AcharyaChanakya/simple-wikipedia huggingface dataset:
Much of the archipelago is a protected habitat including both the islands and the surrounding waters. There are 53 Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) of which the largest are Loch an Duin, North Uist at and North Harris, which is in extent.
Loch Druidibeg on South Uist is a National Nature Reserve owned and managed by Scottish Natural Heritage. The reserve covers 1,677 hectares across the whole range of local habitats.
Historical footnote: Many websites of the Outer Hebrides derive content from the Eolas Virtual Hebrides, website. This was once the largest rural website in the world. Eolas went bankrupt in 2000 and the Eolas TV company became MacTV. The web design team became Reefnet and the content has largely found a home on GlobalGuide.Org.
Sites deriving partly from the original Virtual Hebrides
Other Outer Hebrides websites
Space Shuttle Atlantis
Hurricane Gordon (2006)
Hurricane Gordon was a strong Category 3 hurricane that crossed the Azores as a Category 1 hurricane, making it the first hurricane to directly impact the Azores since 1991. Gordon's remnants also affected Western Europe. It was the eighth tropical storm, third hurricane and first major hurricane of the 2006 Atlantic hurricane season.
The original development of this system can be linked to Hurricane Florence. It began as a tropical wave just right behind Florence in the first week of September, which at first was absorbed into the large circulation of then-Tropical Storm Florence. As Florence began to organize and move northwest, the wave managed to break from the circulation again and slowly organize in spite of hostile conditions at first. On September 10, it had organized enough to be declared Tropical Depression Seven northeast of the Lesser Antilles. With Florence far away from the system, conditions became more favorable for development, and it was upgraded to Tropical Storm Gordon on September 11 while moving slowly westward.
The conditions remained favorable as Gordon steered through a hole in the ridge near the Azores, allowing it to avoid land. It continued to strengthen, becoming a hurricane on September 12 and rapidly organizing into a strong Category 2 hurricane less than 24 hours later. The quick development continued on September 13, and by that evening, it had strengthened into a major hurricane - the first of 2006 - while maintaining a very small size. Gordon would remain a major hurricane for over 24 hours before cooler water began to set in and Gordon gradually weakened, beginning early on September 15.
The steering currents would also weaken greatly and Gordon became nearly stationary for about 24 hours as well before a trough would come in and push Gordon northeastward. By the morning of September 16, Gordon was barely a hurricane and was forecast to weaken over cooler waters. However, that did not happen, and Gordon actually strengthened a little bit while moving northeastward and became better organized. That trend continued for over 48 hours, and Gordon increased in strength slowly, becoming a Category 2 hurricane. While the forecast constantly showed a weakening trend, the resiliency suddenly meant that the Azores were threatened by Gordon. Gordon reached its secondary peak of 105 mph (165 km/h) on the morning of September 19, before weakening again.
Nonetheless, it remained a hurricane as it crossed the Azores. Shortly after that it weakened and became extratropical. The remnants of Gordon then began to interact with a large Atlantic low pressure area to the west of Ireland and an associated weather front extending south. It tracked towards the north-west of the Iberian Peninsula and then on September 21 turned northwards towards south-west Britain and Ireland. By the morning of September 22 it had become completely absorbed into the Atlantic low.
With the onset of Gordon expected, all nine Azores Islands were placed on red alert by the Portuguese government, and residents were asked to take emergency precautions. The Meteorological Service of the Azores gave out hurricane warnings for all of the islands. The civil protection agency head Antonio Cunha closed all schools as a precautionary measure. Fishermen were also ordered to stay on land. Residents were warned to stay indoors, close doors and windows, clear storm sewers and move livestock to safe areas. Forecasters warned of winds as high as 105 mph (170 km/h), along with heavy rain and waves of up to 12 metres (40 ft) high lashing coastal areas.
In Spain, the region of Galicia was placed on red alert - the highest level - by authorities who were expecting the extratropical remnants of Gordon. Classes on September 21 were also stopped by the regional education ministry. 11 other regions of Spain, including as far east as Madrid and as far south as Andalusia, received lower levels of warning.
Stormy conditions caused by the remnants of Gordon were expected to affect the 2006 Ryder Cup in Straffan, County Kildare, Ireland, starting fears that the event may be greatly interrupted and delayed. Strong gusts and heavy rain associated with another system had already caused some damages, resulting both teams to delay their second practice rounds. This led to concerns about the possible state of the course by the time the tournament proper was expected to start on September 22, leading to the possibility of further interruptions and possible changing of the normal rules. As a result, September 25 was set aside as an additional "reserve day" by organizers at the K Club.
On September 19 it was reported that the remnants of Gordon would cause high winds and rainfall in parts of the United Kingdom. The UK Met Office stated that a "period of very windy weather" with "exceptionally severe gales" was expected for much of Northern Ireland and Scotland. Northern Ireland was expected to receive the worst of the storm, with severe gales as high as 80 mph expected. There were also warnings of localised flooding, with up to two inches (50 mm) of rain expected to fall. In addition, Wales and western England were warned of gusts of up to 50 mph.
