The 1986 Atlantic hurricane season was a very inactive season that produced 10 depressions, 6 named storms, 4 hurricanes, and no major hurricanes. The season officially began on June 1, 1986, and lasted until November 30, 1986. These dates conventionally delimit the period of each year when most

tropical cyclone A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system characterized by a low-pressure center, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depend ...

s form in the

Atlantic basin The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the "Old World" of Africa, Europe and ...

. During the 1986

season A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and pol ...

, the first subtropical depression formed in the first week of June, while the last tropical cyclone dissipated at the end of the third week of November. The 1986 season had lower than average activity because of an ongoing El Niño event, and was the least active season in the North Atlantic since the

1983 Atlantic hurricane season The 1983 Atlantic hurricane season was the least active Atlantic hurricane season since 1930. The season officially began on June 1, 1983, and lasted until November 30, 1983. These dates conventionally delimit the period of each year when most ...

. This was also the first season since

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, me ...

to have no major hurricanes. The season started on June 5 when Subtropical Depression One formed near

the Bahamas The Bahamas (), officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the West Indies in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic. It takes up 97% of the Lucayan Archipelago's land area and is home to ...

, which would later gain tropical characteristics and become the first tropical storm of the season; Tropical Storm Andrew. On June 9, Andrew would later be absorbed by a larger low pressure system. On June 23, the season's first hurricane formed;

Bonnie Bonnie, is a Scottish given name and is sometimes used as a descriptive reference, as in the Scottish folk song, My Bonnie Lies over the Ocean. It comes from the Scots language word "bonnie" (pretty, attractive), or the French bonne (good). That ...

, although it attained hurricane status on June 25, just two days after Bonnie's formation. Two more tropical depressions followed suit later in the season. On August 13, the season's fifth tropical depression formed and would later become

Hurricane Charley Hurricane Charley was the first of four separate hurricanes to impact or strike Florida during 2004, along with Hurricane Frances, Frances, Hurricane Ivan, Ivan and Hurricane Jeanne, Jeanne, as well as one of the strongest hurricanes ever to ...

four days later. After Charley dissipated, two more tropical depressions formed on August 31 and September 1. Both dissipated on September 4. On September 7, Tropical Storm Danielle formed and would dissipate on September 10. Just after Danielle dissipated, Hurricane Earl formed and would later become the strongest system of the 1986 Atlantic hurricane season, peaking as a 105 mph

Category 2 hurricane Category, plural categories, may refer to: Philosophy and general uses * Categorization, categories in cognitive science, information science and generally *Category of being * ''Categories'' (Aristotle) *Category (Kant) *Categories (Peirce) * ...

and 979 mbars in lowest pressure. No tropical cyclones formed during the months of October and the first half of November. That is, until

Hurricane Frances Hurricane Frances was the second most intense tropical cyclone in the Atlantic during 2004 and proved to be very destructive in Florida. It was the sixth named storm, the fourth hurricane, and the third major hurricane of the 2004 Atlantic hu ...

became the latest sixth named storm on record since tropical cyclones were first named in

1950 Events January * January 1 – The International Police Association (IPA) – the largest police organization in the world – is formed. * January 5 – 1950 Sverdlovsk plane crash, Sverdlovsk plane crash: ''Aeroflot'' Lisunov Li-2 cr ...

. The season came to a close on November 21, which was when Frances dissipated. __TOC__

Seasonal forecast and summary

Dr.

William M. Gray William "Bill" Mason Gray (9 October 1929 – 16 April 2016) was emeritus professor of atmospheric science at Colorado State University (CSU), and the head of the Tropical Meteorology Project at CSU's Department of Atmospheric Sciences. He ...

