Tropical Depression One By late on May 29, scattered showers and thunderstorms existed over the northwestern
Caribbean Sea. A weak surface
low-pressure area formed on the following day, with the
National Hurricane Center (NHC) noting some very deep and concentrated
convection. Around 18:00
UTC on May 30, Tropical Depression One developed in the western
Caribbean Sea, a day before the start of the Atlantic hurricane season. The depression moved northeastward along the axis of a northeast-southwest oriented
trough, passing just northwest of
Isla de la Juventud before striking the
Cuban mainland south of
Havana. As it crossed the country, its strongest rainfall was east of the center, and the depression failed to intensify beyond winds of 30 mph (45 km/h). the depression degenerated into an open
trough east of
Florida on June 2. The final discussion by the NHC noted the presence of several weak
eddies, but that none were close enough to the remaining deep convection to justify the system continuing to be classified as a tropical cyclone. While crossing Cuba, the depression dropped heavy rainfall that led to 37 deaths. Rainfall peaked at in
Cienfuegos Province, of which fell in one day. The heavy rainfall caused flooding in Camagüey that damaged about 5,700 houses and destroyed 200. The flooding also damaged 15 schools and hospitals, as well as several crop buildings. The floods left widespread areas without electricity or communications. The floods destroyed six bridges, damaged 55 rail lines, and left 131 roads unpassable, which severely disrupted the country's
transportation infrastructure. The depression also killed thousands of livestock. Overall about 90,000 people were affected. The storm accelerated northeastward at and struck western
Nova Scotia that evening with little impact. most of which fell in a short amount of time. The rainfall caused localized flooding, which briefly closed some streets. The extratropical remnants of Alberto also produced light rain and some clouds along western
Newfoundland. By August 8 surface winds increased enough to issue tropical storm warnings for Louisiana to the
Florida Panhandle. Excessive rain fell along the central Gulf Coast, including local amounts of at
Dauphin Island, Alabama. Maintaining a well-structured outflow, Beryl's circulation on August 9 moved over warm water, where conditions were favorable for further
intensification. However, a front approached from the northwest and reversed the storm's course into southeastern Louisiana.
Tropical Depression Four On August 12 a westward-moving tropical wave developed into Tropical Depression Four near the southern
Bahamas. The depression tracked north-northwest along Florida's coast and made landfall near
Jacksonville, Florida, the next day. The system spawned gusty winds and thunderstorms along the coasts of Florida and Georgia but caused little damage. According to the
National Weather Service, winds in some
squalls to the north and east of the center reached up to . The system finally dissipated as it reemerged over water near the mouth of the
Mississippi. Because of unfavorable upper-level conditions and interaction with Bahama islands, the system lost its well defined center as it moved towards Florida's east coast. By August 24 the depression's forward speed had increased to as its movement turned west. Cool ocean temperatures weakened the system and diminished its prospects for restrengthening, and on August 26, Tropical Depression Five degenerated into a tropical wave. The remnants redeveloped on August 30 about southeast of
North Carolina, and the Washington office of the
National Weather Service continued to track the system as a gale center until it merged with a front off the
East Coast on September 1. The next day this system was designated a tropical depression while it approached the
Windward Islands. After crossing the islands, the depression continued westward into the central Caribbean and encountered less-favorable conditions. Though poorly organized on August 21, the depression was expected to strengthen into a tropical storm over the western Caribbean's warmer waters. Nevertheless, it was downgraded to a tropical wave at 80° W near the island of
Jamaica on August 23. The disturbance moved over Central America with minimal convection but redeveloped into
Hurricane Kristy once it reached the eastern Pacific. Three deaths in Puerto Rico were attributed to the weather. On August 28 the storm was upgraded to Tropical Storm Chris as it traveled northward just offshore of Florida. It made landfall near
Savannah, Georgia, bringing light rain and wind damage to the area.
