Cyclone Catarina

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Hurricane Catarina redirects here but should not be confused with Hurricane Katrina.

Cyclone Catarina was an extremely rare South Atlantic tropical cyclone. Catarina hit southeastern Brazil in late March of 2004, and though not the first southern Atlantic tropical cyclone, it was the first positively identified hurricane-strength system in the basin. The storm killed at least 3 people and caused an estimated $350 million (2004 US dollars, $359.45 million 2005 USD) in damages.

Contents

1 Storm history
2 Naming dispute
3 Rare formation
4 Impact
5 See also
6 Notes
7 External links and sources

Storm history

On March 12 a cold-core stationary upper-level trough became established offshore southern Brazil. A disturbance formed along it on the 19th, and moved east-southeastward until the 22nd, when a ridge to its southeast kept it stationary. With exceptionally unusual favorable upper level winds and above average if marginally warm water temperatures from 24 to 26 °C (75 to 79 °F), it gradually developed, resembling a subtropical storm by the 24th. Located 630 statute miles (1010 km) east-southeast of Florianópolis, it headed slowly westward, and appeared to become a tropical storm on the 25th.

A compact storm, it continued westward while steadily intensifying, reaching hurricane strength on the 26th. A Brazilian newspaper indicated a "Furacao (hurricane) threatening Catarina (the Brazilian state)". Partly because of this, the storm had unofficially been named Catarina due to the headline. Catarina continued to encounter favorable conditions, and reached a peak of 100 mph (160 km/h) estimated sustained winds on the 28th, which made the storm a Category 2 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson hurricane scale. Gusts peaked at around 110 mph (180 km/h). The cyclone made landfall at that intensity, hitting just north of the town of Torres (northeast of the extreme southern Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul). Catarina rapidly dissipated over land in the normal manner that tropical cyclones do.

Naming dispute

Catarina approaching the Brazilian coastline on March 27, 2004.

Brazilian meteorologists named the storm Catarina for its proximity to (and eventual landfall at) the state of Santa Catarina, although government forecasters initially denied that the storm, which clearly had an open eye and various other tropical morphologies, was a hurricane at all.

North American forecasters, however, surprised as they were, considered this a hurricane immediately upon the satellite-derived evidence. Since it had clear eyewall structure bounded by deep convective central dense overcast, well-defined spiral outer bands and outflow structure, warm water temperatures (79 °F ), little shear, a warm core low, and overall tropical characteristics, it was considered a hurricane by the National Hurricane Center in the United States.ftp://ftp.met.fsu.edu/pub/weather/tropical/Atl-Dis/2004032623.AXNT20

Though it is most commonly known as Catarina, all names for this storm are "unofficial", in that no World Meteorological Organization-affiliated meteorological agency that monitors hurricanes named it. (Tropical cyclone names are predetermined by an international committee of the World Meteorological Organization.)http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/aboutnames.shtml It has also been called "Aldonça", and the advisory names for it were "01T-ALPHA" from the United Kingdom's Met Office, and "50L-NONAME" from the United States' National Hurricane Center, which keeps it well outside normal designation, which start at 1L for named storms and use 90L to 99L for possible storms.

There is also no official naming convention for the meteorological term of tropical cyclones with winds of at least 74 mph (119 km/h) (i.e. hurricane, typhoon, cyclone) in the South Atlantic basin; however, because it was in the Southern Hemisphere, it is typically considered Cyclone Catarina, the predominant term for Southern Hemisphere tropical cyclones.

Rare formation

Typically, tropical cyclones don't form in the South Atlantic Ocean, due to strong upper level shear, cool water temperatures, and the lack of a convergence zone of convection. Occasionally though, as seen in 1991 and early 2004, conditions can become slightly more favorable. For Catarina, it was a combination of climatic and atmospheric anomalies. Water temperatures on Catarina's path ranged from 24-25º Celsius, slightly less than the 26.5º temperature of a normal tropical cyclone, but sufficient for a storm of baroclinic origin.

Impact

Like normal tropical cyclones, Catarina brought heavy flooding with it. Because Brazilian government meteorologists refused to acknowledge the tropical characteristics and potency of Catarina, many people did not take shelter, increasing the threat for damage. In the end, the storm damaged around 40,000 homes and destroyed 1500; 85% of the banana crop and 40% of the rice crop were lost; total damages were estimated at $350 million (2004 USD, $359.45 million 2005 USD). It also killed at least three and injured at least 75. http://www.usatoday.com/weather/news/2004-03-28-brazil-storm_x.htm

Notes

External links and sources

[Gary Padgett Summary of Cyclone]
[Gary Padgett Storm Path]
[NHC March 26 2004 Discussion]
[NOAA satellite info]
[Rare South Atlantic Tropical Cyclone] (NASA)
"[The first South Atlantic hurricane: Unprecedented blocking, low shear and climate change]" by Alexandre Bernardes Pezza and Ian Simmonds (Geophysical Research Letters, Vol 32, L15712, 2005)
[Workshop on the Phenomenon Catarina] (Brazilian Society of Meteorology)
[Penn State writeup]
[“Hurricane” Catarina hits Brazil] (NASA)
"[First South Atlantic hurricane hits Brazil]" (USA Today)

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