The Azores escaped a lot of severe damage. There were only reports of toppled trees and power lines, knocking out power to some communities, particularly on Santa Maria Island.
Gordon hit the northwestern province of Galicia while as a strengthening extratropical storm early on September 21. Gusts as strong as 101 mph (165 km/h) were seen at Fisterra. Even near Madrid, reported winds of 65 mph (107 km/h) raked Punto Navacerrada. Heavy rainfall, up to 2.58" (65.5 mm) at Canfranc, fell across Spain. The pressure plummeted to 989.7 hPa at A Coruña. Waves as high as 7 metres were also reported. Trees, traffic lights, containers and placards were all blown over by the strong winds. One man was injured from a tree falling on his car. Overall damage was light, but some roads were blocked.
On September 20, practice rounds for the Ryder Cup were temporarily delayed due to high winds, but Meteorological Office charts showed these to be associated with a different Atlantic low pressure area rather than effects of Gordon itself.
The remnants of Gordon caused stormy conditions late on September 21, with 1,500 homes losing power. The worst affected areas were on the east coast between Drogheda and Wexford and in the south around Cork and Limerick.
Earlier on the 21st, a woman attending the Ryder Cup in County Kildare was injured after a tree branch fell near a golf buggy in which she was travelling. Additionally, the event's media centre was evacuated because of high winds. However, the gates opened at 06:00 on September 22 as originally planned and the tournament's first day went ahead without major disruption.
The remnants of Gordon hit south-west Britain late on September 21. A gust of 81 mph (130 km/h) was recorded and power lines were hit, leaving more than 1,000 homes without power in Truro, Cornwall. In Devon, the rail line between Exeter and Plymouth was damaged by high surf at Dawlish, causing disruption to services. A section of seawall 10 m (33 ft) long was also eroded near the track. A tree fell onto a campervan in Yeoford, but no injuries were reported.
Gusts of up to 75 mph affected Northern Ireland during the night of the 21st & 22nd. Up to 100,000 houses lost power as tree branches fell on power lines. Fallen trees caused widespread disruption: in County Down, several people had to be rescued from their vehicles after trees had fallen on them; flooding was also reported at Rostrevor. Several roads across the province were blocked by fallen trees, including the M1 motorway and the main roads from Derry to Belfast and Coleraine. The Foyle Bridge in Derry was also closed for two hours early on the 22nd due to high winds.
In Scotland, high winds led to the cancelling of ferry services from Stranraer and Cairnryan. Lorries on the A715 road were forced to park on the roadside overnight due to dangerous driving conditions.
One positive effect from the extratropical remnants of Gordon was observed in Newquay, Cornwall, where large waves and swells up to 2.5 m (8 ft) high made for excellent surf conditions.
Tropical Storm Debby (2006)
Tropical Storm Debby was the fifth tropical storm of the 2006 Atlantic hurricane season. Debby formed just off the coast of Africa on August 21 from a tropical wave. After passing near the Cape Verde islands, Debby moved generally northwestward for much of its life, reaching a peak intensity of 50 mph (85 km/h). Strong wind shear weakened the storm, and Debby dissipated on August 27 over the northern Atlantic Ocean.
Early in its life, Debby was forecasted to pass through the southern Cape Verde islands as a tropical storm, possibly causing life-threatening flooding. Most computer models consistently predicted Debby to move to the northwest throughout its lifetime, though intensity was more of a problem for forecasters. The National Hurricane Center continually predicted Debby to strengthen into hurricane status, though strong vertical shear eventually prevented the storm from becoming a hurricane.
A strong tropical wave moved off the coast of Africa late on August 20, and almost convective banding and a broad circulation. A large area of low pressure formed within the wave the next day while located 260 miles southeast of the Cape Verde islands. Though convection decreased early on August 21, the area of low pressure stayed well-organized and the system developed into Tropical Depression Four late on August 21. Water temperatures remained warm enough for development, while upper level shear was minimal as the depression moved west-northwestward because of a ridge of high pressure to its north. Original predictions by the National Hurricane Center also forecasted a turn to the northwest based computer model predictions, as quoted by forecaster James Franklin, "The models have also been excellently wrong thus far".
In spite of a decrease in convection shortly after forming, the large depression remained well organized, with a 575 mile wide wind field. On August 22, as it passed 140 miles (225 km) miles to south of the Cape Verde islands, deep convection developed over the center of circulation, and early on August 23 the depression strengthened into Tropical Storm Debby about 300 miles southwest of Cape Verde. Banding features continued to organize as the system slowly strengthened, and on August 23 Debby reached its peak intensity of 50 mph over the open waters of the Atlantic Ocean. Forecasters predicted Debby to continue to strengthen to reach hurricane status, while its projected path placed the storm in an area of warm water temperatures and moderate upper level shear.
Shortly after reaching its peak intensity, Debby encountered an area of dry air, and as a result weakened. The low level circulation detached itself from the dying convection while the system as a whole continued west-northwestward. Convection redeveloped over a portion of the center, while banding features redeveloped as well. Organization continued, and Debby again reached its peak intensity of 50 mph on August 24. Southerly wind shear displaced the convection to the north of the center, and Debby weakened to a weak tropical storm on August 25. The center of the storm became asymmetric and elongated, and on August 26 Debby weakened to a tropical depression. Convection remained minimal and it quickly degenerated into a remnant area of low pressure. The low turned to the north and north-northeast ahead of an approaching trough, and on August 28 the low dissipated.