Hurricane Debby Debby formed from the southern part of a tropical wave that became Tropical Storm Chris. In the mid-tropical Atlantic, the northern area of convection detached and became Tropical Depression Seven. The southern portion continued moving westward as a disorganized area of showers. Drifting west-northwest over the Gulf of Mexico, the depression organized and reached tropical storm-strength early on September 2. Later that day, based on observations from aircraft reconnaissance, Debby was upgraded to a hurricane. Debby weakened considerably over the
Sierra Madre Oriental mountains, although the remnants continued moving across Mexico. The tight center tracked towards the Pacific coast and reemerged near
Manzanillo on September 5. Upon entering the
Eastern Pacific, the system became
Tropical Depression Seventeen-E before dissipating in the
Gulf of California on September 8.
Tropical Storm Ernesto On September 2 a cluster of thunderstorms associated with a northwestward-moving tropical wave developed a
surface low near
Bermuda. Though the surface low remained poorly defined and separate from the convection, the system became a tropical depression on September 3. Under the influence of
southwesterlies, the depression accelerated northeastward at . Late on September 3 it was upgraded to Tropical Storm Ernesto. The storm continued to strengthen as it lost tropical characteristics. A large
extratropical storm over the North Atlantic absorbed Ernesto on September 5. The only land area affected by the storm was in the
Azores, where it brought near storm-force winds to
Flores Island. Forecasters issued tropical storm warnings for the coast from
Cameron, Louisiana, to
Apalachicola, Florida, while the storm moved rapidly northeastward at 15 to .
Unnamed tropical storm A well-organized disturbance moved off the African coast on September 6 and rapidly developed into Tropical Depression Eleven. The NHC began issuing advisories on September 8 while it was northeast of
Cape Verde. An after-the-fact review of satellite and ship reports indicated that the depression reached tropical storm-strength on September 7. For three days, a large trough of low pressure northwest of the system steered it north-northwest towards cooler waters. Moderate to heavy rain was reported along the west coast of Africa, but no damage was reported. The depression drifted eastward under the influence of the dissipating frontal trough and intensified into Tropical Storm Florence, as confirmed by
hurricane hunters. Upon striking Louisiana, storm surge water levels rose moderately above normal just east of where the center moved ashore. Gusty winds caused power outages to more than 100,000 people. In Alabama one man died while trying to secure his boat. Rainfall from the hurricane caused severe river flooding in portions of the Florida Panhandle in an area already severely affected by heavy rainfall, and the flooding damaged or destroyed dozens of houses in Santa Rosa County.
Hurricane Gilbert The 13th tropical depression formed from a tropical wave just east of the Lesser Antilles on September 8. As it moved west-northwest, the depression strengthened into Tropical Storm Gilbert on September 9, shortly before passing over Guadeloupe. The tropical storm turned west and rapidly intensified to a major hurricane on September 11. Gilbert continued to strengthen as it brushed the southern coast of Hispaniola. It passed directly over Jamaica as a Category 3 hurricane. When the center reemerged over water, Gilbert rapidly intensified again. On September 13, Gilbert's pressure of at the time was the lowest sea-level pressure ever recorded in the
Western Hemisphere, and the lowest in the Atlantic basin until Wilma. In the former, heavy rains and strong winds destroyed or damaged crops, roads, small aircraft, and structures, including nearly 240,000 low-incoming housing units and about 95% of health care facilities. Extensive argicultural losses were also reported, especially to banana crops and the poultry industry. At least $800 million in damage and 45 fatalities occurred on Jamaica, although no wind reports from the country are known. Gilbert destroyed over 60,000 homes throughout the country. Overall, 202 deaths and $2 billion in damage occurred in Mexico. Flooding in the
Monterrey metropolitan area led to many of those fatalities.
