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'''Cyclone Catarina''' is one of several informal names for a [[South Atlantic tropical cyclone]] that hit southeastern [[Brazil]] in late March 2004. The storm developed out of a stationary [[Surface weather analysis|cold-core]] upper-level [[trough (meteorology)|trough]] on March 12. Almost a week later, on March 19, a disturbance developed along the trough and traveled towards the east-southeast until March 22 when a [[ridge (meteorology)|ridge]] caused the foreword motion of the disturbance to cease. The disturbance was in an unusually favorable environment with below average [[wind shear]] and above average sea surface temperatures. The combination of the two led to a slow transition from an [[Extratropical cyclone]] to a [[Subtropical cyclone]] by March 24. The storm continued to obtain [[Tropical cyclogenesis|tropical characteristics]] and became a [[tropical cyclone|tropical storm]] the next day while the winds steadily increased. The storm obtained winds of 75 mph (120 km/h)—equivalent to a low-end category one hurricane on the [[Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale]]—on March 26. At which it was unofficially named ''Catarina'' and also the first hurricane-intensity tropical cyclone ever recorded in the Southern Atlantic Ocean. Unusually favorable conditions persisted and Catarina continued to intensify and was estimated to have peaked with winds of 100 mph (155 km/h) on March 28. The storm made landfall later that day at that intensity near the town of [[Torres, Rio Grande do Sul|Torres]]. Catarina rapidly weakened upon landfall and dissipated the next day.
'''Cyclone Catarina''' is one of several informal names for a [[South Atlantic tropical cyclone]] that hit southeastern [[Brazil]] in late March 2004. Although not the first southern Atlantic [[tropical cyclone]], it was the first positively identified cyclone-strength system in the basin. The storm killed at least three people and caused an estimated $350 million (2004 [[US dollars]]) in damages.

Since Catarina formed in an area which has never, according to reliable records, experience a tropical cyclone before, the damage was quite severe. The unprecedented storm took many people by surprise since Brazilian officials were reluctant to warn the public about a storm in which they though was weak. Catarina ended up destroying 1,500 homes and damaging around 40,000 others. Severe damage was also dealt to the agricultural products, as 85% of the banana crops and 40% of the rice crops were lost in the storm. Despite the lack of adequate warning for the storm, only three people were confirmed to have perished in the storms and 75 others were injured. Damages from the storm amounted to $350 million (2004 USD).


==Meteorological history==
==Meteorological history==
{{storm path|Catarina 2004 track.png}}
{{storm path|Catarina 2004 track.png}}
On [[March 12]], a [[Surface weather analysis|cold-core]] stationary upper-level [[trough (meteorology)|trough]] became established offshore southern Brazil. A disturbance formed along it on the 19th, and moved east-southeastward until the 22nd, when a [[ridge (meteorology)|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 mile]]s (1010&nbsp;km) <!--or 1170&nbsp;km if nautical miles--> east-southeast of [[Florianópolis]], it headed slowly westward, and appeared to become a tropical storm on the 25th.
On March&nbsp;12, a [[Surface weather analysis|cold-core]] stationary upper-level [[trough (meteorology)|trough]] became established offshore southern Brazil. A disturbance formed along it on the 19th, and moved east-southeastward until the 22nd, when a [[ridge (meteorology)|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 mile]]s (1010&nbsp;km) <!--or 1170&nbsp;km if nautical miles--> east-southeast of [[Florianópolis]], it headed slowly westward, and appeared to become a tropical storm on March&nbsp;25.


A compact storm, it continued westward while steadily intensifying, reaching hurricane strength on the 26th. A Brazilian newspaper indicated a "Furacão (hurricane) threatening Santa Catarina (the Brazilian state)." Partly because of this headline, the storm was unofficially named Catarina. It continued to encounter favorable conditions and reached a peak of 100 [[mph]] (160 [[km/h]]) estimated sustained winds on the 28th,<ref name="AustraliaSevereWeather">[http://australiasevereweather.com/cyclones/2004/summ0403.htm Monthly Global Tropical Cyclone Summary March 2004<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> which made the storm a Category&nbsp;2 hurricane on the [[Saffir-Simpson hurricane scale]]. Gusts peaked at around 110&nbsp;mph (180&nbsp;km/h). The cyclone made landfall at that intensity, hitting just north of the town of [[Torres, Rio Grande do Sul|Torres]] (in the northeast of the extreme southern [[Brazil]]ian state of [[Rio Grande do Sul]]). Catarina rapidly dissipated over land in the normal manner of a tropical cyclone.
A compact storm, it continued westward while steadily intensifying. The structure of the storm continued to improve and due to a definite [[Eye (cyclone)|eye]] feature showing on satellites, the storm was determined to have become a hurricane-equivalent cyclone on March&nbsp;26.<ref name="PA1">{{cite web|author=Bob Henson|title=What was Catarina?|year=2005|publisher=UCAR Communications|accessdate=2008-10-20|url=http://www.ucar.edu/communications/quarterly/summer05/catarina.html}}</ref> A Brazilian newspaper indicated a "Furacão (hurricane) threatening Santa Catarina (the Brazilian state)." Partly because of this headline, the storm was unofficially named Catarina. It continued to encounter favorable conditions and reached a peak of 100 [[mph]] (160 [[km/h]]) estimated sustained winds on the 28th,<ref name="AustraliaSevereWeather">[http://australiasevereweather.com/cyclones/2004/summ0403.htm Monthly Global Tropical Cyclone Summary March 2004<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> which made the storm a Category&nbsp;2 hurricane on the [[Saffir-Simpson hurricane scale]]. Gusts peaked at around 110&nbsp;mph (180&nbsp;km/h). The cyclone made landfall at that intensity, hitting just north of the town of [[Torres, Rio Grande do Sul|Torres]] (in the northeast of the extreme southern [[Brazil]]ian state of [[Rio Grande do Sul]]). Catarina rapidly dissipated over land in the normal manner of a tropical cyclone.


