The most notable tropical systems to ever develop in April
An April tropical storm may be among the rarest of happenings, but there have been a few notable ones. Here are some of the most memorable.
By
Mark Puleo, AccuWeather staff writer
Published Apr 20, 2022 3:34 PM EST
|
Updated Apr 21, 2022 7:51 AM EST
While debates will continue about when the official date of Atlantic hurricane season should actually begin, one thing is for certain – April storm systems are exceedingly rare.
Even with improved satellites and storm detection technology, the number of April storms observed has not increased in recent decades, making an April tropical cyclone like the four-leaf clover of tropical systems. In fact, there have been 30 more Category 5 hurricanes in the Atlantic Basin than there have been April tropical systems.
Here are some of the most notable April cyclones on record in the Atlantic Basin, in reverse chronological order.
Tropical Storm Arlene (2017) over the central Atlantic. (NOAA/Satellite)
The most recent April tropical storm, Arlene, became just the second April storm system to ever be given a name in the month more known for its rain showers than its tropical storms.
After forming east of Bermuda on April 16, 2017, the storm strengthened gradually on April 19, and was named Arlene early the next morning. It reached peak intensity on April 21, with sustained wind speeds topping out at 51 mph as satellite imagery indicated the storm had developed "a small eye-like feature," according to the National Hurricane Center.
Shortly after reaching peak strength, Arlene began to weaken, losing tropical characteristics later that day, moving southwest of the Azores and dissipating on April 22.
Ana became the first-ever named April storm on April 20, 2003, after becoming the earliest tropical storm to form in the Atlantic basin in 25 seasons.
Ana began as a non-tropical low on April 18, about 200 miles southwest of Bermuda. After moving northward and becoming more organized, the system developed into a subtropical storm on the morning of April 20, before developing further into a named tropical storm later in the day, packing peak sustained winds of 57 mph, according to the NHC.
Ana would maintain this intensity and develop an eye feature on April 21, then lingered near Bermuda for multiple days, dropping over 2.6 inches of rain on the island over a six-day period. While winds on the island didn't reach tropical-storm force, ocean swells from the storm wreaked havoc on the Atlantic coast of Florida nearly 1,000 miles away. In Jupiter Inlet, located in Palm Beach County, the combination of storm swells and an outgoing tide caused a boat to capsize.
Two people on board the Jupiter Inlet vessel drowned, making Ana the deadliest April storm on record.
More popular for what it didn't become rather than what it did, the first subtropical storm to develop in 1992 didn't develop into a named storm. If it had, it would have been known as Andrew. Andrew, instead, went on to be assigned in August to that season's first official tropical system, which would develop into the most destructive hurricane to ever slam into Florida.
But back in April, the system that simply became known as Subtropical Storm One still garnered attention. Upon developing into a subtropical depression on April 21, the storm, which some said appeared to resemble a comma, slowly moved northwest and strengthened into a subtropical storm on the morning of April 22.
According to a report from a hurricane hunter's flight into the storm system, "a 1-degree Centigrade (1.8 Fahrenheit) temperature rise in the cyclone center" was reported, which "along with the presence of some convection near the center, comes close to satisfying the criteria for the definition of a tropical cyclone."
Subtropical Storm One on April 22, 1992, at approximately 18:34 UTC. This image was produced from data from NOAA-11 (NOAA)
While not much was recorded about the first tropical depression to form in 1973, records indicate the storm was the first of three depressions to form before June 1, with the first taking shape northeast of the Bahamas on April 18. Packing 30 mph winds, that system traveled in a curved motion before dissipating on April 21.
The NHC's 1973 hurricane season review also noted the presence of another depression on April 24, but even less is known about that system. According to storm notes, that second April depression formed in the same general area as the first one, but dissipated after two days with minimal movement.
The unnumbered and unnamed tropical depression of 1962 may not have been well-tracked at the time, but historical reanalysis suggests the system may have grown stronger than initially thought. The system was first spotted as a tropical trough north of Puerto Rico on April 28, and the tropical depression it spawned was recognized on April 30. From there, the storm moved northeastward toward Bermuda before dissipating on May 3.
However, there may be some reason to believe the storm could have reached tropical-storm strength in those first couple of days in May. According to reanalysis work done by NOAA researchers, the storm developed a closed low-level circulation on April 30 and became better defined in the following days. A wind gale of 40 mph was reported twice on May 1, about 230 miles from the storm center, "but both likely have a high bias compared to the surrounding ship data," the researchers note. The storm weakened the next day before getting absorbed by an approaching frontal system on May 3, leaving behind insufficient evidence to officially reclassify the system as a tropical storm. If so, it would have become the first April tropical storm on record.
In the second decade of the 1900s, a pair of storms reached tropical-depression strength in the month of April. According to NOAA historical records, the first depression formed on April 3, 1912 from an existing extratropical storm. Within a day, the storm had strengthened to a tropical depression and boasted 40 mph wind gusts. According to NOAA, "with only one observed gale and moderately low pressures, not enough evidence exists to designate this a tropical storm."
The second April storm of that decade formed as a spawn off of an open inverted trough on April 28, 1915. The storm reached tropical depression strength on April 29, and held that status until it was absorbed by an extratropical storm on May 2. Like the 1912 depression, the peak wind gusts and pressure readings support the possibility that the system reached tropical storm status, but NOAA concluded that "with no explicit observed gale-force winds and moderately low pressures, not enough evidence exists to designate this as a tropical storm."
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News / Hurricane
The most notable tropical systems to ever develop in April
An April tropical storm may be among the rarest of happenings, but there have been a few notable ones. Here are some of the most memorable.
