Cape Verde-type Hurricane - Typical Tracks

Typical Tracks

A typical Cape Verde hurricane will form as a tropical depression just south of the Cape Verde islands. It will normally reach hurricane strength in the mid-Atlantic, but sometimes will strengthen closer to Cape Verde or the Caribbean.

The initial track of a Cape Verde storm tends to be generally westward from Cape Verde, with a turn to the north at some stage in the track for most storms lasting more than a few days. Once the cyclone begins approaching South America, a Cape Verde hurricane can take several basic tracks and from there diverge, become extra-tropical, or dissipate.

1. It can continue to the west, and if it is far enough south, it will cross the Windward Islands into the Caribbean Sea, possibly affecting Venezuela to some degree. From there it will often continue westward into Nicaragua, Honduras, or Belize. For example, Hurricane Joan–Miriam took this southerly route in 1988, causing severe flooding in South America, making landfall in Central America, and continuing into the Pacific Basin, just as Hurricane Irene–Olivia did in 1971. Rarely, a storm will make landfall in South America. Some storms pass unabated into the Gulf of Mexico. Hurricane Ivan of 2004 began with a very southerly route yet it made landfall far to the north in Alabama. Somewhere in the middle of these extremes, storms such as 1980's Hurricane Allen track toward the coast of Mexico, affecting areas from the Yucatán Peninsula to Texas. Many of these southerly hurricanes strike Jamaica, like the Galveston Hurricane of 1915 and Hurricane Gilbert of 1988. Hurricane Janet of 1955 will be remembered as one of the deadliest and strongest storms to strike the Yucatán Peninsula of Mexico.
   
2. If the storm is further north, it may travel past the Leeward Islands and into the Greater Antilles. In 1998, Hurricane Georges took a track of this nature as it continued into Mississippi. Slightly further north, and the storm will track through the Bahamas and into Florida in the manner of 1992's Hurricane Andrew. Many of these storms passing through the center of the Caribbean will strike the island of Hispaniola, and Cuba, like Hurricane David and Hurricane Frederic did, both in 1979. Some storms on this track will turn to the west once in the Gulf, and thereby make landfall in Texas, as the Galveston Hurricane of 1900 and Hurricane Ike of 2008.
   
3. A more northerly storm will often have its track affected by the high pressure that typically occurs over the eastern Atlantic in late summer. As these storms pass north of the Antilles, their tracks begin to curve to the north and to the east of the Florida Peninsula, often sending them away from land. A few storms will track northwest, making landfall in North or South Carolina. Hurricane Hugo of 1989 and Hurricane Fran of 1996 are typical examples. Occasionally storms following this track can accelerate to the north and strike New England. The New England Hurricane of 1938 and Hurricane Gloria in 1985 were two such cases.
   
4. When a storm tracks very far north, its potential for landfall is much less. Some storms do, however, track west-northwest to strike the Atlantic coast of the U.S. and the maritime provinces of Canada, such as 1933 Chesapeake–Potomac hurricane and Hurricane Isabel of 2003, which struck the mid-Atlantic. Both Hurricane Bill (2009) and Hurricane Daisy (1962) were Cape Verde storms that made landfall in Canada, just as Hurricane Luis (1995), Hurricane Earl (2010), and Hurricane Igor (2010) did. If the storm's track is affected significantly, it will often pass near the Eastern U.S., Nova Scotia, and Newfoundland Island and curve back out to sea, where it becomes extratropical over cooler water. An example of such was Hurricane Edouard in 1996. At the extreme, Cape Verde hurricanes can track so far north as to curve all the way to Europe, such as Hurricane Helene of 2006 and Hurricane Isaac of 2000, both of which affected Ireland.
   
5. Sometimes, the subtropical ridge is displaced from its normal position, which allows storms to recurve quickly by being driven around the east side of an upper trough in the central Atlantic, generally missing land completely as they dissipate. Both Hurricane Danielle and Hurricane Karl were affected like this in 2004. In other cases, storms are steered north very early in their development near Cape Verde, such as the 1989 storms Hurricane Erin and Hurricane Felix which both traveled northwest and never threatened land.
   

Because this type of hurricane takes a near-westward path that starts in the eastern Atlantic, they can avoid the two situations that typically end the life of a tropical cyclone: interaction with land, and movement over cool water. Since storms that far out at sea can go over a week without moving over cooler water or near a landmass, Cape Verde-type hurricanes are some of the longest-lived storms. Hurricane Faith, the third longest lasting Atlantic hurricane on record, was a Cape Verde hurricane. It lasted 16 days total and was a hurricane for 14. Hurricane Joan–Miriam of 1988 and Hurricane Irene–Olivia of 1971 lasted longer, both having crossed narrow parts of Central America and regaining cyclonic motion in the Pacific.