==Naming==
==Naming==

Revision as of 19:15, 20 October 2008

Hurricane Catarina redirects here but should not be confused with Hurricane Katrina.
Cyclone Catarina
Category 2 hurricane (SSHWS)
Catarina, as seen from the
International Space Station.
FormedMarch 24, 2004
DissipatedMarch 28, 2004
Highest winds1-minute sustained: 155 km/h (100 mph)
Lowest pressure972[1] hPa (mbar)
Fatalities3–10 direct
Damage$350 million (2004 USD)
Areas affectedSanta Catarina and Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
Part of the South Atlantic tropical cyclones

Cyclone Catarina is one of several informal names for a South Atlantic tropical cyclone that hit southeastern Brazil in late March 2004. The storm developed out of a stationary cold-core upper-level trough on March 12. Almost a week later, on March 19, a disturbance developed along the trough and traveled towards the east-southeast until March 22 when a ridge caused the foreword motion of the disturbance to cease. The disturbance was in an unusually favorable environment with below average wind shear and above average sea surface temperatures. The combination of the two led to a slow transition from an Extratropical cyclone to a Subtropical cyclone by March 24. The storm continued to obtain tropical characteristics and became a tropical storm the next day while the winds steadily increased. The storm obtained winds of 75 mph (120 km/h)—equivalent to a low-end category one hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale—on March 26. At which it was unofficially named Catarina and also the first hurricane-intensity tropical cyclone ever recorded in the Southern Atlantic Ocean. Unusually favorable conditions persisted and Catarina continued to intensify and was estimated to have peaked with winds of 100 mph (155 km/h) on March 28. The storm made landfall later that day at that intensity near the town of Torres. Catarina rapidly weakened upon landfall and dissipated the next day.

Since Catarina formed in an area which has never, according to reliable records, experience a tropical cyclone before, the damage was quite severe. The unprecedented storm took many people by surprise since Brazilian officials were reluctant to warn the public about a storm in which they though was weak. Catarina ended up destroying 1,500 homes and damaging around 40,000 others. Severe damage was also dealt to the agricultural products, as 85% of the banana crops and 40% of the rice crops were lost in the storm. Despite the lack of adequate warning for the storm, only three people were confirmed to have perished in the storms and 75 others were injured. Damages from the storm amounted to $350 million (2004 USD).

Meteorological history

Map plotting the storm's track and intensity, according to the Saffir–Simpson scale
Map key
Saffir–Simpson scale
  Tropical depression (≤38 mph, ≤62 km/h)
  Tropical storm (39–73 mph, 63–118 km/h)
  Category 1 (74–95 mph, 119–153 km/h)
  Category 2 (96–110 mph, 154–177 km/h)
  Category 3 (111–129 mph, 178–208 km/h)
  Category 4 (130–156 mph, 209–251 km/h)
  Category 5 (≥157 mph, ≥252 km/h)
  Unknown
Storm type
triangle Extratropical cyclone, remnant low, tropical disturbance, or monsoon depression

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 March 25.

A compact storm, it continued westward while steadily intensifying. The structure of the storm continued to improve and due to a definite eye feature showing on satellites, the storm was determined to have become a hurricane-equivalent cyclone on March 26.[2] A Brazilian newspaper indicated a "Furacão (hurricane) threatening Santa Catarina (the Brazilian state)." Partly because of this headline, the storm was unofficially named Catarina. It continued to encounter favorable conditions and reached a peak of 100 mph (160 km/h) estimated sustained winds on the 28th,[3] 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 (in the northeast of the extreme southern Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul). Catarina rapidly dissipated over land in the normal manner of a tropical cyclone.

