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The 1975 Atlantic hurricane season officially began on June 1, 1975, and lasted until November 30, 1975. These dates conventionally delimit the period of each year when most tropical cyclones form in the Atlantic basin. The activity level of the season was average, with nine storms forming of which five reached hurricane strength.
The only notable storm of the season was September's Hurricane Eloise, which caused heavy damage and 80 deaths in Puerto Rico, Hispaniola, and Florida.
[edit] Storms
[edit] Tropical Storm Amy
The first tropical depression of the season developed from a weak surface trough of low pressure. A circulation developed on the 26th, and on June 27, it had become organized enough to be classified a tropical depression. The cyclone moved northward initially, but turned sharply to the east, preventing a North Carolina landfall. On the 29th, the depression finally organized enough to become a tropical storm, Amy. Upper-level shear prevented this storm from becoming fully tropical, but the storm strengthened to a 70 mph tropical storm on the 30th. Amy maintained that intensity for the next two days, but on July 3, a major trough developed over southeastern Canada, pulling Amy rapidly out to sea. The storm lost tropical characteristics on July 4.
[edit] Hurricane Blanche
The tropical depression that became hurricane Blanche formed from a tropical wave on July 24 while 500 miles north of Hispanola. It moved northwestward for the following days, but as it turned northeastward, it rapidly intensified, first to a tropical storm on the 26th, then to a hurricane on the 27th. The hurricane crossed the Nova Scotian coast on the 28th, and lost all tropical characteristics later that day.
[edit] Hurricane Caroline
- Main article: Hurricane Caroline (1975)
Hurricane Caroline began as a tropical depression on August 24 from a tropical wave, located 200 miles north of Hispanola. As it moved west-southwestward, it failed to strengthen further, and after it crossed Cuba, it had only minor evidence of a surface circulation. After the storm moved through the northwestern Caribbean Sea, it started to become more organized, with the depression becoming Tropical Storm Caroline on the 29th. Intensification became steadier, with Caroline reaching hurricane strength on the 30th. Just prior to its landfall 100 miles south of Brownsville, Texas, Caroline rapidly strengthened to a 115 mph major hurricane, but dissipated over land on September 1.
[edit] Hurricane Doris
The subtropical storm that became Hurricane Doris formed from a frontal low on August 28 over the north-central Atlantic. Subtropical Storm One moved to the northwest, where it gained tropical characteristics. On August 31, it was designated Hurricane Doris. It peaked as a 105 mph hurricane, but a nontropical low-pressure system caused the storm to lose its tropical characteristics on September 4.
[edit] Hurricane Eloise
- Main article: Hurricane Eloise
Hurricane Eloise formed from a tropical wave on September 13. As it moved westward north of the Lesser Antilles, it strengthened to a hurricane, but land interaction with Hispanola weakened it to a tropical storm. Eloise moved through the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico, where it hit near Panama City, Florida as a major hurricane.
Eloise caused roughly $490 million ($1.5 billion in 2000 US dollars) in damage and killed 80. Most of the deaths occurred in Puerto Rico and Hispaniola, and were the result of torrential rain. Property damage was concentrated in the heavily developed shoreline at Panama City Beach, Florida, where Eloise caused a 16-foot storm surge.
[edit] Hurricane Faye
The tropical depression that became Hurricane Faye developed from a tropical wave on September 18, located 500 miles west of the Cape Verde islands. The depression reached tropical storm strength on 19th, but couldn't strengthen much further due to increasing upper-level shear. It weakened to a tropical depression on the 23rd, but managed to become a tropical storm again on the 25th and a hurricane on the 26th due to more favorable conditions. It passed by Bermuda on the 27th, but the island was spared from major damage. Later that day it turned eastward, and after 2 days became extratropical.
[edit] Hurricane Gladys
- Main article: Hurricane Gladys (1975)
A tropical depression formed from a tropical wave on September 22 in the tropical Atlantic Ocean. On the 24th, it became Tropical Storm Gladys, and on the 25th, Hurricane Gladys. Intensification stopped due to the same upper level shear Faye experienced less than a weak earlier. After the next week it moved to the northwest. On October 1, as Gladys moved more to the north and northeast, intensification became much more rapid, reaching 140 mph winds at 35º North, an extreme intensity for such a latitude. Not long after did it succumb to cooler waters and upper level shear, and Hurricane Gladys became extratropical on October 4.
[edit] Tropical Storm Hallie
Tropical Storm Hallie began as a subtropical depression on October 24 100 miles off the coast of Florida, forming from the combination of a frontal zone and a tropical wave. The depression paralleled the coasts of Georgia and the Carolinas, gaining tropical characteristics and intensity on the way. Hallie, reaching tropical storm strength on the 26th, became extratropical on the 27th.
[edit] Subtropical Storm Two
An extratropical low pressure system moved southward in early December, gaining some tropical characteristics on the way. On December 9, it was declared a subtropical storm, and it reached its peak of 70 mph the next day. After moving southward for the first 3 days, it moved eastward where it met its demise.
[edit] Accumulated Cyclone Energy (ACE) Rating
| ACE (104kt2) – Storm: Source |
| 1 |
21.4 |
Gladys |
5 |
6.55 |
Amy |
| 2 |
13.1 |
Doris |
6 |
5.40 |
Caroline |
| 3 |
11.8 |
Faye |
7 |
3.38 |
Blanche |
| 4 |
10.6 |
Eloise |
8 |
0.730 |
Hallie |
| Total= 72.95 (73) |
The table on the right shows the ACE for each storm in the season. The ACE is, broadly speaking, a measure of the power of the hurricane multiplied by the length of time it existed for, so hurricanes that lasted a long time have higher ACEs.
[edit] Storm names
The following names were used for named storms (tropical storms and hurricanes) that formed in the North Atlantic in 1975.[1] Names that were not assigned are marked in gray.
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- Hallie
- Ingrid (unused)
- Julia (unused)
- Kitty (unused)
- Lilly (unused)
- Mabel (unused)
- Niki (unused)
|
- Opal (unused)
- Peggy (unused)
- Ruby (unused)
- Sheila (unused)
- Tilda (unused)
- Vicky (unused)
- Winnie (unused)
|
[edit] Retirement
- See also: List of retired Atlantic hurricane names
The name Eloise was later retired.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Associated Press (1974-12-01). "Fewer Big Hurricanes Spawned This Season". Retrieved on 2007-12-01.
[edit] External links
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Tropical cyclones of the 1975 Atlantic hurricane season
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