Hurricane Michelle - Meteorological History

Meteorological History

A tropical wave moved off of the west coast of Africa on October 16. The tropical wave moved across the open Atlantic, and reached the Lesser Antilles on October 23. Still a weak tropical wave, shower activity increased on October 26, when the wave was located in the Caribbean. At this time, a broad low-pressure area developed near the coast of Nicaragua. A gradual strengthening period began, and a Hurricane Hunters aircraft had found that the tropical wave had intensified to a tropical depression on October 29.

The depression meandered over Nicaragua for 36 hours. A north-northeastward track that began early on October 31 brought the center back over the Caribbean waters later that day near Cabo Gracias a Dios on the border between Honduras and Nicaragua. The system strengthened and was named Tropical Storm Michelle on November 1, to the north of Cabo Gracias. Michelle moved slowly north-northwestward on November 1 and steadily intensified. It became a hurricane on November 2 while it tracked slowly northward. Rapid intensification then occurred. The central pressure fell from 988 millibars (29.2 inHg) on November 2 to 937 millibars (27.7 inHg) on the November 3 – a decrease of 51 millibars (1.5 inHg) in about 29 hours. Michelle turned slowly north-northeastward after November 3, while some fluctuations in intensity occurred. It reached a peak intensity of 140 mph (225 km/h) on November 4 while accelerating northeastward. This motion brought the center of Michelle to the off the southwest shore of Cuba, that day as a Category 4 hurricane on the Saffir–Simpson Hurricane Scale, and to the Cuban mainland near the Bay of Pigs about five hours later. Michelle's circulation was disrupted by Cuba's landmass. It then accelerated northeastward through the Bahamas. The center moved off the coast of Cuba, passed over Andros Island, and over Eleuthera Island. Michelle became a vigorous extratropical cyclone on November 6, and the center could be followed for another 18 hours before being absorbed into a strong cold front.