The government of the Cape Verde islands gave out tropical storm warnings at the same time with the issuance of the first advisory on Tropical Depression Four, meaning tropical storm conditions were expected in the area within 24 hours. The National Hurricane Center stated that heavy rainfall, possibly as high as 10 inches in mountainous areas, would be possible in the territory, possibly causing life-threatening flash floods and mudslides.
However, because of a reformation further to the south, tropical storm warnings were discontinued as the depression passed away from the area. While passing around 115 miles to the southwest of the southwestern most islands, the depression produced a 35 mph wind gust at Fogo and some rainfall, though no damage was reported.
Long range forecasts brought the storm near Bermuda. However Debby remained over 900 miles from the island at its closest approach.
Though the storm was forecasted to remain far away from the Gulf of Mexico, investors tracking the storm caused the price of crude oil to rise 60 cents a barrel due to the possible impact to oil installations.
Fogo, Cape Verde
Hurricane Isaac (2006)
Hurricane Isaac was the final tropical cyclone of the 2006 Atlantic hurricane season. It reached peak strength of Category 1 just before striking Newfoundland, where it produced tropical storm-force winds. Isaac followed the path of the three previous storms in the Atlantic basin, Florence, Gordon, and Helene. Isaac formed in the central North Atlantic Ocean and moved eastward toward Europe.
Hurricane Isaac formed off the coast of Africa on September 18. Intensification was partly suppressed by high wind shear and by cool sea surface temperatures in the wake of Hurricanes Gordon and Helene. Isaac reached tropical storm strength on September 28 and entered an area of low wind shear, allowing it to strengthen into an 85 mph (137 km/h) hurricane. Its intensity nearly matched forecasts made with the Statistical Hurricane Intensity Prediction Scheme (SHIPS).
On October 1, Isaac turned northeast and struck Newfoundland as a tropical storm. Two days later, it merged with a newly formed baroclinic low off the east coast of the United States. The merged system was forecast to move toward the area between Greenland and Great Britain. Isaac produced rainfall over Newfoundland of up to 25 mm (1 in). No deaths or damage were reported. Isaac was the second storm to affect Newfoundland during the season, the other being Hurricane Florence.
Isaac started as a tropical wave that moved away from Africa on September 18. An area of disturbed weather began interacting with the tropical wave as deep convection increased on September 23. The convection began to organize, and weather agencies to release the first Dvorak numbers on the system.
The SHIPS models predicted that the system would become a hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 88 knots (150 km/h) after 120 hours. However, the system was slow to organize and a Tropical Cyclone Formation Advisory was not issued by the National Hurricane Center (NHC) until four days later. The NHC, however, decided the convection was too ephemeral to justify classification as a tropical depression and the TCFA was discontinued. Three days later, on September 27 another TCFA was issued, announcing the formation of the ninth tropical depression of the Atlantic season.
The depression strengthened into Tropical Storm Isaac on September 28, just twelve hours after the cyclone's formation. Deep convection was slow to form that day since the system remained over cold waters that had upwelled in the wake of Hurricanes Gordon and Helene. The next day, the cyclone moved west-northwestward and started gaining subtropical characteristics while its convection deepened. Vertical shear weakened as the system moved away from the cold, upwelling waters and the core of Isaac started re-developing. Atmospheric conditions remained favorable and Isaac reached hurricane status on September 30. Isaac continued strengthening a little bit during the next day near Bermuda, reaching its peak intensity with sustained winds of 85 mph (135 km/h) and minimum central pressure of 985 mbar. Isaac's winds quickly weakened to 80 mph (130 km/h), but its central pressure did not change.
Isaac encountered cooler waters as it approached Newfoundland on October 1, and weakened into a tropical storm on October 2. Isaac made landfall on the Avalon Peninsula as a weak tropical storm on October 2 and maintained tropical cyclonic structure and deep convection. Soon after, Isaac turned into an extratropical storm and merged with a larger extratropical system on October 3 off the Avalon Peninsula.
A tropical storm "watch" was sent up on October 1 for the Avalon Peninsula. The watch was upgraded to a tropical storm "warning" the next day. Another watch was issued for the Burin and Bonavista peninsulas, although it was quickly removed. On October 2, all tropical cyclone watches and warnings were taken away. Heavy rain and gusty winds were expected. Because of this, rainfall warnings were declared for parts of southern Newfoundland. Wind and gale advisories were also given out over the Atlantic Ocean.
On October 2, a ship called the "Elektra" (call sign SIWB) reported winds of while it was located about to the east of the center of the storm. Two other ships, many buoys, and a few oil platforms also recorded strong winds. Waves off the coast reached about heigh.
Isaac did not have much impact on land. No people were killed, and there was no bad damage. However, some parts of the Avalon Peninsula had tropical storm conditions. At Cape Race, constant winds were as high as , with wind gusts of up to . The strongest winds remained offshore. Since the storm was moving so quickly, it did not drop much rainfall; precipitation usually amounted to below .
