Hurricane Arthur (2014)

Hurricane Arthur was the earliest known hurricane to make landfall in the U.S. state of North Carolina during the calendar year. It was also the first hurricane to make landfall in the United States since Hurricane Isaac in 2012. The first named storm of the 2014 Atlantic hurricane season, Arthur developed from an initially non-tropical area of low pressure over the Southeastern United States that emerged into the western Atlantic Ocean on June 28. After sufficiently organizing, developing a well-defined circulation and deep convection amid a favorable environment, it was classified a tropical depression on July 1. The system continued to strengthen, and was declared a tropical storm later that day. Drifting northward, the storm reached hurricane status early on July 3 and curved toward the north-northeast. Further structural organization resulted in additional intensification, and by 01:00  UTC on July 4, the system attained its peak winds of as a Category 2 hurricane on the Saffir–Simpson hurricane wind scale. Arthur made landfall at 03:15 UTC over North Carolina's Shackleford Banks, positioned between Cape Lookout and Beaufort, and intensified slightly further, with a minimum atmospheric pressure of 973 mbar ( hPa; 28.70 inHg). The storm then trekked swiftly northeast, weakening as it passed by Cape Cod and Nantucket, before transitioning into an extratropical cyclone and coming ashore at Weymouth, Nova Scotia, on July 5. The remnants continued generally northeastward through Atlantic Canada before ultimately dissipating on July 9 over the Labrador Sea.

Numerous tropical cyclone warnings and watches were issued for areas along the East Coast of the United States. A state of emergency was declared for 26 North Carolina counties, and both mandatory and voluntary evacuations were imposed along the state's coast. Several hundred government personnel were deployed to assist in evacuation and preparation efforts, along with heavy equipment capable of removing sand and debris. Due to the hurricane's timing, many Independence Day activities in the U.S. were cancelled or rescheduled. Damage was limited to strewn debris and inundated roads, and though 44,000 power outages were reported and widespread flooding occurred along northern sections of the coast, no deaths or serious injuries were reported. In New England, Arthur brought flash flooding and caused additional power outages, resulting in widespread road closures and suspension of ferry service. Losses in the country amounted to US$10 million.

In Atlantic Canada and Quebec, hurricane-force gusts associated Arthur's remnants produced widespread damage. Countless trees and power lines fell across the region, leaving more than 300,000 without electricity. Damage to the power grid in Nova Scotia was regarded as the worst since Hurricane Juan in 2003. Efforts to restore and repair infrastructure were prolonged, with thousands still without power 10 days after the storm. Efforts to restore and repair damage to the electrical grid cost C$8.4 million (US$7.9 million). Reviews of Nova Scotia Power (NSP) and New Brunswick Power (NBP) were called upon due to numerous complaints from customers and politicians alike. A communication breakdown between NSP and the public exacerbated problems, and Nova Scotia Premier Stephen McNeil condemned the company's response as "inexcusable." Similarly severe impacts were felt by NBP which suffered a record-breaking C$23 million (US$21.6 million) in damage from the storm.

Meteorological history

On June 25, 2014, an area of showers and thunderstorms developed over the northern Gulf of Mexico ahead of a shortwave trough in Texas. That day, National Hurricane Center (NHC) began monitoring the possibility of tropical cyclogenesis off the Southeast United States over the following week as the system was expected to encounter favorable environmental conditions. An area of low-level vorticity consolidated within the system on June 26 as it moved northeast across Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama. The following day it became intertwined with a frontal boundary over Georgia and South Carolina before emerging over the far western Atlantic Ocean early on June 28. An area of low pressure soon formed within the system just off the coast of South Carolina. Generally favorable environmental conditions fostered further organization of the low, though convection remained minimal for several days. During the latter half of June 30, a United States Air Force weather reconnaissance mission into the system confirmed the presence of a well-organized circulation; however, displacement of showers and thunderstorms from its center delayed its classification. Subsequent organization of convection into a banding feature along the system's southern flank, as depicted by radar imagery, prompted the NHC to designate the low as Tropical Depression One at 00:00 UTC on July 1. Situated 70 mi (110 km) east-southeast of Fort Pierce, Florida, the newly christened depression moved slowly westward within an area of weak steering currents. A turn northward was forecast as a mid-level ridge built over the Atlantic.

Throughout July 1, steady structural organization ensued. Around 15:00 UTC winds of were measured at Settlement Point on Grand Bahama, prompting the NHC to upgrade the depression to a tropical storm and assign it the name ''Arthur''. Though environmental conditions surrounding the cyclone favored development, moderate wind shear and intrusions of dry air into the circulation prolonged organization. The effects of the shear showed clearly on WSR-88D radar imagery from Melbourne, Florida which depicted a mid-level eye feature displaced from the low-level center. By July 2, Arthur acquired a steady northward track as previously forecast. Throughout the day, convection consolidated around a developing eye as wind shear abated and the storm neared hurricane strength, with winds reaching .