Colorado State University Colorado State University (Colorado State or CSU) is a public land-grant research university in Fort Collins, Colorado. It is the flagship university of the Colorado State University System. Colorado State University is classified among "R1: ...

issued forecasts on May 29 and July 28 indicating within both forecasts the anticipation of a below normal hurricane season. In May, a total of 8 named tropical storms were expected, with four hurricanes expected, 15 days with hurricanes, and a total of 35 days with a tropical storm active in the northern Atlantic Ocean. In July, the numbers were dropped to a total of 7 named storms, 4 hurricanes, 10 hurricane days, and 25 days with a named tropical storm, which almost perfectly verified. The season's activity was reflected with a cumulative

accumulated cyclone energy Accumulated cyclone energy (ACE) is a metric used by various agencies to express the energy released by a tropical cyclone during its lifetime. It is calculating by summing the square of a tropical cyclone's maximum sustained winds, measured ever ...

(ACE) rating of 36, which is classified as "below normal". ACE is, broadly speaking, a measure of the power of the hurricane multiplied by the length of time it existed, so storms that last a long time, as well as particularly strong hurricanes, have high ACEs. ACE is only calculated for full advisories on tropical systems at or exceeding 34

knots A knot is a fastening in rope or interwoven lines. Knot may also refer to: Places * Knot, Nancowry, a village in India Archaeology * Knot of Isis (tyet), symbol of welfare/life. * Minoan snake goddess figurines#Sacral knot Arts, entertainme ...

(39 mph, 63 km/h) or tropical storm strength.

Subtropical cyclone A subtropical cyclone is a weather system that has some characteristics of both tropical cyclone, tropical and an extratropical cyclone. As early as the 1950s, meteorologists were uncertain whether they should be characterized as Tropical cyclo ...

s are excluded from the total.

Timeline of events

ImageSize = width:800 height:200 PlotArea = top:10 bottom:80 right:20 left:20 Legend = columns:3 left:30 top:58 columnwidth:270 AlignBars = early DateFormat = dd/mm/yyyy Period = from:01/06/1986 till:31/12/1986 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal ScaleMinor = grid:black unit:month increment:1 start:01/06/1986 Colors = id:canvas value:gray(0.88) id:GP value:red id:TD value:rgb(0.38,0.73,1) legend:Tropical_Depression_=_≤38_mph_(≤62_km/h) id:TS value:rgb(0,0.98,0.96) legend:Tropical_Storm_=_39–73_mph_(63–117_km/h) id:C1 value:rgb(1,1,0.80) legend:Category_1_=_74–95_mph_(118–153_km/h) id:C2 value:rgb(1,0.91,0.46) legend:Category_2_=_96–110_mph_(154–177_km/h) id:C3 value:rgb(1,0.76,0.25) legend:Category_3_=_111–129_mph_(178–208_km/h) id:C4 value:rgb(1,0.56,0.13) legend:Category_4_=_130–156_mph_(209–251_km/h) id:C5 value:rgb(1,0.38,0.38) legend:Category_5_=_≥157_mph_(≥252_km/h) Backgroundcolors = canvas:canvas BarData = barset:Hurricane bar:Month PlotData= barset:Hurricane width:10 align:left fontsize:S shift:(4,-4) anchor:till from:05/06/1986 till:08/06/1986 color:TS text:"Andrew (TS)" from:23/06/1986 till:28/06/1986 color:C1 text:"

(C1)" from:23/07/1986 till:28/07/1986 color:TD text:"Three (TD)" from:04/08/1986 till:05/08/1986 color:TD text:"Unnumbered (TD)" from:13/08/1986 till:20/08/1986 color:C1 text:"

Charley Charley may refer to: Places *Charley, Leicestershire, a parish in England *Charley's Flat, alternate name for Dutch Flat, California *Charley's Motel, former name of Star Lite Motel, Minnesota, United States *Charley Ridge, West Virginia, United ...

(C1)" from:30/08/1986 till:04/09/1986 color:TD text:"Five (TD)" from:01/09/1986 till:04/09/1986 color:TD text:"Six (TD)" barset:break from:07/09/1986 till:10/09/1986 color:TS text:"

Danielle Danielle is a modern French female variant of the male name Daniel, meaning "God is my judge" in the Hebrew language. Variants *Dana – Czech, German, Romanian Polish *Danette – English *Daniela – Bulgarian, Czech, Danish, English, German, ...