Baroclinic
Foreign Office of Germany
The traditional name of the ministry handling Germany's foreign affairs is the Foreign Office or AA (). It is responsible for the foreign policy as well as the German EU politics. It is led by the federal Minister for Foreign Affairs ()
The Foreign Office is part of the foreign service of Germany. The other part is the parts of the other agencies of the federal government based abroad.
The Foreign Office handles contact between Germany and other countries or international organisations such as the United Nations. This included trying to get a permanent seat in the Security Council of the United Nations as part of the proposed 2005 UN reforms.
The Foreign Office is near the old DDR Foreign Ministry in Berlin. The big old building in the Werderschen Markt became the Reichbanks headquarters in 1940 and from 1959 the central committee headquarters of the SED. The Foreign Office has a "second headquarters" on Adenauerallee in Bonn.
Sigmar Gabriel (SPD) has been Foreign Minister since January 2017.
There are German embassies and consulates or consulates-general in most capitals of the world as well as in larger towns of the countries.
The Berlin headquarters job is to coordinate German diplomacy, and study the information passed on from the embassies, permanent representations and consulates. These are the "eyes, ears and voice" of the Federal Government abroad.
The Foreign Office has 145 embassies, 59 consulates general, twelve permanent representations (at international organisations) and ten offices abroad.
There are also three "German Information Centres (GIC)" with the job of giving information about Germany and the German language.
The biggest GIC is in Washington, DC, after it moved from New York in 2003. A GIC in Cairo is for the Arabic speaking world. The other GIC is in Paris, for French speaking areas
There are also 356 honorary consuls. These are often German businessmen who do some work for the Foreign Office.
The Bonn office handles information technology particularly. Every German agency abroad is connected to Bonn, which can send the information to Berlin. The Bonn office also arranges communications for the Foreign Minister and the Chancellorwhen they are abroad.
Some people say that there is corruption in the way senir jobs are filled.
This is because the Foreign Office does not publish the qualifications of its top diplomats anymore. They stopped after terrorists used the information to attack the German embassy in Stockholm in 1975 and the RAF murdered diplomat Gerold von Braunmühl in 1986.
The Foreign Office started in 1870 as a part of the North German Confederation. It was headed by a permanent secretary, just like the Foreign Office of the German empire. There were ministers only since 1919. This was why it was called an Office not a ministry .
The Foreign Office of the German Empire was based in Berlin Wilhelmstraße 76.
The empire tookover the Foreign Office of the North German alliance unchanged. However the German federal states kept a considerable degree of independence in their own foreign policy.
The AA had two departments
Higher politics, personnel, ceremonies, budgets, registeration of the schools and churches. The head of this department was a permanent secretary who was also the permanent representative of the German Chancellor in the Foreign Office at the same time. The German Chancellor had the topmost responsibility in foreign policy.
The second department was responsible for trade, traffic, consulates, national law, civil law, the art and science, the private matters of Germans abroad, also, justice, police and Post Office, emigration, ship matters. This department was headed by the director of the Foreign Office.
Legal matters were transferred to the new Department III in 1885. A colonial department was formed in 1890, it became the Imperial Colonial Office in 1907. Department IV was formed in 1915 to handle intelligence.
The Foreign Office became a ministry in the Weimar Republic, headed by a Reich Minister. The permanent secretary no longerThe minister had the sole responsibility for the foreign policy now. The name "Foreign Office" was kept, out of tradition. Gustav Stresemann was the most famous foreign minister of this time, and moulded German foreign policy just like Bismarck had done during the empire.
When the Nazis seized power the Foreign Office started following Nazi Party ideas. However, there was some resistance, especially from people like Adam von Trott zu Solz and Ulrich von Hassell.
The Foreign Office wrote a formal letter about the Jews and foreign policy in 1939: It said that giving the Jews a homeland in Palestine was dangerous to world peace. This note is a big reason why the second set of Nuremberg Trials included officials from the Foreign Office.
Also see: Fritz Kolbe, "Kurt Georg Kiessinger"
After the Second World War Germany stayed under allied control, at least in part, until 1955. This meant that there was no need for a Foreign Office until 1951, when the new Germany got more control overs its own affairs.
The new Foreign Office was set up on March 15th, 1951 in Bonn and kept the name of "Office".
Many of the senior officials of the AA were ex nazis. in fact More ex party members were in charge parts of the Foreign Office than there were party members doing the same type of job during the Third Reich.
Since 1966 the Foreign Minister has often been the leader of the smaller coalition partner in coalition governments. The exceptions were the vice-chancellorships of Jürgen Möllemann and Franz Müntefering.
The Ministry for Foreign Affairs handled the foreign policy of the government of the DDR.
Two Chancellors also Foreign Minister. Konrad Adenauer as the first Foreign Secretary of the Federal Republic of Germany and Helmut Schmidt, after FDP had left coalition and cabinet. Hans-Dietrich Genscher was Foreign Minister under both an SPD and a CDU chancellor.