Early on July 3, data from hurricane hunters flying in the storm indicated that Arthur attained hurricane-status about south-southwest of Cape Fear, North Carolina. At this time, the hurricane began turning slightly to the north-northeast as it approached a weakness in the subtropical ridge ahead of a deep-layer trough over the Eastern United States. Continued improvement of the storm's convective structure fostered intensification as the storm neared the North Carolina coastline. At 00:00 UTC on July 4, Arthur reached its peak winds of , ranking it as a Category 2 hurricane on the Saffir–Simpson hurricane wind scale. It was the first hurricane to reach such strength since Hurricane Sandy in the 2012 Atlantic hurricane season. The storm featured a well-defined wide eye at this time. Thereafter, the hurricane made landfall at 03:15 UTC over the Shackleford Banks of North Carolina, located between Cape Lookout and Beaufort. Upon doing so, it became the earliest instance of a hurricane making landfall in the state during a calendar year, surpassing the previous record of July 11 set by an unnamed hurricane in 1901. Slight deepening of the cyclone occurred as it moved over Pamlico Sound, with its barometric pressure bottoming out at 973 mbar (hPa; ). Continuing across Pamlico Sound, Arthur's eye brushed the coastline of Dare County before striking just north of Oregon Inlet at 07:00 and 08:00 UTC, respectively.

After re-emerging over the Atlantic Ocean on July 4 Arthur began to weaken. Though its eye remained well-defined, winds aloft in the storm failed to effectively mix down to the surface. Traversing decreasing sea surface temperatures and amid increasing shear, Arthur began transitioning into an extratropical cyclone later that day. Cloud tops associated with the system warmed and its structure became asymmetric. Reconnaissance continued to indicate strong flight-level winds of but surface winds at the time did not exceed . Accelerating ahead of the trough over the East Coast, Arthur's eye dissipated early on July 5; the storm passed within 75 mi (120 km) of Chatham, Massachusetts around 03:00 UTC. Convection became increasingly displaced to the northeast as dry air entrained into the western portions of the circulation. Surface winds decreased below hurricane-force by 06:00 UTC, and Arthur completed its conversion to an extratropical system at 12:00 UTC as it moved over the Bay of Fundy. The NHC subsequently issued its final advisory on the storm and shifted warning responsibility to the Canadian Hurricane Centre.

The remnants of Arthur re-intensified somewhat as it traversed The Maritimes; a sting jet with gusts of 65–80 mph (100–130 km/h) developed along the storm's backside. The former hurricane made an additional landfall in the region near Fundy National Park by 18:00 UTC. By July 6, the sting jet had dissipated, and steady weakening of the cyclone resumed as only a split jet provided upper-level support to the storm. Turning back to the northeast, Arthur moved through Labrador later that day. Once over the Labrador Sea, Arthur turned northwest while weakening before doubling back to the southeast. After weakening below gale-force strength, the extratropical system dissipated late on July 9.

Meteorologists noted to improved accuracy in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory and Hurricane Weather Research and Forecasting models in predicting the intensity and track of Hurricane Arthur.

Preparations

Multiple tropical cyclone warnings and watches were posted along the East Coast of the United States in advance of Arthur's impacts in Florida, the Carolinas, New England, and Atlantic Canada. Upon developing into a tropical cyclone early on July 1, a tropical storm watch was issued in Florida from Fort Pierce to Flagler Beach. At 09:00 UTC the next day, the tropical storm watch was discontinued south of Sebastian Inlet, while another one was posted from the Santee River in South Carolina to Bogue Banks in North Carolina. Additionally, a hurricane watch was issued for Oregon Inlet to the North Carolina–Virginia state line. Later on July 2, a tropical storm warning became in effect from the North Carolina side of the Little River Inlet to the state line with Virginia. Simultaneously, the tropical storm watch in Florida was removed.

At 21:00 UTC on July 2, a hurricane warning was posted in North Carolina from Surf City to Duck, including Albemarle and Pamlico sounds. Additionally, a tropical storm warning was issued from the Santee River to Surf City, while another one became in effect from Duck to Cape Charles Light in Virginia, including the mouth of Chesapeake Bay. A tropical storm warning was posted in Massachusetts at 21:00 UTC on July 3, stretching from Provincetown to Chatham along Cape Cod including Nantucket, in addition to a tropical storm watch between Port Maitland and Point Aconi issued by Environment Canada. Around 01:00 UTC on July 4, the hurricane watch was discontinued south of Surf City, while the tropical storm warning was discontinued south of Little River Inlet. Two hours later, the tropical storm warning was canceled south of Cape Fear, North Carolina, and tropical storm watches in Canada were expanded to encompass New Brunswick from the Canada–United States border to Grande Anse, including Cape Breton Island, and Prince Edward Island.

The tropical storm warning from Surf City to Cape Fear was discontinued at 05:00 UTC on July 4. A few hours later, the portion of the hurricane warning south of Bogue Inlet was removed. At 09:00 UTC on July 4, the tropical storm warning in Massachusetts was extended westward to Woods Hole. Around that time, areas west of Cape Lookout in North Carolina were no longer under a hurricane warning. In North Carolina, the hurricane warning was canceled for areas south of Ocracoke Inlet