick. The extratropical low continued to the northeast and made landfall over southwest Greenland on the afternoon of November 5. Shortly thereafter it merged with a larger extratropical storm.