Hurricane Gladys (1975)

Hurricane Gladys (1975)

Hurricane Gladys was the eighteenth tropical cyclone, seventh named storm, fifth hurricane, and third major hurricane during the 1975 Atlantic hurricane season. Gladys developed from a tropical wave that emerged from the west coast of Africa on September 17. The wave moved westward into the central Atlantic, where upon becoming a tropical depression on September 22, turned towards the northwest. Continuing its movement above warm sea surface temperatures and low wind shear, the depression gradually strengthened into a tropical storm by September 24, when it receiving the name Gladys from the National Hurricane Center (NHC). Despite entering a more unfavorable environment several hundred miles east of the northern Leeward Islands, Gladys became a Category 1 hurricane on September 28. Shortly thereafter, the storm reentered an area favorable for strengthening, and a well-defined eye became visible on satellite imagery. As the storm tracked to the east of the Bahamas, a curve to the north began, and an anticyclone developed atop the cyclone. This subsequently allowed Gladys to rapidly intensify into a Category 4 hurricane, reaching a peak intensity of 140 mph (230 km/h) on October 2. As a weakening system, Gladys passed very close to Cape Race, Newfoundland before merging with a large extratropical cyclone. Effects from the system along the East Coast of the United States were minimal, although heavy rainfall and rough seas were reported.