Burin Peninsula
Bonavista Peninsula
Districts of Switzerland
In Switzerland each Canton is free to decide its own internal organisation. Because of this there many types and names for smaller administrative divisions in each canton. The term District is used for these smaller divisions.
Most Cantons are divided into "Bezirke" (German for districts). Some are called "Ämter" (Lucerne), "Amtsbezirke" (Bern), "district" (in French) or "distretto" (Tessin and part of Graubünden).
The Bezirke generally only deals with administration and court organization. The cantons Graubünden and Schwyz are their own legal entities. They have the power to control taxes as well.
Ten of the 26 Cantons do not have a district level of government:
Uri, Obwalden, Nidwalden, Appenzell Ausserrhoden, Glarus, Zug, Basel-City and Geneva. Schaffhausen stopped using Bezirke in the middle of 1999. Since the start of 2003 Canton of St. Gallen does not use the Bezirk level any more.
The Canton of Zürich is divided into 12 districts (German: "Bezirke"). The city of Zürich is its own district.
There are 26 administrative districts in Berne
The Canton of Lucerne is divided into 5 districts termed "Ämter":
Canton of Uri is not divided into districts: the municipality is the next lowest unit of government.
The Canton of Schwyz is divided into six districts and 30 municipalities, although the districts Einsiedeln, Küssnacht and Gersau simply comprise the municipality of the same name.
Obwalden is not divided into districts: the municipality is the next lowest unit of government. See: Obwalden.
Nidwalden is not divided into districts.
Canton of Glarus is not divided into districts: the municipality is the next lower unit of government.
Canton of Zug is not divided into districts.
The Canton of Fribourg is divided into 7 districts:
From 2005, Solothurn's ten districts are combined in pairs into five electoral districts, called "Amtei". From 2005, districts are only used for statistics.
Basel-City is not divided into districts. It is formed only of the city of Basel and two municipalities.
There are 5 Bezirke in Basel-Landschaft:
The Canton of Schaffhausen used to be divided into 6 districts ("Bezirke") until July 1999. The municipality is now the next lower unit of government.
Canton Appenzell Ausserrhoden is not divided into districts. The municipality is the next lower unit of government.
The 6 "Bezirke" (districts) are the local government level. They are part of the municipalities:
"Feuerschaugemeinde" is a special-purpose municipality for firefighting, energy and water for the town Appenzell.
The canton used to be subdivided into 14 districts ("Bezirke") until 2003 January 1,
when it was reorganised into 8 constituencies (Wahlkreise).
Canton Graubünden is divided into 11 Districts. They tend to follow the natural boundaries of the landscape. The districts are further subdivided into 39 sub-districts (German: "Kreise"):
Aargau is divided into 11 districts.
The Canton of Thurgau is divided into eight districts. Each district is named after its capital.
The Canton of Ticino is divided into 8 districts (called distretti):
Since 1803 the Canton of Vaud has been divided into 19 districts:
As of January 1, 2008, Vaud will be reorganized into the following districts:
The Canton of Valais is divided into 14 districts and half-districts:
"See also: Valais Municipalities"
The Canton of Neuchâtel is divided into 6 districts which belong to 4 geographic regions:
The Canton of Geneva is not divided into districts. The municipality is the next level of government.
Canton Jura is divided into 3 districts:
Cape Race
Hurricane Florence (2006)
Hurricane Florence was the first Atlantic hurricane to produce hurricane force winds on Bermuda since Hurricane Fabian hit the island in September 2003. The seventh tropical storm and second hurricane of the 2006 Atlantic hurricane season, Florence developed from a tropical wave in the tropical Atlantic Ocean on September 3 and followed the track of a Cape Verde-type hurricane. Because of unfavorable conditions, the system failed to organize at first, and as a result the storm grew to an unusually large size. After several days, Florence encountered an area of lesser wind shear and strengthened into a hurricane on September 10. It passed just west of Bermuda while recurving northeastward, and on September 13 it transitioned into an extratropical cyclone.
Florence produced wind gusts of up to 115 mph (185 km/h) on Bermuda, which caused several power outages and minor damage. Florence then brought heavy rains across Newfoundland as an extratropical storm, destroying one house and causing minor damage to several others. There were no fatalities as a result of the hurricane.
A tropical wave moved off the coast of Africa on August 29. It tracked slowly westward, and first showed signs of development two days later. On August 31, a second tropical wave exited the coast of Africa at a faster speed than its predecessor. The two waves interacted, and by September 2 combined to form a large area of disturbed weather across the eastern Atlantic Ocean. Convection increased within the system, and the large system developed a thick area of convection along with an organized low pressure area. By late on September 3, the system maintained a large closed circulation and enough convective organization to be named Tropical Depression Six while located about midway between the Lesser Antilles and Africa.
After becoming a tropical cyclone, the depression had many cloud swirls inside its common center. Banding features increased in satellite pictures, though southwesterly wind shear from an upper-level trough to its northeast and the lack of an organized circulation originally prevented strengthening. Dry air encountered the depression, and as such the depression developed very slowly; forecasters maintained considerable difficulty in determining a center of circulation. It continued its motion to the west-northwest while tracking around the southern periphery of a deep-layer subtropical ridge to its north. Though convection remained focused near the outer periphery of the system, the overall organized continued to steadily increase, and it is estimated the depression strengthened into Tropical Storm Florence on September 5 while located about 1120 miles (1800 km) east-northeast of Anguilla.