By Mark Puleo, AccuWeather staff writer
Published Apr 20, 2022 3:34 PM EST | Updated Apr 21, 2022 7:51 AM EST
While debates will continue about when the official date of Atlantic hurricane season should actually begin, one thing is for certain – April storm systems are exceedingly rare.
Even with improved satellites and storm detection technology, the number of April storms observed has not increased in recent decades, making an April tropical cyclone like the four-leaf clover of tropical systems. In fact, there have been 30 more Category 5 hurricanes in the Atlantic Basin than there have been April tropical systems.
Here are some of the most notable April cyclones on record in the Atlantic Basin, in reverse chronological order.
Tropical Storm Arlene (2017) over the central Atlantic. (NOAA/Satellite)
Tropical Storm Arlene – 2017
The most recent April tropical storm, Arlene, became just the second April storm system to ever be given a name in the month more known for its rain showers than its tropical storms.
After forming east of Bermuda on April 16, 2017, the storm strengthened gradually on April 19, and was named Arlene early the next morning. It reached peak intensity on April 21, with sustained wind speeds topping out at 51 mph as satellite imagery indicated the storm had developed "a small eye-like feature," according to the National Hurricane Center.
Shortly after reaching peak strength, Arlene began to weaken, losing tropical characteristics later that day, moving southwest of the Azores and dissipating on April 22.
Tropical Storm Ana - 2003
Ana became the first-ever named April storm on April 20, 2003, after becoming the earliest tropical storm to form in the Atlantic basin in 25 seasons.
Ana began as a non-tropical low on April 18, about 200 miles southwest of Bermuda. After moving northward and becoming more organized, the system developed into a subtropical storm on the morning of April 20, before developing further into a named tropical storm later in the day, packing peak sustained winds of 57 mph, according to the NHC.
Ana would maintain this intensity and develop an eye feature on April 21, then lingered near Bermuda for multiple days, dropping over 2.6 inches of rain on the island over a six-day period. While winds on the island didn't reach tropical-storm force, ocean swells from the storm wreaked havoc on the Atlantic coast of Florida nearly 1,000 miles away. In Jupiter Inlet, located in Palm Beach County, the combination of storm swells and an outgoing tide caused a boat to capsize.
Two people on board the Jupiter Inlet vessel drowned, making Ana the deadliest April storm on record.
Subtropical Storm One - 1992
More popular for what it didn't become rather than what it did, the first subtropical storm to develop in 1992 didn't develop into a named storm. If it had, it would have been known as Andrew. Andrew, instead, went on to be assigned in August to that season's first official tropical system, which would develop into the most destructive hurricane to ever slam into Florida.
But back in April, the system that simply became known as Subtropical Storm One still garnered attention. Upon developing into a subtropical depression on April 21, the storm, which some said appeared to resemble a comma, slowly moved northwest and strengthened into a subtropical storm on the morning of April 22.
According to a report from a hurricane hunter's flight into the storm system, "a 1-degree Centigrade (1.8 Fahrenheit) temperature rise in the cyclone center" was reported, which "along with the presence of some convection near the center, comes close to satisfying the criteria for the definition of a tropical cyclone."
Subtropical Storm One on April 22, 1992, at approximately 18:34 UTC. This image was produced from data from NOAA-11 (NOAA)
Tropical depressions of 1973
While not much was recorded about the first tropical depression to form in 1973, records indicate the storm was the first of three depressions to form before June 1, with the first taking shape northeast of the Bahamas on April 18. Packing 30 mph winds, that system traveled in a curved motion before dissipating on April 21.
The NHC's 1973 hurricane season review also noted the presence of another depression on April 24, but even less is known about that system. According to storm notes, that second April depression formed in the same general area as the first one, but dissipated after two days with minimal movement.
Tropical depression - 1962
The unnumbered and unnamed tropical depression of 1962 may not have been well-tracked at the time, but historical reanalysis suggests the system may have grown stronger than initially thought. The system was first spotted as a tropical trough north of Puerto Rico on April 28, and the tropical depression it spawned was recognized on April 30. From there, the storm moved northeastward toward Bermuda before dissipating on May 3.
However, there may be some reason to believe the storm could have reached tropical-storm strength in those first couple of days in May. According to reanalysis work done by NOAA researchers, the storm developed a closed low-level circulation on April 30 and became better defined in the following days. A wind gale of 40 mph was reported twice on May 1, about 230 miles from the storm center, "but both likely have a high bias compared to the surrounding ship data," the researchers note. The storm weakened the next day before getting absorbed by an approaching frontal system on May 3, leaving behind insufficient evidence to officially reclassify the system as a tropical storm. If so, it would have become the first April tropical storm on record.
Unnamed storms of 1912 and 1915
In the second decade of the 1900s, a pair of storms reached tropical-depression strength in the month of April. According to NOAA historical records, the first depression formed on April 3, 1912 from an existing extratropical storm. Within a day, the storm had strengthened to a tropical depression and boasted 40 mph wind gusts. According to NOAA, "with only one observed gale and moderately low pressures, not enough evidence exists to designate this a tropical storm."
The second April storm of that decade formed as a spawn off of an open inverted trough on April 28, 1915. The storm reached tropical depression strength on April 29, and held that status until it was absorbed by an extratropical storm on May 2. Like the 1912 depression, the peak wind gusts and pressure readings support the possibility that the system reached tropical storm status, but NOAA concluded that "with no explicit observed gale-force winds and moderately low pressures, not enough evidence exists to designate this as a tropical storm."
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