(TS)" from:10/09/1986 till:18/09/1986 color:C2 text:"Earl (C2)" from:18/11/1986 till:21/11/1986 color:C1 text:"Frances (C1)" bar:Month width:5 align:center fontsize:S shift:(0,-20) anchor:middle color:canvas from:01/06/1986 till:01/07/1986 text:June from:01/07/1986 till:01/08/1986 text:July from:01/08/1986 till:01/09/1986 text:August from:01/09/1986 till:01/10/1986 text:September from:01/10/1986 till:01/11/1986 text:October from:01/11/1986 till:30/11/1986 text:November from:01/12/1986 till:31/12/1986 text:December TextData = pos:(570,30) text:"(From the" pos:(617,30) text:" Saffir-Simpson scale)"

;June 1 *0000 UTC (8:00 p.m. EDT May 31) – The 1986 Atlantic hurricane season officially begins. ;June 5 *0000 UTC (8:00 p.m. EDT June 4) – Subtropical Depression One formed near the

Bahamas The Bahamas (), officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the West Indies in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic. It takes up 97% of the Lucayan Archipelago's land area and is home to ...

. ;June 6 *0000 UTC (8:00 p.m. EDT June 5) – Subtropical Depression One acquired tropical characteristics and strengthened into Tropical Storm Andrew. ;June 7 *1200 UTC (8:00 a.m. EDT June 6) – Tropical Storm Andrew attained its peak intensity with

maximum sustained wind The maximum sustained wind associated with a tropical cyclone is a common indicator of the intensity of the storm. Within a mature tropical cyclone, it is found within the eyewall at a distance defined as the radius of maximum wind, or RMW. Unl ...

s of and a minimum

barometric pressure Atmospheric pressure, also known as barometric pressure (after the barometer), is the pressure within the atmosphere of Earth. The standard atmosphere (symbol: atm) is a unit of pressure defined as , which is equivalent to 1013.25 millibars, 7 ...

of . ;June 9 *0000 UTC (8:00 p.m. EDT June 8) – Tropical Storm Andrew was absorbed by a low pressure system. ;June 23 *1800 UTC (1:00 p.m. CDT) – Tropical Depression Two formed in the eastern

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico ( es, Golfo de México) is an oceanic basin, ocean basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, largely surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of ...

. ;June 24 *1800 UTC (1:00 p.m. CDT) – Tropical Depression Two strengthened into Tropical Storm Bonnie. ;June 25 *1800 UTC (1:00 p.m. CDT) – Tropical Storm Bonnie strengthened into Category 1 hurricane. ;June 26 *0900 UTC (4:00 a.m. CDT) – Hurricane Bonnie attained its peak intensity with winds of and a minimum pressure of 990 mbar (hPa; 29.23 inHg). *1000 UTC (5:00 a.m. CDT) – Hurricane Bonnie made landfall near High Island, Texas with winds of . *1800 UTC (1:00 p.m. CDT) – Hurricane Bonnie weakened back to a tropical storm. ;June 27 *0000 UTC (7:00 p.m. CDT June 26) – Tropical Storm Bonnie weakened back to a tropical depression. ;June 28 *1200 UTC (7:00 a.m. CDT) - Tropical Depression Bonnie dissipated in

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

. ;July 23 *1200 UTC (8:00 a.m. EDT) – Tropical Depression Three formed 180 miles (290 km) north of

Bermuda ) , anthem = "God Save the King" , song_type = National song , song = " Hail to Bermuda" , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , mapsize2 = , map_caption2 = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = , e ...

. ;July 28 *1200 UTC (8:00 a.m. EDT) – Tropical Depression Three dissipated. ;August 4 *0600 UTC (1 a.m. CST) – A tropical depression developed in the western Gulf of Mexico. ;August 5 *1200–1800 UTC (7:00 a.m.–1:00 p.m. CST) – The tropical depression made landfall in

North Padre Island North Padre Island is a barrier island along the coast of Texas. It and South Padre Island were formed after the creation of the Port Mansfield Channel split Padre Island in two. From north to south, North Padre Island is located in parts of Nuec ...

