Hurricane Mark (hypothetical)
From Scratchpad
| Category 4 hurricane (SSHS) | ||
|---|---|---|
| [[Image:|235px|center|Hurricane Mark at peak intensity.]] Hurricane Mark at peak intensity. | ||
| Formed | October 31, 2013 | |
| Dissipated | November 7, 2013 | |
| Accumulated Cyclone Energy | {{{accumulated cyclone energy}}} | |
| Highest winds | 140 mph (225 km/h) (1-minute sustained winds) | |
| Lowest pressure | 938 hPa | |
| Damages | $3.9 billion | |
| Direct Fatalities | {{{direct fatalities}}} | |
| Indirect Fatalities | {{{indirect fatalities}}} | |
| Missing | {{{missing}}} | |
| Areas affected | Puerto Rico, Hispanola, Cuba, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia | |
| Part of the 2013 Atlantic hurricane season | ||
Hurricane Mark was the thirteenth named storm, fifth hurricane, and the only major hurricane of the 2013 Atlantic hurricane season. It was also the strongest storm and the most deadliest storm of the season while it set a record of the most deadliest last storm of any season in the Atlantic basin since 1950.
Mark was a catastrophic hurricane that devasted most of the southern US eastern sea board, Cuba and the Bahamas, and parts of the Greater Antilles. Mark dropped heavy rains along with life-threatening mudslides, strong winds, and produced several tornado outbreaks that partially contributed to the high death tolls.
Contents |
[edit] Storm history
A tropical wave that formed off the coast on October 28 moved slowly across the Atlantic Ocean with slow developement. By the it reached between the Lesser Antilles and the Cape Verde islands, a reconnaissance aircraft detected a closed low-level circulation thus becoming Tropical Depression 13. Two days later on November 2, another reconnaissance sircraft detected tropical storm force winds with the NHC christening it Mark with a special advisory.[1]
Mark then reached more favoritable conditions and became a category 1 hurricane on midnight on November 4 while beginning to form an eyewall. It began to rapidly intensify and became a Category 3 twelve hours later skipping Category 2 status while approxiametly 1000 miles east of Puerto Pico. The NHC raised a hurricane watch and tropical storm warning advisory to the island including Hispanola. Mark later became a Category 4 on November 5 while its eye just northeast of Puerto Rico. The eyewall passed extremely close to the shore but according to the NHC, it failed to make a full landfall on the island.[1]
While still a Category 4, Hurricane Mark made landfall on the northern coast of the Dominican Republic late on November 6 and slided into Haiti. Due to the islands rigged and piercing mountains and terrans, Hurricane Mark weakened into a Category 3 and then left the northwestern coast of Haiti. After stalling for a few hours, Hurricane Mark made landfall on Cuba by the next day and while a weak Category 3. While overland on Cuba as a Category 2 hurricane, it was orginially forecatsed to move off of northwestern Cuba and head into the Gulf of Mexico with a landfall around the states of Texas to Missippi; but a warm fron asssociated with a subtropical low loacted in eastern Texas prevented that move forcing Mark deeper into Florida.[1]
After cutting straight thorugh Cuba, on November 8, it marched right into the Florida Keys only 2 hours and 45 minutes before making landfall into the Florida mainland as a minimal Catrgory 2 with winds at 100 mph (160 km/h). Mark's severe wind gusts disabled and destroyed several of the National Hurricane Center's wind guages and caused short curicuts for the weather center. Mark lost Category 1 and 2 status while over Florida and was declared a tropical storm with winds of 50 mph (80 km/h) on November 10. It re-entered the Atlantic Ocean shortly after and made landfall on South Carolina as a maximum tropical storm after midnight on November 12.[1]
Mark then weakened into a tropical depression 18 hours after making its final landfall and degenerated into remant low the next day while over the Appalichian Mountains in the western part North Carolina. Mark's remants continued to send heavy rain across southwestern Virginia and North Carolina before dissipating south of Ohio.[1]
[edit] Preparations
[edit] Greater Antilles and Cuba
When Hurricane Mark became a Category 3, hurricane forecasters predicted Mark would pass by extremely close to Puerto Rico, local government officials in Puerto Rico advised low-level lying residents to seek higher land or safe shelters from the storm. Evacutations from flodding and mudslide prone areas were crowded and was difficult to escape the dngerous area although more than two-thirds of evacutated people made it safely to higher land. Fisherman was also advised to stay away from the sea. The NHC gave out a hurricane watch and a tropical storm warning six hours Mark became a Category 3 and upgraded to a hurricane warning to the whole island just 15 hours later in a special advisory just when Mark reached Category 4 status and was already affecting Puerto Rico.[1][2]
