Tropical Storm Emily was a rapidly-forming

tropical cyclone A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system characterized by a low-pressure center, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Dep ...

that made

landfall Landfall is the event of a storm moving over land after being over water. More broadly, and in relation to human travel, it refers to 'the first land that is reached or seen at the end of a journey across the sea or through the air, or the fact ...

on the west coast of

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, a ...

. The fifth named storm of the

2017 Atlantic hurricane season The 2017 Atlantic hurricane season was a disastrous, extremely active Atlantic hurricane season and the costliest on record, with a damage total of at least $294.92 billion ( USD). The season featured 17 named storms, 10 hurricanes, and 6 major ...

, Emily formed from a small area of low pressure that developed along a cold front in late July 2017. Unexpectedly, the low rapidly organized and strengthened into a tropical depression on July 30, and then into a tropical storm early the next day. Emily continued to intensify as it moved eastward, peaking with maximum sustained winds of 60 mph (95 km/h) as it made landfall near

Longboat Key A longboat is a type of ship's boat that was in use from ''circa'' 1500 or before. Though the Royal Navy replaced longboats with launches from 1780, examples can be found in merchant ships after that date. The longboat was usually the largest boat ...

on the western Florida coast. The cyclone weakened quickly into a tropical depression shortly after landfall as its circulation became increasingly disrupted. Emerging into the Atlantic Ocean on August 1, Emily continued to weaken as it accelerated northeastward, becoming post-tropical early on August 2. Heavy rainfall produced by Emily caused widespread flooding in southwest Florida, causing road closures and water damage to homes and buildings. An EF0 tornado spawned by the storm destroyed two barns and numerous greenhouses, as well as causing an engineered wall to collapse. Overall damages are estimated at $10 million (

USD The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...

Meteorological history

On July 30, the

National Hurricane Center The National Hurricane Center (NHC) is the division of the United States' NOAA/ National Weather Service responsible for tracking and predicting tropical weather systems between the Prime Meridian and the 140th meridian west poleward to the 3 ...

(NHC) began monitoring an area of low pressure that was expected to develop along a dissipating

cold front A cold front is the leading edge of a cooler mass of air at ground level that replaces a warmer mass of air and lies within a pronounced surface trough of low pressure. It often forms behind an extratropical cyclone (to the west in the Northern ...

off the

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a U.S. state, state in the Deep South and South Central United States, South Central regions of the United States. It is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 20th-smal ...

coast for possible

tropical cyclogenesis Tropical cyclogenesis is the development and strengthening of a tropical cyclone in the atmosphere. The mechanisms through which tropical cyclogenesis occurs are distinctly different from those through which temperate cyclogenesis occurs. Tropi ...

. Due to the low's proximity to land and only marginally favorable upper-level winds, development was expected to be slow to occur. Unexpectedly, a period of rapid organization occurred during the following few hours, and the low became a tropical depression at 18:00 UTC on July 30. Although the NHC did not forecast the depression to strengthen further, it instead rapidly strengthened into Tropical Storm Emily just four hours after formation. Despite environmental conditions being only marginally favorable for development, Emily continued to strengthen as it tracked eastward across the

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico ( es, Golfo de México) is an ocean basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, largely surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United S ...

. At 14:45 UTC, Emily made landfall near Longboat Key, Florida at peak intensity. Operationally, Emily was assessed to have peaked with maximum sustained winds of 45 mph (75 km/h) and a minimum pressure of 1005 mbar (hPa, 29.68 inHg). In post-season analysis, it was determined that it peaked with winds of 60 mph (95 km/h) and a minimum pressure of 1001 mbar (hPa, 29.56 inHg). Shortly after landfall, Emily rapidly weakened into a tropical depression, and its structure degraded significantly. The small, disorganized system turned northeast and emerged into the Atlantic Ocean early on August 1; its center had become completely exposed by that time. Despite periodic bursts of deep

convection Convection is single or multiphase fluid flow that occurs spontaneously due to the combined effects of material property heterogeneity and body forces on a fluid, most commonly density and gravity (see buoyancy). When the cause of the c ...

near its center, Emily failed to restrengthen. By 00:00 UTC on August 2, Emily no longer possessed a warm core, and it was declared a

post-tropical cyclone A post-tropical cyclone is a former tropical cyclone that no longer possesses enough tropical qualities to be considered a tropical cyclone. The word may refer to a former tropical cyclone undergoing extratropical transition or a tropical cyclone ...

