Hurricane Gordon (2000)

Hurricane Gordon (2000)

Hurricane Gordon was one of two U.S. landfalling tropical storms of the 2000 Atlantic hurricane season. The seventh named storm and fourth hurricane of the season, Gordon developed in the extreme western Caribbean Sea from a tropical wave on September 14. Shortly thereafter, the depression moved inland over the Yucatan Peninsula and later emerged into the Gulf of Mexico on September 15. The depression began to quickly organize, and by early on September 16, it was upgraded to Tropical Storm Gordon. After becoming a tropical storm, Gordon continued to intensify and was reclassified as a hurricane about 24 hours later; eventually, the storm peaked as an 80 mph (130 km/h) Category 1 hurricane. However, southwesterly upper-level winds caused Gordon to weaken as it approached land, and it was downgraded to a tropical storm by late on September 17. At 0300 UTC on September 18, Gordon made landfall near Cedar Key, Florida as a strong tropical storm. After moving inland, Gordon rapidly weakened and had deteriorated to tropical depression status by nine hours later. Later that day, Gordon merged with a frontal boundary while centered over Georgia.

Prior to becoming a tropical cyclone, the precursor tropical wave caused severe flooding in Guatemala, killing 23 people. While crossing the Yucatan Peninsula, the storm dropped heavy rainfall, with a few areas experiencing more than 10 inches (250 mm) of precipitation. Similarly, portions of western Cuba reported rainfall totals reaching 10 inches (250 mm). Gordon brought moderately storm surge to the west coast of Florida; one person drowned due to rough seas. Numerous trees and powerlines sustained damage, which left 120,000 people without electricity. In the Tampa Bay area and Cedar Key, minor roof damage to houses and street flooding occurred. In addition, two tornadoes caused some damage in Cape Coral and Ponce Inlet. Elsewhere, affects were minimal, though two indirect fatalities occurred in North Carolina, and minor flooding was reported in South Carolina. Overall, Gordon caused $10.8 million (2000 USD) and 26 fatalities.