| Hurricane
Vince was the 20th. named storm and 11th. hurricane of the extremely active
2005 Atlantic hurricane season. Vince developed in the far eastern Atlantic
in early October, and would stay there before making an unprecedented landfall
on the Iberian Peninsula on October 11 as a weak tropical storm. While
it was a relatively weak and short-lived storm with no reported damage
or fatalities, it was one of the most unusual hurricanes to ever develop
in the Atlantic Ocean.
The
development and naming of Vince was controversial among meteorologists.
As early as 5 pm EDT (2100 UTC) on October 8, the unnamed system had developed
a formation of a traditional hurricane, with a clear eye visible in the
compact system. The NHC had decided not to declare the system a tropical
cyclone because the water temperature was too low for one to normally develop.
Some NHC analyses suggest that Vince was indeed a subtropical or tropical
storm on October 8 and should have been named at that point.
Tropical
Storm Vince was officially named at 11 am EDT (1500 UTC) on October 9 in
an unusual location in the east Atlantic near Madeira, about 515 miles
(830 km) east-southeast of the Azores, and was upgraded to a hurricane
six hours later (the National Hurricane Center deciding that "if it looks
like a hurricane...it probably is...despite its environment and unusual
location"). Initially it was thought that the storm might be subtropical
rather than tropical in nature, but the persistence of convection near
the center, as well as low shear over the area, gave Vince its tropical
characteristics. Vince became extratropical shortly after landfall near
Huelva, Spain at 5 am AST (0900 UTC) October 11.
Although
Vince was a very small and short-lived storm that only briefly reached
hurricane strength, it is notable for developing in the far eastern Atlantic
near 33°N and 19°W off the Moroccan coast, well away from where
hurricanes are usually found; it was the farthest east and north a tropical
storm had ever developed in the Atlantic. Vince also formed and remained
over water never warmer than 24°C (75°F), which defies the general
thought that water needs to be at least 26.5ºC (80°F) for a tropical
storm to form and intensify.
Vince
is the first tropical cyclone on record to have made landfall on the Iberian
Peninsula, after coming ashore near Huelva, Spain. Furthermore, before
Vince was even given tropical storm status by the National Hurricane Center,
the system that would be named Vince clearly had an open eye; Vince was
also the first named 'V' storm in the Atlantic since naming began in 1950.
| Hurricane
Vince |
|
Vince's
track |
 |
 |
 |
|