Hurricane Helene A tropical wave with deeply organized convection crossed the coast of Africa on September 15. The system was forced west due to a strong ridge in the eastern Atlantic. On September 19 at 18:00 UTC, the system was upgraded to Tropical Depression Fourteen. By 06:00 UTC on September 20, the depression was strengthened, and was upgraded to Tropical Storm Helene. Helene began to turn to the northwest on September 21 due to a major trough in the eastern Atlantic. Later on September 21, Helene intensified into a hurricane. Favorable conditions allowed the storm to continue strengthening, and on September 22, Helene became a major hurricane. Late on the following day, Helene attained its peak intensity; maximum sustained winds were at and the minimum pressure of . After reaching peak intensity, Helene weakened as it tracked generally northward through the open Atlantic. By early on September 29, Helene briefly restrengthened into a Category 2 hurricane and reached a secondary peak of . However, later that day, Helene weakened back to a Category 1 hurricane while accelerating to the northeast. At 12:00 UTC on September 30, Helene transitioned into an extratropical cyclone while centered well south of
Iceland. The precursor tropical wave produced thunderstorms and gusty winds ranging between in Cape Verde on September 17. The depression tracked westward at 15 to but weakened rapidly. The next day it was downgraded to a tropical wave while still in the far eastern Atlantic, and never reformed in the Atlantic. On September 29 it was identified as Tropical Depression Sixteen about southeast of
Barbados. The westward path of the storm shifted two degrees northward, possibly as a result of the formation of a new center. On September 30 the depression was upgraded when an Air Force reconnaissance plane discovered tropical storm-force winds. Westerly vertical wind shear prevented deep convection at the center of the storm. As Isaac approached the islands, northern parts of the Lesser Antilles were issued tropical storm warnings. As a tropical cyclone, Isaac did not significantly affect land. However, the remnants dropped heavy rainfall across Trinidad and Tobago, causing flooding and mudslides that injured 20 people
Flash flooding in
Morvant killed two people. Across the country, the storm damaged roads and bridges.
Hurricane Joan On October 10, the 17th tropical depression of the season organized from a disturbance in the ITCZ. For the next two days the system traveled northwest while it strengthened into Tropical Storm Joan. After passing through the southern Lesser Antilles, Joan traveled westward along the South American coast as a minimal tropical storm. It crossed the
Guajira Peninsula on October 17 and quickly attained hurricane strength just from the coast. Hurricane Joan strengthened into a major hurricane on October 19 while drifting westward. The hurricane executed a tight cyclonic loop in which it weakened greatly but rapidly strengthened upon resuming its westward track. Joan reached its peak intensity just before making landfall near
Bluefields, Nicaragua, on October 22 as a Category 4 hurricane. Joan at the time was the southernmost Category 4 hurricane ever recorded, Joan remained well organized as it crossed Nicaragua and emerged in the eastern Pacific Ocean basin as
Tropical Storm Miriam. Miriam gradually weakened until dissipating on November 2. The hurricane damage in Nicaragua amounted to half of the $1.87 billion total. Joan also brought heavy rainfall and mudslides to countries along the extreme southern Caribbean. Joan was also the first tropical cyclone to cross from the Atlantic basin since
Hurricane Greta of 1978.
Tropical Depression Eighteen A westward-moving tropical wave, that left the coast of Africa in early October, tracked closely behind Hurricane Joan through the southern Caribbean. In an unusual occurrence the disturbance developed into the 18th tropical depression about behind the powerful hurricane. An Air Force reconnaissance check of tropical weather on October 19 spotted the depression near Colombia's Guajira Peninsula. Hurricane Joan's small size allowed the depression to remain out-of-reach as it developed. However, the outflow of the hurricane sheared the depression and sapped its energy. The system gradually dissipated on October 21 while Joan was experiencing rapid strengthening just before its arrival on the coast of Nicaragua. Keith restrengthened over the southeastern Gulf of Mexico and struck near
Sarasota, Florida, on November 23. After crossing the state, it became
extratropical on November 24 near
Bermuda and became an intense extratropical system over the Atlantic with sustained winds of minimal hurricane force. Early in its duration Keith produced moderate to heavy rainfall in
Honduras, Jamaica, and
Cuba. Minimal damage was reported in
Mexico, still recovering from the devastating effects of
Hurricane Gilbert two months earlier. Keith, the last of four named tropical cyclones to hit the United States during the season, produced moderate rainfall, a rough storm surge, and gusty winds across central Florida. Damage near the coast occurred mainly from storm surge and
beach erosion, while damage further inland was limited to flooding and downed trees and power lines. No fatalities were reported. ==Storm names==