, Texas. *1800 UTC (1:00 p.m. CST) – The tropical depression dissipated over southern Texas. ;August 13 *1200 UTC (8:00 a.m. EDT) – A subtropical depression formed over the

Florida Panhandle The Florida Panhandle (also West Florida and Northwest Florida) is the northwestern part of the U.S. state of Florida; it is a Salient (geography), salient roughly long and wide, lying between Alabama on the north and the west, Georgia (U. ...

. ;August 15 *1200 UTC (8:00 a.m. EDT) – The subtropical depression transitioned into a tropical depression 70 miles (110 km) southeast of

Charleston, South Carolina Charleston is the largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina, the county seat of Charleston County, and the principal city in the Charleston–North Charleston metropolitan area. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint o ...

. *1200 UTC (2:00 p.m. EDT) – The tropical depression strengthened into Tropical Storm Charley. ;August 17 *1200 UTC (8:00 a.m. EDT) – Tropical Storm Charley strengthened into Category 1 hurricane. *1400 UTC (10:00 a.m. EDT) –

made landfall near Cape Fear,

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

with winds of . *2200 UTC (6:00 p.m. EDT) – Hurricane Charley attained its peak intensity with maximum sustained winds of and a minimum barometric pressure of . ;August 18 *1200 UTC (8:00 a.m. EDT) – Hurricane Charley weakened back to a tropical storm. ;August 21 *0000 UTC (8:00 p.m. EDT) – Tropical Storm Charley transitioned into an extratropical storm. ;August 30 *1200 UTC (8:00 a.m. EDT) – Tropical Depression Five formed in the mid-Atlantic. ;September 1 *1200 UTC (8:00 a.m. EDT) – Tropical Depression Six formed in the Gulf of Mexico. ;September 4 *Around 0600 UTC (1:00 a.m. CST) – Tropical Depression Six made landfall near Altamira,

Tamaulipas Tamaulipas (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Tamaulipas ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Tamaulipas), is a state in the northeast region of Mexico; one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 Federal Entiti ...

, Mexico. *1200 UTC (8:00 a.m. EDT) – Tropical Depression Five dissipated east-southeast of

. *1200 UTC (7:00 a.m. EDT) – Tropical Depression Six dissipated over Mexico. ;September 7 *2:00 a.m. EDT (0600 UTC) - Tropical Depression Seven formed several hundred miles east of the

Windward Islands french: Îles du Vent , image_name = , image_caption = ''Political'' Windward Islands. Clockwise: Dominica, Martinique, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and Grenada. , image_alt = , locator_map = , location = Caribbean SeaNorth ...

