Cyclone Catarina

Category 2 cyclone
Catarina, as seen from the International Space Station.
Formed	March 24, 2004
Dissipated	March 28, 2004
Highest winds	100 mph (160 km/h)[1] sustained
Lowest pressure	Unknown
Damages	$350 million (2004 USD)
Fatalities	3–10 direct
Areas affected	Santa Catarina and Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
Part of the 2003-04 Southern Hemisphere tropical cyclone season

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) in damages. The Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale is a scale classifying most Western Hemisphere tropical cyclones that exceed the levels of tropical depression and tropical storm and thereby become hurricanes. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1000x662, 320 KB) http://eol. ... ISS Statistics Crew: 2 As of August 21, 2005 Perigee: 352. ... March 24 is the 83rd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (84th in Leap years). ... 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... March 28 is the 87th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (88th in Leap years). ... 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Miles per hour is a unit of speed, expressing the number of international miles covered per hour. ... Kilometre per hour (American spelling: kilometer per hour) is a unit of both speed (scalar) and velocity (vector). ... The United States dollar is the official currency of the United States. ... Flag of Santa Catarina See other Brazilian States Capital Florianópolis Largest City Joinville Area 95,442. ... Rio Grande do Sul (pron. ... Cyclone Gafilo Main article Cyclone Gafilo ... A South Atlantic tropical cyclone is an unusual weather event which occurs in the southern Atlantic Ocean, south of the equator. ... Cyclone Catarina, a rare South Atlantic tropical cyclone viewed from the International Space Station on March 26, 2004. ... The United States dollar is the official currency of the United States. ...

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 Florianopolis, it headed slowly westward, and appeared to become a tropical storm on the 25th. March 12 is the 71st day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (72nd in Leap years). ... A mile is any of several units of distance, or, in physics terminology, of length. ... Florianópolis is the capital city of Santa Catarina State in southern Brazil. ...

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 [2], 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. Miles per hour is a unit of speed, expressing the number of international miles covered per hour. ... Kilometre per hour (American spelling: kilometer per hour) is a unit of both speed (scalar) and velocity (vector). ... The Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale is a scale classifying most Western Hemisphere tropical cyclones that exceed the levels of tropical depression and tropical storm and thereby become hurricanes. ... Torres is a German-style board game designed by Wolfgang Kramer and Michael Kiesling and published in 1999 by FX Schmid in German and by Rio Grande Games in English. ... Rio Grande do Sul (pron. ...

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. Summary Unprecedented south Atlantic Cyclone Catarina as imaged on March 27, 2004. ... Summary Unprecedented south Atlantic Cyclone Catarina as imaged on March 27, 2004. ... March 27 is the 86th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (87th in Leap years). ... 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Landfall has two meanings: Landfall, Minnesota the place or time at which a hurricane or waterspout, or even a boat hits land Landfall is also the title of New Zealands most important literary journal. ... Flag of Santa Catarina See other Brazilian States Capital Florianópolis Largest City Joinville Area 95,442. ... This article is about weather phenomena. ...

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 {26 °C}), little shear, a warm core low, and overall tropical characteristics, it was considered a hurricane by the NHC.

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 [3].) 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 90L and up for possible storms. The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) is an intergovernmental organization with a membership of 187 Member States and Territories. ... The new building on the edge of Exeter The Met Office (originally an abbreviation for Meteorological Office, but now the official name in itself), which has its headquarters at Exeter in Devon, is the UKs national weather service. ... The U.S. National Hurricane Center is the division of National Weather Services Tropical Prediction Center responsible for tracking and predicting the likely behavior of tropical depressions, tropical storms and hurricanes. ...

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 predominate term for Southern Hemisphere tropical cyclones. This article is about weather phenomena. ... This article is about weather phenomena. ... Southern Hemisphere The Southern Hemisphere is the half of a planets surface (or celestial sphere) that is south of the equator (the word hemisphere literally means half ball). On Earth it contains four continents (part of Africa, Oceania, most of South America, and Antarctica) and four oceans (South Atlantic...

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. A South Atlantic tropical cyclone is an unusual weather event which occurs in the southern Atlantic Ocean, south of the equator. ... A South Atlantic tropical cyclone is an unusual weather event which occurs in the southern Atlantic Ocean, south of the equator. ...

Impact

Like normal tropical cyclones, Catarina brought heavy flooding with it. Due to the refusal of acknowledgement of the tropical characteristics and potency of the system by Brazilian government meteorologists, many individuals 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). It also killed at least three and injured at least 75. [4] 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The United States dollar is the official currency of the United States. ...

See also

Tropical cyclones Portal

• List of notable tropical cyclones

Image File history File links Portal. ... This is a list of notable tropical cyclones, subdivided by basin and reason for notability. ...

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)