On August 15, Tropical Depression Three formed and quickly strengthened into Tropical Storm Bill. On August 17 Tropical Storm Bill became Hurricane Bill. On August 18 Hurricane Bill became a major hurricane (Category 3+). Hurricane Bill quickly strengthened into a category 4 hurricane on August 19, but weakened back on to a category 3 on August 20. Hurricane Bill weakened to a category 2 on August 21, it again weakened the next day to a category 1 hurricane. As a category one hurricane Bill came close to a landfall in Nova Scotia. Near midnight (Eastern Time Zone) on August 23, Bill made landfall in Newfoundland and became extratropical the next day. The remains affected United Kingdom.
Tropical Storm Claudette formed in the Gulf of Mexico as Tropical Depression Four early on August 16. At 12:15 p.m. EDT the same day, it strengthened into Tropical Storm Claudette. Early the next morning Claudette struck Santa Rosa Island, Florida. Tropical Storm Claudette weakened and dissipated on August 18.
Tropical Storm Danny formed north of Puerto Rico on August 26. Danny top winds were at 60 mph. Danny did not become a hurricane. Danny instead, moved toward North Carolina as a weak tropical storm. On August 29 Danny weaken into a depression and lost it clouds to an extratropical storm. Danny did not reach North Carolina before losing its cloud. Danny killed a boy in North Carolina due to rip currents.
Tropical Storm Erika formed on September 1 as Tropical Storm Erika, meaning it was never a tropical depression. Tropical Storm Erika moved mostly west for most of the lifespan of it. On September 2 Tropical Storm Erika made landfall in Guadeloupe. Tropical Storm Erika weaken to a tropical depression and a remnant low on September 3. The remnant low caused some rain to some of the northern islands of the Caribbean Sea.
Tropical Depression Seven formed on September 7 south of the Cape Verde Islands. Later on September 7 it became a tropical storm and was named Fred. Early the next day, Tropical Storm Fred became Hurricane Fred, the second hurricane of the season. Hurricane Fred became a major hurricane (Cat 3+). Fred slowly weakened after becoming a category 3 hurricane. On September 12 while a tropical storm, Fred became a remnant low and is no longer a tropical storm.
Tropical Depression Eight formed near Cape Verde on September 25. Tropical Depression Eight was said that it would become a tropical storm, this did not happen. Tropical Depression Eight instead became a tropical wave on September 26. It is no longer a tropical depression.
Tropical Storm Grace became a tropical storm late on October 4, it was also never a tropical depression while it was forming. Tropical Storm Grace moved towards Ireland, but went into a frontal system on October 5, Grace was not a tropical storm anymore. The remains affect Ireland and the United Kingdom.
Tropical Storm Henri was a weak storm that stayed out in the ocean for most of its life. It formed from a tropical wave on October 6 while moving northwest across the Atlantic. On the next day, wind shear around the storm caused it to weaken into a remnant low. Its remains were last seen near Cuba. The storm did not come close to any land and did not cause any damage to property.
On November 4, Tropical Depression Eleven started in the Caribbean Sea. Later that same day it became a tropical storm and was given the name "Ida". Ida became a hurricane just before landfall on November 5. Ida weakened fast over land and was a depression before the end of the day. On November 6, Ida came back into the Caribbean Sea just north of Honduras. Ida became a tropical storm again on November 7. Ida later on became a hurricane again and weakened back to a tropical storm on November 9. Ida made landfall in Alabama on November 10. The storm died only about 4 hours later. The remains of Ida became a nor'easter that killed 9 people. Hurricane Ida also caused about $5.6 million in damage.
The following names will be used for named storms that form in the North Atlantic in 2009. This is the same list that was used in the 2003 season, except for "Fred", "Ida", and "Joaquin". In 2003 those three names were Fabian, Isabel, and Juan, because they were bad storms in 2003, their names were retired from the list of names.
Tropical Depression Seven (2003)
Tropical Depression Seven was a weak tropical depression that formed near the northeast Florida coast. It was the seventh tropical cyclone of the 2003 Atlantic hurricane season. The depression formed on July 25 from the same tropical wave that created another weather system. It was a small and disorganized depression, and it never became a tropical storm, which is stronger than a tropical depression. The depression moved onto land at St. Catherines Island, Georgia, and it quickly weakened. Because the storm was weak, the effects were limited to heavy rain in Florida, Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina.
A tropical wave, which had also created Tropical Depression Six, combined itself with an upper-level low pressure area to create an area of deep convection near Hispaniola on July 23, 2003. A mid- to lower-level circulation started to form inside the storm as it moved mostly in a north-northwest direction. According to surface and satellite observations, it is thought that the system became Tropical Depression Seven at 1200 UTC on July 25 about 60 miles (95 km) east of Daytona Beach, Florida. The system was caught in an environment characterized by high surface pressures.
At first, the depression moved west-northwest at about 13 mph (20 km/h), and most of the convection from the storm was separated from the center. However, the cloud pattern became organized, and was made up of a number of curved banding features. The storm continued to move northwestward for its whole life, from the steering currents of a subtropical ridge and an approaching mid-level trough.
Moving through an area of cool water temperatures, as well as unfavorable upper-level winds, the depression was not able to get winds greater than 35 mph (55 km/h), and as a result did not gain tropical storm status. Before landfall, the highest winds were measured to exist in a small area northeast of the center of circulation, where a well-defined group of clouds persisted. Early on July 26, it moved onto land on St. Catherines Island, Georgia, and after slowly weakening over land, it died out on July 27.
The depression was never predicted to become tropical storm status. Because of this, no tropical storm warnings or watches were issued. However, flood watches were issued for part of Georgia and South Carolina. At Georgetown County, South Carolina, officials watched the storm closely.
The depression dropped light to moderate rain from Florida to the coast of North Carolina. The highest rain was 5.17 inches (131 mm) in Savannah, Georgia. Other rainfall totals of 2 to 3 in (50 to 75 mm) were common. There were no damages or casualties because of this depression.
Mark Donaldson
Mark Donaldson is an Australian soldier who was given the first Victoria Cross for Australia. The is the highest medal for bravery for people in the Australian Defence Forces, replacing the Victoria Cross. He is the 97th Australian to be given the highest bravery award, and the first for 40 years.
Donaldson was given the award by the Governor General of Australia, Quentin Bryce, on January 16, 2009. The ceremony was at Government House in Canberra. Donaldson had risked his life to save nine wounded Australian soldiers and an Afghan interpreter. They had been in a group of vehicles travelling in the Uruzgan Province in Afghanistan in September, 2008. They had been hurt when the Taliban attacked them.