. *2:00 p.m. EDT (1800 UTC) - Tropical Depression Seven strengthened into Tropical Storm Danielle. ;September 8 *0600 UTC (2:00 a.m. EDT) – Tropical Storm Danielle attained its peak intensity with maximum sustained winds of and a minimum barometric pressure of . ;September 9 *1800 UTC (2:00 p.m. EDT) – Tropical Storm Danielle weakened back to a tropical depression. ;September 10 *1200 UTC (8:00 a.m. EDT) – Tropical Depression Danielle dissipated in the western Caribbean. *1800 UTC (2:00 p.m. EDT) – Tropical Depression Eight developed 1240 miles (2000 km) east-northeast of Puerto Rico. ;September 11 *0000 UTC (8:00 p.m. EDT September 10) – Tropical Depression Eight strengthened into Tropical Storm Earl. *1800 UTC (2:00 p.m. EDT) – Tropical Storm Earl strengthened into a Category 1 hurricane. ;September 12 *1200 UTC (8:00 a.m. EDT) – Hurricane Earl strengthened into a Category 2 hurricane. ;September 14 *1200 UTC (8:00 a.m. EDT) – Hurricane Earl attained its peak intensity with maximum sustained winds of and a minimum barometric pressure of . ;September 16 *0000 UTC (8:00 p.m. EDT September 15) – Hurricane Earl weakened back to a Category 1 hurricane. ;September 19 *0000 UTC (98:00 p.m. EDT September 18) – Hurricane Earl transitioned into an extratropical cyclone. *There was no tropical cyclone activity in the Atlantic basin during October 1986. ;November 18 *1800 UTC (2:00 p.m. EDT) – Tropical Depression Nine formed north of the Leeward Islands. ;November 19 *0600 UTC (2:00 a.m. EDT) – Tropical Depression Nine strengthened into Tropical Storm Frances. ;November 20 *0600 UTC (2:00 a.m. EDT) – Tropical Storm Frances strengthened into a Category 1 hurricane. *1200 UTC (8:00 a.m. EDT) – Hurricane Frances attained its peak intensity with maximum sustained winds of and a minimum pressure of . ;November 21 *1200 UTC (8:00 a.m. EDT) – Hurricane Frances weakened back into a tropical storm. ;November 22 *0000 UTC (8:00 p.m. EDT) – Tropical Storm Frances merged with an extratropical storm. ;November 30 *2359 UTC (7:59 p.m. EDT) – The 1986 Atlantic hurricane season officially ended.

Systems

Tropical Storm Andrew

In early June, a large area of disturbed weather persisted over the

Greater Antilles The Greater Antilles ( es, Grandes Antillas or Antillas Mayores; french: Grandes Antilles; ht, Gwo Zantiy; jam, Grieta hAntiliiz) is a grouping of the larger islands in the Caribbean Sea, including Cuba, Hispaniola, Puerto Rico, Jamaica, and ...

, bringing heavy rains to the islands. The area moved northward, developing a circulation over the

. Strong upper-level winds caused when satellite imagery showed a circulation developing over the

. Strong upper-level winds caused the structure to resemble a

subtropical cyclone A subtropical cyclone is a weather system that has some characteristics of both tropical cyclone, tropical and an extratropical cyclone. As early as the 1950s, meteorologists were uncertain whether they should be characterized as Tropical cyclo ...

, and as a result, the system was classified as a subtropical depression on June 5. The depression moved to the northwest and transitioned into a tropical storm on June 6; it was named Andrew about southeast of

. The tropical storm approached the South Carolina coast within before recurving to the northeast on June 7. The storm passed within of Cape Hatteras while recurving, while near its peak intensity of . The storm accelerated to the northeast, briefly crossing into the forecasting territory of

Environment Canada Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC; french: Environnement et Changement climatique Canada),Environment and Climate Change Canada is the applied title under the Federal Identity Program; the legal title is Department of the Environment ( ...

, the first of three storms of the season to do so, before ultimately being absorbed by a low pressure system over Canada on June 8. While active, Andrew posed a threat to the Carolinas. Gale warnings were posted from an area ranging from Cape Lookout to south of

Virginia Beach, Virginia Virginia Beach is an independent city located on the southeastern coast of the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. The population was 459,470 at the 2020 census. Although mostly suburban in character, it is the most populous city ...

on June 7. Waves reached heights of off the coast of the Carolinas, which killed a person on

Ocracoke Island Ocracoke
, from the North Carolina Collection website at the

. Three companions were also swept out, all of whom made it back to shore. At

Wrightsville Beach Wrightsville Beach is a town in New Hanover County, North Carolina, United States. Wrightsville Beach is just east of Wilmington and is part of the Wilmington Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 2,477 at the 2010 census. The town co ...

and

Carolina Beach Carolina Beach is a beach town in New Hanover County, North Carolina, United States, situated about south of Wilmington International Airport in southeastern coastal North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 6,564. It is pa ...

, at least 40 swimmers were caught in the currents, four of whom were hospitalized. The precursor to the storm produced heavy rainfall across Jamaica that caused a deadly flood event.