In Cuba, the government arranged several precautions while Mark was north of Puerto Rico. The Cuban government offered supplies to many residents and closed all fishing ports in the east side of the eastern half of the country. Although evacutions order to only givn to the coastal towns, many civilians in the highlands took to the road as a precaution to the western side of Cuba to avoid hurricane force winds. The NHC adminstered hurricane watches for most of eastern Cuba then upgraded to hurricane warning to both of the eastern and northern parts of Cuba approxiametly 24 hours before Mark made landfall on Cuba.[2]
In Hispanola, the Domician Repblic urged all residents in the path of the storm to seek safer places and always have an extra supply of food and first-aid kit although many residents, particularly in the rural areas had no supplies and lied around the mountainous areas which were vurnable to flash floods and frequent mudslides. Since there was lttle hope for outriding the storm, several people moved to Santo Domingo, the capital city of the republic, to seek safer ways of out riding the storm. Haiti had a similar preparation method except that lighter measures were taken with hope that the ridged mountains of Hispanola would weaken the storm from getting any wose.[1]
[edit] Florida and South Carolina
In Florida, the storms approach forced over 285,000 people to evacuate. Nearly 100 schools in southern and eastern florida were closed. 187 fights comming in and out of Florida were cancelled or rerouted to other areas. In South Carolina, several emergancy shetlers were opened and 380,000 people evacuated from low lying and coastal areas. During the evacuation, a truck spun out and crashed into a guard rail slowing the evacuation by 4 minutes.[1][3]
[edit] The Gulf Coast
Several oil referneries were put on alert due to Marks approach. The alert was cancelled when Mark turned way from hitting the Gulf Coast. However, many local agencies in Mississippi and Alabama prepared to for relief efforts after the storm. [1]
[edit] Impact
[edit] Greater Antilles and Cuba
[edit] Hispanola
As Hurricane Mark hit the Dominican Republic while at Category 4 intensity, the island was prone to massive damages such as flash floods and immense mudlsides. According to the government of the Domician Republic, approxiametly 300 people were reported to killed. At one time, several witnesses and reporters indicated a highway bridge collapsed killing about 20 people in their cars when the bridge broke down. A small village located near the steep slope of a mountain range was reported to have swept away killing all of its cilivians or about 120 people due to a treacherous mudlside.
Several major cities were also destroyed by severe gust winds that sewpt through buildings toppling one building. Several gusts were reported to be about over 180 mph winds although it was unconfirmed since the dangerous wnds disabled or caused a glitch in the wind guages on land. A reported 15 inches of rain was reported in Haiti while a flood wiped out several parts of the low-level areas. In parts of the northern coasts of Haiti anf the Domician Republic, a massive storm surge (similar to that of Hurricane Katrina in 2005) was reported to have a height of 11.5 feet that wiped out all coastal towns and villages in and near the area which drowned about less than 200 people. A powerful waterspout was also reported approxiametly 5 miles from the coastline of the Domician Repblic as it sucked up water for about 27 minutes. Its wind speeds were estimated to be at 230 mph (360 km/h) which would put it at a rating of F4 on the Fujita scale.
Recovery for the Hispanola island was slow while relief aids were reportedly delayed or cancelled numerous times. Also a terrible diease had swept throught many parts of the island killing over a 150 people due to unsanitary conditions with no food and little shelter. Also looting and robbing in the capital od Haiti was seen as robbers stole much of the avaible relief items and stole into governmental buildings such as banks and even markets while crime from major cities were also seen as several clans were seen to kill people and rob many cilivians.
[edit] Florida and Georgia
[edit] Virginia and the Carolinas
[edit] Retirement
Because of the large number of death tolls related to Mark and with billions of dollars in property damage, the countries of Puerto Rico and Haiti requested Hurricane Mark to be retired which it thus did on April 4, 2014 by the World Meteorological Organization.