Naming

Catarina approaching the Brazilian coastline on March 27, 2004.

Brazilian meteorologists named the storm Catarina for its proximity to (and eventual landfall near) 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. More than a year after the storm made landfall, Brazilian meteorologists finally classified the storm as a tropical cyclone.[4]

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 of 79°F (26°C), little shear, a warm core low, and overall tropical characteristics, it was considered a hurricane by the National Hurricane Center in the United States.[5]

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.)[6] It has also been unofficially called "Aldonça"[7], 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 do not 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 to 25 °C, slightly less than the 26.5 °C temperature of a normal tropical cyclone, but sufficient for a storm of baroclinic origin.

Up to that point, no tropical cyclone had been observed to reach hurricane strength in the South Atlantic Ocean via satellite imagery, which dates back to the mid-1970s.[8] While Catarina formed in an unusual area, its relation to global warming or any other type of global climatic change is still up for debate. The Brazilian Society of Meteorology attributed it to "climatic changes and atmospheric anomalies,"[4], while other researchers have indicated that it could be the result of the Southern Annular Mode or other seasonal variations in weather within the Southern Hemisphere, again linked to global changes in climate.[9] However, more research in the area is still needed to make a conclusion.[9]

Impact

Location of the Santa Catarina state in Brazil.

Like normal tropical cyclones, Catarina brought heavy flooding with it. Because Brazilian government meteorologists refused to acknowledge the tropical characteristics and potency of Catarina [citation needed], 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 also lost. Total damages were estimated at $350 million (2004 USD, $391.63 million 2007 USD). It also killed at least three and injured at least 75. [10]

At Passo de Torres, many shipyards were destroyed, as they were not designed to withstand the pressure differentials caused by Catarina's winds; widespread roof damage was reported at this municipality as well.[11]. Near the Mampituba River, a house was blown about 50 meters (165 ft) upstream, literally landing in another state: it originally was built in the Torres municipality of Rio Grande do Sul, yet it ended up in Passo de Torres, within Santa Catarina. In rural areas, the corn, banana, and rice fields were the ones receiving the most damage, although rice farmers were able to partially recoup their losses, as they had harvested before Catarina made landfall. [11]

Overall, almost 36,000 residences were damaged as a result of Catarina's onslaught; of those, 993 collapsed completely. The commercial sector fared slightly better, as only 2,274 buildings were damaged and 472 collapsed. Finally, 397 public buildings were damaged and three were destroyed. These account for 26% of the total buildings in the region, and property damage of $25.6 million (2004 USD). Four-fifths of the damaged houses had some sort of roof failure or collapse. Most of the damage was blamed on the low quality of the construction; brick residences typically lacked plaster, beams, or columns, for example. The areas affected the most were those habitated by low-income families, usually with family salaries of less than $400 USD.[11]

See also

Template:Tcportal

References

  1. ^ McTaggart-Cowan, R., Bosart, L. F., Davis, C. A., Atallah, E. H., Gyakum, J. R., and Emanuel, K. A. (2006). "Analysis of Hurricane Catarina (2004)". Monthly Weather Review. 134 (11): 3029–53. doi:10.1175/MWR3330.1. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  2. ^ Bob Henson (2005). "What was Catarina?". UCAR Communications. Retrieved 2008-10-20.
  3. ^ Monthly Global Tropical Cyclone Summary March 2004
  4. ^ a b "Phenomenon Catarina in Debate". Informativo. Sociedade Brasileira de Meteorologia. 2005. Retrieved 2006-12-24. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  5. ^ ftp://ftp.met.fsu.edu/pub/weather/tropical/Atl-Dis/2004/Mar/2004032623.AXNT20
  6. ^ Worldwide Tropical Cyclone Names
  7. ^ Hurricane Catarina/Aldonca - Rare South Atlantic Hurricane
  8. ^ Department of Meteorology, e-Education Institute. "Upper-Level Lows". Meteorology 241: Fundamentals of Tropical Forecasting. Pennsylvania State University. Retrieved 2006-10-24.
  9. ^ a b Pessa, Alexandre B. and Ian Simmonds (2006). "Catarina: The First South Atlantic Hurricane and its Association with Vertical Wind Shear and High Latitude Blocking" (PDF). 8th International Conference on Southern Hemisphere Meteorology and Oceanography. University of Melbourne. Retrieved 2006-12-24. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  10. ^ USATODAY.com - First South Atlantic hurricane hits Brazil
  11. ^ a b c Marcelino, Emerson Vieira; Isabela Pena Viana de Oliveira Marcelino; Frederico de Moraes Rudorff (2004). "Cyclone Catarina: Damage and Vulnerability Assessment" (PDF). Santa Catarina Federal University. Retrieved 2006-12-24.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
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