page_title: Tropical Storm Olga (2019)
section_title: Meteorological history
hierarchical_section_title: Tropical Storm Olga (2019) / Meteorological history
caption_attribution_description: English: Track map of Tropical Storm Olga of the 2019 Atlantic hurricane season. The points show the location of the storm at 6-hour intervals. The colour represents the storm's maximum sustained wind speeds as classified in the Saffir–Simpson scale (see below), and the shape of the data points represent the nature of the storm, according to the legend below. Saffir–Simpson scale Tropical depression≤38 mph≤62 km/h Category 3111–129 mph178–208 km/h Tropical storm39–73 mph63–118 km/h Category 4130–156 mph209–251 km/h Category 174–95 mph119–153 km/h Category 5≥157 mph≥252 km/h Category 296–110 mph154–177 km/h Unknown Storm type Tropical cyclone Subtropical cyclone Extratropical cyclone / Remnant low / Tropical disturbance / Monsoon depression
context_page_description: Tropical Storm Olga was a short-lived tropical cyclone that caused unexpected severe damage as a non-tropical system along its track across the Central United States in late October 2019. The storm began as a distinct tropical wave that moved off Africa on October 8 and organized into a tropical storm over the Bay of Campeche early on October 25. It moved north-northeast, transitioning into an extratropical cyclone within 12 hours. The remnants of the cyclone made landfall in central Louisiana early on October 26 and continued across the Eastern United States and into Ontario, where it dissipated on October 28.
  The severity of the storm along its track from Louisiana through Tennessee caught meteorologists by surprise. Intense winds inflicted severe damage, and downed numerous trees onto homes, vehicles, and roadways. In Louisiana, power was cut to 132,000 customers statewide. A peak rainfall accumulation total of 10.24 in was observed near Ponchatoula, with lesser amounts across the state.
context_section_description: A well-organized tropical wave moved off the western coastline of Africa on October 8. Hostile wind shear across the tropical Atlantic hampered the wave from developing into a tropical cyclone, even as it showed intermittent signs of convective organization. The disturbance progressed into the eastern Caribbean Sea on October 17 and reached Central America five days later. After crossing the Yucatán Peninsula into the Bay of Campeche by October 24, the wave spawned a broad area of low pressure. The diffuse circulation became better defined the next morning, when satellite-derived wind data indicated it was already producing gale-force winds. As such, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) upgraded the system to Tropical Storm Olga at 12:00 UTC on October 25 when it was about 390 miles (630 km) south-southwest of Lake Charles, Louisiana. The system's cloud pattern was characterized by a large cluster of deep thunderstorm activity within the northeastern quadrant. A broad upper-level trough to the west of the newly formed cyclone directed it on a general northeastward course.
  Shortly after the time of formation, a reconnaissance aircraft found that a cold front was already impinging on Olga's circulation, while maximum sustained winds had increased to 45 mph (75 km/h); slightly stronger winds trailed the frontal boundary. However, since the boundary had not yet moved through the system's circulation, Olga persisted as a tropical cyclone. The final passes conducted by the reconnaissance aircraft a few hours later found strong northwesterly flow and a sharp gradient in temperature and dew point near the center that had either been overtaken by the front or become poorly defined. As such, Olga transitioned into an extratropical cyclone by 00:00 UTC on October 26, with winds of 50 mph (85 km/h) as the earlier measurements behind the front became representative of the overall system. It was positioned roughly 225 miles (360 km) south-southeast of Lake Charles at the time. The post-tropical cyclone continued north-northeast and crossed the southeastern Louisiana coastline around 07:00 UTC. It progressed inland across the Eastern United States, crossed Lake Huron, and finally dissipated over southeastern Ontario by 00:00 UTC on October 28.
caption: Map plotting the track and the intensity of the storm, according to the Saffir–Simpson scale
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