. Shortly afterward, the remnants of Emily dissipated off the

Southeastern United States The Southeastern United States, also referred to as the American Southeast or simply the Southeast, is a geographical region of the United States. It is located broadly on the eastern portion of the southern United States and the southern po ...

Preparations and impact

Upon the classification of Emily as a tropical depression, a tropical storm watch was issued for the west coast of Florida from the Anclote River to Englewood, which was later upgraded to a tropical storm warning and extended southward to Bonita Springs. Shortly after the classification of Emily as a tropical storm, Florida Governor

Rick Scott Richard Lynn Scott ( Myers, born December 1, 1952) is an American politician serving as the junior United States senator from Florida since 2019. A member of the Republican Party, he was the 45th governor of Florida from 2011 to 2019. Scott ...

declared a

state of emergency A state of emergency is a situation in which a government is empowered to be able to put through policies that it would normally not be permitted to do, for the safety and protection of its citizens. A government can declare such a state du ...

for 31 counties to ensure residents were provided with the necessary resources. Heavy rainfall produced by Emily caused widespread flooding in

Polk Polk may refer to: People * James K. Polk, 11th president of the United States * Polk (name), other people with the name Places *Polk (CTA), a train station in Chicago, Illinois * Polk, Illinois, an unincorporated community * Polk, Missouri ...

and

Pinellas Pinellas is the name of a peninsula located roughly halfway down the west coast of Florida. It forms the western boundary of Tampa Bay and comprises the bulk of Pinellas County. There is a city named Pinellas Park in south Pinellas. The peninsul ...

counties, prompting the closure of roads and evacuation of a few homes.

Coastal flooding Coastal flooding normally occurs when dry and low-lying land is submerged by seawater. The range of a coastal flooding is a result of the elevation of floodwater that penetrates the inland which is controlled by the topography of the coastal land ...

was reported in

Hillsborough Hillsborough may refer to: Australia *Hillsborough, New South Wales, a suburb of Lake Macquarie Canada *Hillsborough, New Brunswick *Hillsborough Parish, New Brunswick * Hillsborough, Nova Scotia, in Inverness County *Hillsborough (electoral d ...

Manatee Manatees (family Trichechidae, genus ''Trichechus'') are large, fully aquatic, mostly herbivorous marine mammals sometimes known as sea cows. There are three accepted living species of Trichechidae, representing three of the four living speci ...

, and

Sarasota Sarasota () is a city in Sarasota County, Florida, Sarasota County on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The area is renowned for its cultural and environmental amenities, beaches, resorts, and the Sarasota School of Architecture. The c ...

counties, causing additional road closures. The storm spawned an EF0 tornado near

Bradenton Bradenton ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Manatee County, Florida, Manatee County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the city's population is 55,698. History Late 18th and early 19th centuries ...

. The tornado was on the ground for about and destroyed two barns and a few greenhouses, while an engineered wall collapsed, leaving about $96,000 in damage. Torrential rains impacted parts of

Miami Beach Miami Beach is a coastal resort city in Miami-Dade County, Florida. It was incorporated on March 26, 1915. The municipality is located on natural and man-made barrier islands between the Atlantic Ocean and Biscayne Bay, the latter of which s ...

, with accumulations reaching in 3.5 hours, of which fell in just 30 minutes. Coinciding with high tide the deluge overwhelmed flood pumps, with three of them shutting down due to lightning-induced power outages, and resulted in significant flash floods. Multiple buildings suffered water damage, with some having of standing water. One person was hospitalized after becoming stuck in flood waters. Portions of

Downtown Miami Downtown Miami is the urban city center of Miami, Florida. The city's greater downtown region consists of the Central Business District, Brickell, the Historic District, Government Center, the Arts & Entertainment District, and Park West. It ...

, such as

Brickell Brickell ( ) is a neighborhood in Miami, Florida located directly east of Interstate 95, south of the historic CBD, and north of Coconut Grove. Brickell is known as the financial district in Miami, as well as South Florida. Brickell was founded ...

, were also heavily affected; numerous vehicles became stranded in flooded roadways. The NHC later assessed the flooding in Miami to be indirectly related to Emily, as the storm was losing tropical characteristics at the time. Total damages from Emily are estimated to be about $10 million.

References

External links

Tropical Storm Emily Advisory Archive
{{2017 Atlantic hurricane season buttons

Emily Emily may refer to: * Emily (given name), including a list of people with the name Music * Emily (1964 song), "Emily" (1964 song), title song by Johnny Mandel and Johnny Mercer to the film ''The Americanization of Emily'' * Emily (Dave Koz son ...

Emily (2017)

Meteorological history

Preparations and impact

See also

References

External links