After reaching tropical storm status, the maximum sustained winds existed for three days between 40 mph (65 km/h) and 50 mph (85 km/h). This is because of the large size of Florence; the wind field reached 460 miles (745 km) wide with a radius of maximum winds of about 110 miles (170 km). By September 6, an orgained form of cloud swirls became visible, with thin rainbands developing in the southeast and northwest quadrants. As a result, hurricane forecasters predicted Florence to quickly develop and reach major hurricane status. Though convection slowly moved closer to the center of the storm, forecasters could not detect an organized center of circulation late on September 13.
On September 7, convection developed over and to the west of the center for the first time in its duration. However, Florence failed to strengthen any further with a wind field more than 1035 miles (1670 km) in diameter. This made it diffficult to forecast the storm, since it tracked through an area of 84° F (29° C) water temperatures, light shear, and a large low-level cyclonic envelop with abundant convection. By early on September 8, the storm became a stretched out, shapeless cloud pattern not normal for a tropical cyclone. Later that day, as an anticyclone developed over Florence, the storm began to consolidate around a vorticity center on the western side of the large cyclonic envelope. It began to strengthen more steadily as the storm turned to the northwest. Early on September 10, an eye began developing inside a ring of round thick convection over the center, and shortly thereafter Florence reached hurricane status while located about 390 miles (630 km) south of Bermuda.
Hurricane Florence turned to the north and north-northeast through a break in the subtropical ridge. Though its eyewall was open on the north side, favorable conditions led forecasters to predict Florence passing near Bermuda as a strong Category 2 hurricane. The inner core of convection became ragged-looking on satellite pictures, and based on reports from Hurricane Hunters it is estimated the hurricane reached peak winds of 90 mph (150 km/h) late on September 10. Subsequent to further erosion of the eyewall, the hurricane weakened, and on September 11 passed about 60 miles (95 km) west of Bermuda with winds of 85 mph (135 km/h). The overall cloud pattern became a little bit better organized, and Florence briefly re-strengthened before encountering increased upper-level winds and cooler waters.
Dry air wrapping around the southern half of the cyclone dissipated most of the deep convection by early on September 12. The cloud shield became asymmetrically displaced to the north of the center, and frontal-like features began to form. It continued to lose tropical characteristics, and on September 13 Florence turned into an extratropical cyclone about 485 miles (780 km) south-southwest of Cape Race, Newfoundland. At first, the storm was able to keep hurricane-force winds, as the extratropical remnant passed near Cape Race before turning to the east-northeast, and on September 14 the winds weakened to gale force. The storm executed a broad cyclonic half-loop to the southwest of Iceland over the subsequent days, and after turning to the west the extratropical remnants of Florence were absorbed to the east of Greenland by a developing extratropical cyclone to its south.
The government of Bermuda gave out a hurricane watch for the island on September 8, which was followed by a tropical storm warning on September 9. These were replaced by a hurricane warning on September 10, which were given out at the same time with the storm's strengthening to hurricane status. The government pursaded the potentially impacted citizens to take preparations for the storm, many of whom bought supplies at local hardware stores. Residents installed storm shutters, while boat owners moved their boats to safer locations. An emergency shelter was prepared on the island. Before Florence approached the storm, officials canceled bus and ferry service, and also closed all schools and government offices on the day of impact. The Bermuda International Airport was also closed.
Hurricane Florence produced strong swells and dangerous surf conditions for the northern Lesser Antilles, U.S. Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, Hispaniola, and Bermuda. Later in its duration, the tight pressure gradient between Florence and a high-pressure system over southeastern Canada produced strong winds and rough waves along the East Coast of the United States. The hurricane also caused strong swells and rough ocean conditions, including rip currents, in the Bahamas and Atlantic Canada.
Passing a short distance west of Bermuda, Hurricane Florence produced strong winds on the island; sustained winds peaked at 82 mph (132 km/h) on St. David's Island at an elevation of 410 feet (48 m), while gusts reached 115 mph (185 km/h) at the Maritime Operations Centre in St. George's Parish at an elevation of 665 feet (78 m). The winds knocked down trees and power lines, leaving over 25,000 homes and businesses without electricity during the peak of the storm. The powerful winds damaged ten houses, including destroying the roofs of three, and blew out windows across the island. A few people were injured by flying glass, though none required hospital care. Rainfall on the island reached 1.32 inches (34 mm) at the Bermuda International Airport.
A possible tornado reported in Southampton Parish downed trees and caused light property damage. At the Bermuda Zoo and Aquarium, two flamingos died due to falling branches. During the peak of the storm, police officials advised citizens to remain indoors away from harm, though there were several reports of looting throughout the territory.
The storm caused over $200,000 (2006 USD) in damage on the island. Shortly after the storm passed through, BELCO began restoring power, and by six hours after the peak of the storm power had been restored to 7,000 homes and businesses. By the day after the storm, about 3,000 remained without electricity on the island. The passage of the storm damaged the causeway between St. David's Island and Hamilton Parish, temporarily limiting traffic to one lane in each direction.