Hurricane Bonnie

During late June, a frontal trough drifted into the northeastern

, and by June 22 a surface circulation formed. Tracking west-northwestward, it developed into Tropical Depression Two on June 23 while located about 330 miles (535 km) south of

Pensacola, Florida Pensacola () is the westernmost city in the Florida Panhandle, and the county seat and only incorporated city of Escambia County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 54,312. Pensacola is the principal ...

. The next day, it attained tropical storm status, and with continued favorable conditions attained hurricane status on June 25 to the south of

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

. Bonnie turned to the northwest and made landfall near

Sea Rim State Park Sea Rim State Park is a state park in southeast Texas. The park is located on the Gulf of Mexico in southern Jefferson County, south of Port Arthur and just west of Sabine Pass. The park was closed for several years due to extensive damage fro ...

in Texas. The storm quickly weakened over land as it turned to the north and northeast, and on June 28 it was absorbed by an approaching frontal zone in southeastern

. Prior to moving ashore, 22,000 people were evacuated. Upon making landfall, Hurricane Bonnie produced a

storm surge A storm surge, storm flood, tidal surge, or storm tide is a coastal flood or tsunami-like phenomenon of rising water commonly associated with low-pressure weather systems, such as cyclones. It is measured as the rise in water level above the n ...

peaking at 5.2 feet (1.5 m) at

Sabine Pass Sabine Pass is the natural outlet of Sabine Lake into the Gulf of Mexico. It borders Jefferson County, Texas, and Cameron Parish, Louisiana. History Civil War Two major battles occurred here during the American Civil War, known as the First and ...

. Rainfall from the storm peaked at in Ace, Texas, which caused some street flooding and destroyed a small dam in Liberty County, Texas. The hurricane also spawned eleven tornadoes, which, in combination with moderate winds, destroyed about 25 residencies in southwestern

. Three storm deaths occurred in the

Port Arthur, Texas Port Arthur is a city in Jefferson County within the Beaumont–Port Arthur metropolitan area of the U.S. state of Texas. A small, uninhabited portion extends into Orange County; it is east of Houston. The largest oil refinery in the United Sta ...

area; two deaths occurred from separate car accidents, and another occurred after a partially paralyzed woman died in a house fire. Hurricane Bonnie caused minor damage totaling $2 million (1986 USD, $3.5 million 2006 USD).

Tropical Depression Three

The third tropical depression of the season was detected early on July 27 in the open waters of the Atlantic, north of

. While about north of the island, the storm was moving northward at while its maximum sustained winds were about . Later that afternoon, aircraft reconnaissance found no well-defined circulation and the storm's status was reduced from a depression. The depression never threatened any land areas.

Unnumbered Tropical Depression

A tropical disturbance was detected on August 4 in the northwestern Gulf of Mexico along the lower Texas coast. The low-pressure system moved slowly toward land, limiting the system's development. On August 5, the system became organized enough to be considered a tropical depression. The storm moved inland overnight, dumping several inches of rain over South Texas and causing street flooding in Brownsville and nearby

South Padre Island South Padre Island is a barrier island in the U.S. state of Texas. The remote landform is located in Cameron County, Willacy County, and accessible by the Queen Isabella Causeway. South Padre Island was formed when the creation of the Port Mans ...

. The system caused rainfall up to in some areas but had no major problems attributed to it. This storm was not carried as a depression operationally, and thus has no assigned number.

Hurricane Charley

Hurricane Charley was the first hurricane to threaten the east-central United States since

Hurricane Gloria Hurricane Gloria was a powerful hurricane that caused significant damage along the east coast of the United States and in Atlantic Canada during the 1985 Atlantic hurricane season. It was the first significant tropical cyclone to strike the n ...

in the previous year. The third tropical storm and second hurricane of the season, Charley formed as a subtropical low on August 13 along the Florida panhandle. A few days later intensified it into a tropical storm off the coast of South Carolina, and Charley attained hurricane status before moving across eastern North Carolina. It gradually weakened over the north Atlantic Ocean before transitioning into an

extratropical cyclone Extratropical cyclones, sometimes called mid-latitude cyclones or wave cyclones, are low-pressure areas which, along with the anticyclones of high-pressure areas, drive the weather over much of the Earth. Extratropical cyclones are capable of ...

