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September 2016 Bay of Biscay cyclone

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September 2016 Bay of Biscay cyclone
Cyclone Stephanie
The cyclone in the Bay of Biscay shortly after its peak intensity on 15 September, with an eye-like structure visible
TypeExtratropical cyclone
European windstorm
Occluded low
Formed13 September 2016
Dissipated16 September 2016
Highest winds
Highest gust130 km/h (81 mph) in Basque Country, Spain
Lowest pressure998 mb (29.47 inHg)
FatalitiesNone
DamageMinimal
Areas affectedSpain, France, Portugal
Unofficially part of the 2016 Atlantic hurricane season

The September 2016 Bay of Biscay cyclone, also known as Cyclone Stephanie by the Free University of Berlin, was a rare and unusual extratropical cyclone that formed in the Bay of Biscay in the middle of September of 2016. Forming from the tail end of a cold front that was located in the far northeastern Atlantic Ocean, the nascent system drifted southeastwards as it began to undergo occlusion. The cyclone eventually reached its peak intensity on 15 September before coming ashore near the Spain–France border, rapidly weakening and later dissipating the next day.

Although the system itself didn't cause a lot of damage (with the exception of producing gusts up to 130 km/h (81 mph), heavy rain and some minor surf in the affected areas), it gained a lot of media attention from meteorologists particularly because of its resemblance of a subtropical cyclone, which the foreign meteorological service Météo-France claimed it was, due to its apparent eye feature and nearly separating completely from its parent extratropical cyclone. However, no other meteorological services classify it as a tropical or subtropical cyclone, mainly because surface analysis from NOAA and other still showed fronts attached to it. Furthermore, the National Hurricane Center did not name or monitor the system due to the fact that it was outside their area of responsibility (the Bay of Biscay is not within their area).

Meteorological history

Track of a windstorm that impacted Spain and France in January 2009, which took a similar path to the 2016 cyclone.

On 13 September, a cold front was draped across the Bay of Biscay in the far northeastern Atlantic.[1] Over the next 12–24 hours, a non-tropical area of low pressure formed along this front and began to condense into an extratropical cyclone. By September 14, the newly-developed low was situated in the northern portion of the bay.[2] Situated over sea surface temperatures just near the minimum threshold to sustain tropical cyclones – around 23 °C (73 °F), the low intensified and began to obtain some characteristics resembling that of a subtropical cyclone, however there were major discrepancies among meteorologists regarding its classification (see below).

By 18:00 UTC that day, the cyclone began to drift to the southeast towards the border of Spain and France.[3] The storm continued to the southeast, eventually intensifying to a peak intensity of 998 millibars (29.5 inHg) early on 15 September, corresponding with an eye-like structure visible on satellite.[4] As it neared landfall, the storm began to weaken, and by 00:00 UTC on 16 September, the cyclone made landfall along the Spain–France border with a central pressure of 1,004 millibars (29.6 inHg).[5] Land interaction quickly took its toll on the system, and the cyclone later dissipated by mid-day on 16 September.[6]

Impact

The cyclone brought only minor damage to Spain and France, most of which were caused by some strong wind gusts, swells, and some heavy rainfall.[7] Maximum gusts of up to 130 km/h (81 mph) were reported on the coast of Basque Country, with slightly higher gusts in the upper elevations.[8] A storm surge of 3–4 feet (0.91–1.22 m) was also reported on the coastlines of Spain and France.[8] No major damage, fatalities or injuries were reported as a result.

Discrepancy among subtropical status

See also: Subtropical cyclone

The storm was mainly criticized in how it was officially classified. Météo-France, which is the official French national meteorology service, released a statement on 15 September claiming that the system was a subtropical cyclone – meaning it had characteristics of a tropical and extratropical cyclone.[9][10][11][12] This was met with major controversy, as many American meteorologists made the fact that the system was in fact extratropical,[11] as proven by surface analysis data from NOAA, which showed that the cyclone still had an occluded front connected to it – signs that usually indicate an extratropical cyclone.[4] Furthermore, the Bay of Biscay is not within the National Hurricane Center's area of responsibility, which was another reason why the system was not named (had it been for whatever reason, it would have received the name Karl).[13] This was further proven when the cyclone was not mentioned at all in a Tropical Weather Outlook (TWO) released by the NHC on 15 September.[14]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Free University of Berlin Surface Analysis for Storm Stephanie". Free University of Berlin. 12 September 2016. Retrieved 1 March 2017.
  2. ^ "NOAA East Atlantic Surface Analysis for 00:00 UTC September 14, 2016". NOAA. Retrieved 23 February 2017.
  3. ^ "NOAA East Atlantic Surface Analysis for 18:00 UTC September 14, 2016". NOAA. Retrieved 23 February 2017.
  4. ^ a b "NOAA East Atlantic Surface Analysis for 06:00 UTC September 15, 2016". NOAA. Retrieved 23 February 2017.
  5. ^ "NOAA East Atlantic Surface Analysis for 00:00 UTC September 16, 2016". NOAA. Retrieved 23 February 2017.
  6. ^ "NOAA East Atlantic Surface Analysis for 12:00 UTC September 16, 2016". NOAA. Retrieved 23 February 2017.
  7. ^ "Meteo-France on Facebook: "SubTropical like Storm Stephanie is battering across the Border of France and Spain with HeavyRain and GustyWind this Evening and also Friday". Facebook. 15 September 2016. Retrieved 3 March 2017.
  8. ^ a b M�t�o, La Cha�ne. "Un enroulement aux allures d'ouragan sur la côte atlantique ?". lachainemeteo.com. Retrieved 24 February 2017.
  9. ^ BFMTV. "Une dépression subtropicale dans le Golfe de Gascogne: " Un phénomène inédit "". bfmtv.com. Retrieved 6 February 2017.
  10. ^ "Current ESTOFEX Convective Forecasts - ESTOFEX". estofex.org. Retrieved 6 February 2017.
  11. ^ a b Dr. Jeff Masters (15 September 2016). "Julia More Annoyance Than Threat for U.S.; Keep an Eye on TD 12 in Eastern Atlantic - Category 6™". wunderground.com. Retrieved 23 February 2017.
  12. ^ "Subtropical Storm "Stephanie" - Central Florida Hurricane Center". FLHurricane.com. 15 September 2016. Retrieved 3 March 2017.
  13. ^ "NHC Marine Product Description: Tropical Weather Discussion". National Hurricane Center. 28 February 2017.
  14. ^ "NHC Graphical Outlook Archive". National Hurricane Center. 15 September 2016. Retrieved 23 February 2017.
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