As an extratropical storm over Newfoundland, Florence produced powerful winds peaking at 101 mph (163 km/h) and moderate amounts of rainfall of up to 2.6 inches (67 mm). Flooding and power outages were reported, although they were isolated. The hurricane caused flight interruptions at St. John's International Airport and also to the Trans Canada ferry between Newfoundland and Cape Breton Island in eastern Nova Scotia Strong winds destroyed a house in the small Newfoundland village of Francois. Residents in Francois agreed to rebuild the wrecked home while the family temporarily resided in a summer home of another family. The winds also caused damage to shingles and sides of homes, while the strong waves damaged roads and boats along the Burin Peninsula.
Travagliato
2006 Nova Scotia tropical storm
The 2006 unnamed tropical storm was a short-lived tropical cyclone. It was the second tropical storm of the 2006 Atlantic hurricane season. It formed as an extratropical cyclone, a type of weather system, to the southeast of Nantucket, Massachusetts. It then moved to the northwest over warm water temperatures. It turned into a tropical storm on July 17, when an area of thunderstorms formed near the center of the cyclone. The storm quickly reached peak winds of 50 mph (85 km/h). It moved into cooler waters and began to lose strength. On July 18, it died out, and what was left of the storm moved across Newfoundland. Because the storm was weak, no damage happened.
A cold front moved off the east coast of the United States late on July 13. While it was over the western Atlantic Ocean, it stopped moving. The front then died out, but it left behind two areas of low pressure. The southern one was about 200 miles (320 km) to the south of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. The northern weather system was about 290 miles (470 km) to the south-southeast of Cape Cod, Massachusetts. The northern one became an extratropical cyclone, a type of weather system, on July 16. It moved to the northwest over warm water temperatures. These temperatures were 80–82º F (27–28º C). A large group of thunderstorm formed near the center of the storm. It turned into a tropical depression on July 17, when it was about 240 miles (390 km) to the southeast of Nantucket, Massachusetts.
The storm moved to the northwest northeastward, and it moved into an area that was good for strengthening. It quickly became a tropical storm. It continued to gain strength. Late on July 17, the storm reached its peak winds of 50 mph (85 km/h). At this time, it was about 245 miles (395 km) to the south of Halifax, Nova Scotia. The storm then moved into much cooler water temperatures, after it left the Gulf Stream. It quickly weakened as the convection quickly diminished, and it died out on July 18. What was left of the storm moved over Newfoundland before turning to the east-northeast.
The storm was said to be a gale storm when it was active. However, several months later, it was found that the storm did become a tropical cyclone. There were several reasons for this change.
When the storm came near Canada, a buoy recorded winds of 36 mph (56 km/h). It also recorded a wind gust of 44 mph (70 km/h). The storm lost a large amount of strength before it moved over Newfoundland. Because of this, there was no damage. The Atlantic Storm Prediction Centre sent out gale warnings for the storm.
Every year, the National Hurricane Center checks to make sure they did not miss any storms during the past tropical storm season. They found this storm on December 15, 2006, when they were studying the 2006 season. If the storm was found when it was active, it would have been called "Tropical Storm Beryl". It is guessed that the storm became a tropical cyclone at 39.1º N. This was the farthest north that any Atlantic storm in July became a tropical cyclone. This broke the past record that was set by Tropical Storm Arthur in 2002.
Nantucket, Massachusetts
Nantucket is an island 30 miles (48.3 km) south of Cape Cod, Massachusetts, in the United States.
Cape Hatteras
Cape Hatteras is a cape on the coast of North Carolina. It is the point that protrudes the farthest to the southeast along the northeast-to-southwest line of the Atlantic coast of North America, making it a key point for navigation along the eastern seaboard. So many ships have been lost around it that the area is known as the "Graveyard of the Atlantic". The nearby shoals are known as Diamond Shoals.
The Cape Hatteras Lighthouse is a well known feature on Cape Hatteras. It was built in 1870 and it is the tallest brick lighthouse in the United States.
Tropical Storm Alberto (1988)
Tropical Storm Alberto (also known as Hurricane Alberto) became a tropical storm farther north than any other Atlantic tropical cyclone. It was the first tropical storm of the 1988 Atlantic hurricane season. It started from a region of low pressure off of the coast of South Carolina on August 5.
It quickly moved northeast. It became a tropical storm on August 7. It was about 60 miles (95 km) east of the Massachusetts island of Nantucket.
Tropical Storm Alberto continued to move quickly, and struck the western area of Nova Scotia late on August 7. It lost its status as a tropical storm the next day when it reached north of Newfoundland. Alberto produced light rain and wind across its path. No damage came from it.
Tropical Storm Beryl (2006)
Tropical Storm Beryl was the third tropical storm of the 2006 Atlantic hurricane season. Developing from a tropical disturbance on July 18, it tracked generally northward, and strengthened to attain peak winds of 60 mph (95 km/h) under generally favorable conditions. After turning to the northeast, Beryl weakened over cooler waters. On July 21 it struck the island of Nantucket, and shortly thereafter it became extratropical. The extratropical remnants continued northeastward through Nova Scotia, and on July 22 it merged with an approaching cold front.
