Hurricane Vince

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Hurricane Vince
Hurricane Vince on October 9, 2005 northwest of the Madeira Islands. For comparison, the main island of the Madeiras (the largest island in the picture) is approximately 30 miles (57 km) long. - copyright © 2000 EUMETSAT

Hurricane Vince on October 9, 2005 northwest of the Madeira Islands. For comparison, the main island of the Madeiras (the largest island in the picture) is approximately 30 miles (57 km) long. - copyright © 2000 EUMETSAT
Duration Oct. 8 - 11, 2005
Highest winds 75 mph (120 km/h) sustained
Damages None reported
Fatalities None reported
Areas affected Madeira Islands, southern Portugal, southwestern Spain
Part of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season

Hurricane Vince was the 20th named storm and eleventh hurricane of the extremely active 2005 Atlantic hurricane season. Vince developed in the far eastern Atlantic in early October 2005, and would stay there before making an unprecedented landfall on the Iberian Peninsula on October 11 as a weak tropical storm. While it was a relatively weak and short-lived storm with no reported damage or fatalities, it was one of the most unusual hurricanes to ever develop in the Atlantic Ocean.

Contents

Storm history

The development and naming of Vince was controversial among meteorologists. As early as 5 pm EDT (2100 UTC) on October 8, the unnamed system had developed a formation of a traditional hurricane [1], with a clear eye visible in the compact system. The NHC had decided not to declare the system a tropical cyclone due to the fact that the water temperature was too low for such to normally develop. Some NHC analyses suggest that Vince was indeed a subtropical or tropical storm on October 8 and thus should have been named at that point.

Tropical Storm Vince was officially named at 11 am EDT (1500 UTC) on October 9 in an unusual location in the east Atlantic near Madeira, about 515 miles (830 km) east-southeast of the Azores, and was upgraded to a hurricane six hours later (the National Hurricane Center deciding that "if it looks like a hurricane...it probably is...despite its environment and unusual location".) [2] Initially it was thought that the storm might be subtropical rather than tropical in nature, but the persistence of convection near the center, as well as low shear over the area, gave it its tropical characteristics.

Vince became extratropical shortly after landfall near Huelva, Spain at 5 am AST (0900 UTC) October 11. No reports of damage or fatalities have come in, as it has been compared to normal rain events from non-tropical systems, with only 1 to 2 inches (25 to 50 mm) of rain falling.

Peculiarities

Although Vince was a very small and short-lived storm that only briefly reached hurricane strength, it is notable for developing in the far eastern Atlantic near 33°N and 19°W off the Moroccan coast, well away from where hurricanes are usually found; it was the farthest east and north a tropical storm had ever developed in the Atlantic. Vince also formed and remained over water never warmer than 24°C (75°F), which defies the general thought that water needs to be at least 26.5ºC (80°F) for a tropical storm to form and intensify.

Vince is the first tropical cyclone on record to have made landfall on the Iberian Peninsula, after landfalling near Huelva, Spain. Furthermore, before Vince was even given tropical storm status by the National Hurricane Center, the system that would be named Vince clearly had an open eye [3]; Vince was also the first named 'V' storm in the Atlantic since naming began in 1950.

See also

External links

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Tropical cyclones of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season
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