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1974 Atlantic hurricane season
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The 1974 Atlantic hurricane season officially began on June 1, 1974, and lasted until November 30, 1974. These dates conventionally delimit the period of each year when most tropical cyclones form in the Atlantic basin. The season had fairly average activity, with eleven total storms and four hurricanes forming; more subtropical cyclones formed this year than any other year on record, with a total of four.
The most notable storms of the season were Hurricane Carmen, which made landfall on the Yucatán Peninsula and in Louisiana, causing at least $150 million (1974 US dollars) in damages; and Hurricane Fifi, which killed 8,000 people as it skimmed along the northern coast of Honduras.
Storms
Subtropical Storm One
A tropical depression formed over the southwestern Gulf of Mexico on June 22. As the depression moved southwestward, convection began to fire well northeast of the center forming a new cyclone by the 24th. Convection over the new system was poorly organized, and it became a subtropical depression late on the 24th. It strengthened into a subtropical storm on the 25th with its winds far away from the center. It crossed Florida that day, but that night, it became more frontal in character. It lost what tropical characteristics it had on the 25th.
Subtropical Storm One caused three drowning deaths and $10 million in damage ($42 million in 2005 USD) when it passed over central Florida.
Subtropical Storm Two
A convective area of cloudiness existed northeast of the Bahamas in middle July in response to a stationary frontal boundary. A subtropical depression formed on July 16, and it became Subtropical Storm Two on the 17th. As it moved northeastward it gradually became absorbed by a large extratropical low pressure system, with the system dissipating on the 20th.
Subtropical Storm Three
Subtropical Storm Three formed from a frontal wave on August 10, located 300 miles south of Cape Cod. The storm moved southeastward, followed by a north, then northeast motion. The storm reached its peak of 60 mph late in its life, just prior to being absorbed by a frontal boundary on the 15th.
Tropical Storm Alma
The tropical depression that became Tropical Storm Alma formed from an Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) disturbance on August 12 over the southern tropical Atlantic. It moved steadily westward, reaching a peak of 65 mph on the way. It crossed the island of Trinidad, the southernmost track of a Trinidad hit since 1933. On August 15, it moved into northern Venezuela, and the high mountain tops destroyed the circulation.
Hurricane Becky
Hurricane Becky formed from an area of showers and thunderstorms on August 26, located to the southwest of Bermuda. It moved northeastward, where it reached its peak of 115 mph. As it approached unfavorable conditions, Becky fell apart, dissipating on September 2.
Hurricane Carmen
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Hurricane Carmen developed from a tropical wave on August 29, located 180 miles east of Guadeloupe. It intensified at a steady rate, reaching tropical storm strength on the 30th and a hurricane on the 31st. As it approached Mexico, it strengthened to a 150 mph major hurricane, and made landfall near Chetumal as a Category 4 hurricane. A weakened Carmen moved through the Gulf, again reaching 150 mph winds prior to its southern Louisiana landfall on September 7, again as a Category 4 storm.
Tropical Storm Dolly
Dolly developed from a cloud system over the central north Atlantic on September 2. The next day it became a tropical storm, but as the storm moved quickly to the northeast, it encountered cool, dry air, dissipating on the 5th.
Tropical Storm Elaine
The tropical depression that became Tropical Storm Elaine formed from a tropical wave on September 4 about 600 miles east of the Lesser Antilles. The depression moved northwestward for 5 days without strengthening, but on the 9th it moved under a favorable upper-level anticyclone, letting the depression strengthen to tropical storm strength. Elaine reached her peak of 70 mph under these favorable conditions, but as they became unfavorable, Elaine weakened, becoming extratropical on the 14th.
Hurricane Fifi
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Main article: Hurricane Fifi
Hurricane Fifi formed from a tropical wave in the eastern Caribbean Sea on September 14. As it moved westward to the Central American coast, its winds strengthened to 105 mph. It moved north of the coast of Honduras, but warm moist air from the Caribbean and the eastern Pacific caused massive flooding. It hit Belize on the 19th, crossed Central America and Mexico, and re-emerged as Tropical Storm Orlene as part of the 1974 Pacific hurricane season.
Fifi caused an estimated 8,000 deaths.
Hurricane Gertrude
Hurricane Gertrude developed from an Intertropical Convergence Zone disturbance on September 28, located east of the Lesser Antilles. As it approached the islands, it rapidly strengthened to a tropical storm late on the 28th, and to a hurricane six hours later. Prior to reaching the islands, the convection was sheared from the center, leaving behind a minimal tropical storm as it passed through the Lesser Antilles on October 2. The system dissipated on the 4th over the southeastern Caribbean Sea.
Subtropical Storm Four
The subtropical depression that became Subtropical Storm Four developed from a stationary cold front on October 4 near the east coast of Cuba. It moved northwestward, strengthening to subtropical storm force winds, and brushing the east coast of Florida. The storm moved out to sea, merging with a cold front on the 9th after becoming extratropical on the 8th.
Accumulated Cyclone Energy (ACE) Rating
| ACE (104kt2) – Storm: Source |
| 1 |
25.6 |
Carmen |
5 |
4.03 |
Elaine |
| 2 |
14.4 |
Becky |
6 |
1.53 |
Alma |
| 3 |
9.67 |
Fifi |
7 |
1.29 |
Dolly |
| 4 |
4.41 |
Gertrude |
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| Total= 60.9 (61) |
The table on the right shows the ACE for each storm in the season. The ACE is, broadly speaking, a measure of the power of the hurricane multiplied by the length of time it existed for, so hurricanes that lasted a long time have higher ACEs.
Storm names
The following names were used for named storms (tropical storms and hurricanes) that formed in the North Atlantic in 1974.[1] Names that were not assigned are marked in gray.
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- Hester (unused)
- Ivy (unused)
- Justine (unused)
- Kathy (unused)
- Linda (unused)
- Marsha (unused)
- Nelly (unused)
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- Olga (unused)
- Pearl (unused)
- Roxanne (unused)
- Sabrina (unused)
- Thelma (unused)
- Viola (unused)
- Wilma (unused)
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Retirement
- See also: List of retired Atlantic hurricane names
The names Carmen and Fifi were later retired.
See also
References
- ^ Associated Press (1974-05-07). "Coastal States, Beware of Alma". Retrieved on 2007-12-01.
External links
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Tropical cyclones of the 1974 Atlantic hurricane season
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