, though its remnants remained identifiable for over a week until after crossing the British Isles and dissipating on August 30. The storm brought light to moderate precipitation along its path through the southeastern United States. In Georgia and South Carolina, the rainfall alleviated drought conditions. In North Carolina, where the hurricane made landfall, tidal flooding and downed trees were the primary impact. The storm brought high winds to southeastern Virginia, where 110,000 people were left without power. Minor damage extended along the Atlantic coastline northward through Massachusetts. One traffic fatality was reported each in North Carolina and Virginia. Three people in Maryland died due to a plane crash related to the storm. Throughout the United States, Hurricane Charley caused an estimated $15 million in damage (1986 US$, $29 million 2008 USD). As an extratropical cyclone, Charley brought heavy rainfall and strong winds to Ireland and the United Kingdom, causing at least 11 deaths. In Ireland, the rainfall set records for 24‑hour totals, including an accumulation of more than 7.8 in (200 mm) which set the record for the greatest daily rainfall total in the country. In the country, the rainfall caused widespread flooding, resulting in two rivers overflowing their banks. In the Dublin area, 451 buildings were flooded, some up to a depth of 8 ft (2.4 m). In the United Kingdom, the storm caused downed trees and power lines, as well as flooded rivers.

Tropical Depression Five

This tropical depression formed in the eastern tropical Atlantic Ocean on August 31. The depression moved west-northwest, then northwest away from the Caribbean Sea without further development before dissipating east-southeast of

on September 4.

Tropical Depression Six

A tropical wave crossed the Caribbean sea, moving into a favorable upper environment in the western Caribbean sea on August 31. The system formed into a weak tropical depression before crossing the Yucatán peninsula, becoming better organized as it moved into the south-central and western Gulf of Mexico between September 1 and 3. The system moved ashore east-central Mexico before quickly dissipating as a tropical cyclone on September 4. Satellite imagery revealed that its residual cloud pattern persisted over Mexico for an additional couple of days before degenerating. Heavy rainfall fell primarily north of its track, with the maximum across northeast Mexico falling at El Barranco/Altamira, where a total of was measured.

Tropical Storm Danielle

On September 1, a

tropical wave A tropical wave (also called easterly wave, tropical easterly wave, and African easterly wave), in and around the Atlantic Ocean, is a type of atmospheric trough, an elongated area of relatively low air pressure, oriented north to south, which ...

moved off the coast of Africa and headed westward. The disturbance was below the 10 degree latitude as it organized into a

tropical depression A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system characterized by a low-pressure center, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depend ...

on September 7 and then a

tropical storm A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system characterized by a low-pressure center, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depend ...

later that day. Danielle peaked as a storm on September 8, while

Reconnaissance Aircraft A reconnaissance aircraft (colloquially, a spy plane) is a military aircraft designed or adapted to perform aerial reconnaissance with roles including collection of imagery intelligence (including using photography), signals intelligence, as ...

reported gusts of up to hurricane force. After passing through the

Lesser Antilles The Lesser Antilles ( es, link=no, Antillas Menores; french: link=no, Petites Antilles; pap, Antias Menor; nl, Kleine Antillen) are a group of islands in the Caribbean Sea. Most of them are part of a long, partially volcanic island arc betwe ...

, Danielle encountered vertical

wind shear Wind shear (or windshear), sometimes referred to as wind gradient, is a difference in wind speed and/or direction over a relatively short distance in the atmosphere. Atmospheric wind shear is normally described as either vertical or horizontal ...

