Meteorological History
A weak surface area of low pressure detached from a frontal system on August 8 while 1,150 miles (1,850 km) to the east of Bermuda. It moved southwestward, and on August 9, it generated convection as it passed beneath a cold-core upper-level low. The surface low and the upper-level low turned westward as it revolved around a common center, and by August 11, the surface low developed into a trough while 440 miles (700 km) south of Bermuda. As the system rapidly continued westward, much of the convection remained near the center of the upper-level low, preventing development of a closed surface circulation. On August 13, while located near the northwestern Bahamas, a substantial increase in convection resulted in the upper-level low building downwards to the middle levels of the troposphere, coinciding with the development of an upper level anticyclone.
A closed low-level circulation nearly developed on August 14 to the east of Key Largo, Florida, but it weakened due to the deep convection remaining to the north over the mid-level center. The mid-level storm continued westward and moved across Florida. After crossing Florida, Hurricane Hunters indicated a poorly defined circulation, but with winds exceeding tropical storm strength, and the system was designated as Tropical Storm Erika late on August 14 while located 85 miles (135 km) west of Fort Myers.
With well-established outflow and low levels of wind shear, Erika strengthened as the circulation became better defined. A high pressure system persisted over the south-central United States, forcing the storm to move just south of due west at 25 mph (40 km/h). On August 15, convection organized into bands, and as its winds approached hurricane strength, an eye developed within the storm. Erika turned to the west-southwest on August 16, and attained hurricane status just prior to making landfall near Boca San Rafael, Tamaulipas in northeastern Mexico, or about 40 miles (70 km) south of the United States–Mexico border. The storm rapidly weakened over the mountainous Sierra Madre Oriental, and Erika dissipated early on August 17. The mid-level circulation maintained integrity as it crossed Mexico, and led to the formation of a tropical disturbance after entering the Gulf of California on August 18. It turned to the northwest and weakened on August 20.
Operationally Erika was never upgraded to hurricane status. Based on a persistent eye feature on radar and Doppler weather radar-estimated surface winds of 75 mph (120 km/h), the National Hurricane Center posthumously upgraded Erika to a hurricane.
Read more about this topic: Hurricane Erika (2003)
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