Beryl produced rough seas along the northeast United States coastline. In Massachusetts, its impact was limited to light rainfall and gusty winds, with no reported damage. Beryl later produced moderate rainfall and gusty winds across Atlantic Canada, resulting in some localized power outages though little damage. No deaths were reported.
A cold front moved off the East Coast of the United States on July 16 and stalled off the coast of North Carolina. It slowly decayed into a surface low pressure trough, and developed into two disturbances; one was centered 290 miles (490 km) south-southeast of Cape Cod and another was located 200 miles (320 km) south of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. The first low quickly organized into an unnamed tropical storm, and the other area stayed broad and disorganized. However, by July 18, the system became much better organized with improved banding features, and the area developed into Tropical Depression Two while located 220 miles (355 km) south-southeast of Cape Hatteras.
The depression moved slowly to the north-northwest through a break in the subtropical ridge, and as convective banding features became more visible the system strengthened into Tropical Storm Beryl. Throughout much of its duration, the storm tracked through an environment with light vertical wind shear and well-established upper-level outflow. Shortly after becoming a tropical storm, the low-level circulation of Beryl became exposed with limited deep convection, though deep convection re-developed the following morning. Outflow continued to improve, and with warm sea surface temperatures Beryl slowly strengthened further to reach peak winds of 60 mph (95 km/h) early on July 20 while located about 120 miles (190 km) east of Nags Head, North Carolina.
Beryl maintained peak winds for about 18 hours as it paralleled the Mid-Atlantic and New Jersey coasts, during which an eye-like feature developed in the center of the convection. Late on July 20, it began a slow weakening trend after passing over cooler waters. Steering winds ahead of an approaching mid-level trough caused Beryl to speed up northeastward, and early on July 21 the center of the storm crossed the island of Nantucket. The convection diminished as it moved through progressively colder waters, and shortly after 1200 UTC on July 21 Beryl became an extratropical cyclone a short distance east of Cape Cod. Hours later, it made landfall in southwestern Nova Scotia, and on July 22 the extratropical remnants of Beryl merged with an approaching cold front over Newfoundland.
Forecasters originally predicted Beryl to brush the Carolinas; as such, a tropical storm watch was issued for the eastern coast of North Carolina from Cape Lookout northward to Currituck Beach Lighthouse. When a more northeastward track became apparent, a tropical storm watch was issued about 33 hours before moving ashore from Woods Hole to Plymouth, Massachusetts, including Cape Cod, Nantucket, and Martha's Vineyard. About 22 hours before landfall, the National Hurricane Center replaced the watch with a tropical storm warning for the same area, and also issued a tropical storm watch from Woods Hole, Massachusetts westward to New Haven, Connecticut and for the eastern portion of Long Island from east of Fire Island to Port Jefferson. Expecting for the storm, the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency was activated as a trial run for the hurricane season. Local Red Cross chapters were opened, as well, with two volunteer teams placed on standby to assist. Across southeastern Massachusetts, police departments maintained extra staff in preparation for any potential problems from the storm. Many fishermen secured their boats, while some business owners boarded up windows to prevent storm damage.
Several days prior to the passage of Beryl through Atlantic Canada, the Canadian Hurricane Centre issued gale warnings for the coastal waters off of Nova Scotia and Newfoundland. In anticipation of heavy rainfall, the agency also issued heavy rainfall warnings for western Nova Scotia, including Halifax.
The storm caused high waves along the East Coast of the United States, with 19 foot seas (5.97 m) in the open ocean. Waves along the southern coast of Nantucket reached 10 feet in height as the storm approached the island, resulting in four people being rescued by lifeguards from rip currents.
High surf was also reported along the southern coast of Massachusetts and Rhode Island. Beryl also produced a storm surge of 0.9 feet on Nantucket. Winds across southeastern Massachusetts were fairly light, with no sustained tropical storm force winds and wind gusts peaking at 44 mph; unofficially gusts reached 51 mph.
Beryl dropped moderate precipitation just offshore, though the maximum precipitation total in the United States was only 0.97 inches (24.6 mm) on Nantucket. Rainfall along southeastern Massachusetts reached 0.33 inches at Chatham. The only reported damage were some downed telephone poles and fallen tree branches. Overall impact was minor; there were no reported power outages, deaths, injuries, or maritime emergencies in association with the storm.
The remnants of Beryl dropped moderate precipitation in Atlantic Canada, officially peaking at 2.8 inches (71 mm) in Scotts Bay, Nova Scotia with an unofficially higher total of 3.5 inches (88 mm); in some locations 1 inch of rain fell in an hour. Additionally, a station in Fredericton, New Brunswick reported 1.77 inches (45 mm) in 2 hours. The rainfall caused some flooding, with some overflown streams flooding some streets. Moderate winds were reported along its path, which peaked at 60 mph (96 km/h) in southern Nova Scotia. The winds downed some tree limbs and led to some power outages. Overall damage was minor.
1991 Halloween Nor'easter