, and on September 10 it dissipated in the central Caribbean. The remnants continued westward and ultimately regenerated into Tropical Storm Lester. The islands of

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Saint Vincent and the Grenadines () is an island country in the Caribbean. It is located in the southeast Windward Islands of the Lesser Antilles, which lie in the West Indies at the southern end of the eastern border of the Caribbean Sea wh ...

experienced wind gusts up to hurricane force, causing severe power outages and causing roof damage. In the Grenadines, the storm drove a coast guard ship aground, while five people were injured and hundreds of homes were destroyed. Torrential rainfall produced several mudslides, which, in turn, damaged roads, bridges, electricity, and water services. Danielle also destroyed twelve homes on the island of

Barbados Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the Caribbean region of the Americas, and the most easterly of the Caribbean Islands. It occupies an area of and has a population of about 287,000 (2019 estimate). ...

. In

Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago (, ), officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean. Consisting of the main islands Trinidad and Tobago, and numerous much smaller islands, it is situated south of ...

, strong flooding of up to four feet caused 27 landslides, destroying four bridges. The storm caused $8 million in damage in

Tobago Tobago () is an List of islands of Trinidad and Tobago, island and Regions and municipalities of Trinidad and Tobago, ward within the Trinidad and Tobago, Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. It is located northeast of the larger island of Trini ...

. Total damage from the storm amounted to $9.2 million (1986 USD), mostly to crops, though no deaths were reported.

Hurricane Earl

The strongest storm of the season began as a tropical wave off Africa on September 4. After moving across the tropical Atlantic Ocean it developed into Tropical Depression Eight on September 10 while about 1240 miles (2000 km) east of

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and Unincorporated ...

. The depression quickly strengthened and reached hurricane strength on September 11, peaked as a Category 2 hurricane on September 12 as it made a half circle, weakened to a Category 1 on September 16 and bounced back the way it came. Earl then turned north and became extratropical southeast of

Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...

on September 19. At its peak, Earl had sustained winds of and a minimum central pressure of 979 mbar.

Hurricane Frances

First spotted as a tropical disturbance near the

on November 15, the system moved generally northward while slowly developing. The system organized into a tropical depression on November 18 and quickly strengthened into a

. The storm curved northeast and strengthened further, reaching hurricane strength on November 20. However, a surface

high-pressure system A high-pressure area, high, or anticyclone, is an area near the surface of a planet where the atmospheric pressure is greater than the pressure in the surrounding regions. Highs are middle-scale meteorological features that result from interpl ...

to the north caused the storm to weaken as the vertical

increased over its center. Frances was later absorbed by an

on November 21.

Storm names

The following names were used for named storms that formed in the north Atlantic in 1986. No names were retired, so they were used again in the

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. This is the same list used for the 1980 season except for Andrew, which replaced

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, and was used for the first time in 1986.

Season effects

This is a table of all of the storms that did form in the 1986 Atlantic hurricane season. It includes their duration, names, landfall(s) – denoted by bold location names – damages, and death totals. Deaths in parentheses will be additional and indirect (an example of an indirect death would be a traffic accident), but are still related to that storm. Damage and deaths will include totals while the storm was extratropical or a

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low Low or LOW or lows, may refer to: People * Low (surname), listing people surnamed Low Places * Low, Quebec, Canada * Low, Utah, United States * Lo Wu station (MTR code LOW), Hong Kong; a rail station * Salzburg Airport (ICAO airport code: LO ...

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Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

Southeastern United States The Southeastern United States, also referred to as the American Southeast or simply the Southeast, is a geographical region of the United States. It is located broadly on the eastern portion of the southern United States and the southern por ...

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, Ireland, United Kingdom, Denmark, Germany, Poland,

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References

External links

Monthly Weather Review

{{TC Decades, Year=1980, basin=Atlantic, type=hurricane

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal ente ...

Articles which contain graphical timelines 1986 ATL

Seasonal forecast and summary

Timeline of events

Systems

Tropical Storm Andrew

Hurricane Bonnie

Tropical Depression Three

Unnumbered Tropical Depression

Hurricane Charley

Tropical Depression Five

Tropical Depression Six

Tropical Storm Danielle

Hurricane Earl

Hurricane Frances

Storm names

Season effects

See also

References

External links