Hurricane Emmy was the longest-lived hurricane of the 1976 Atlantic hurricane season. The fifth tropical cyclone and the third hurricane of the season, Emmy developed from a tropical wave on August 20 to the east of the

Lesser Antilles The Lesser Antilles is a group of islands in the Caribbean Sea, forming part of the West Indies in Caribbean, Caribbean region of the Americas. They are distinguished from the larger islands of the Greater Antilles to the west. They form an arc w ...

. After changing its direction three times over several days, during which it reached a peak intensity of , it turned to the east and slowly weakened. Emmy passed through the

Azores The Azores ( , , ; , ), officially the Autonomous Region of the Azores (), is one of the two autonomous regions of Portugal (along with Madeira). It is an archipelago composed of nine volcanic islands in the Macaronesia region of the North Atl ...

on September 3, and a day later it was absorbed by approaching Hurricane Frances. Emmy passed within of the Lesser Antilles, though only minor effects were experienced. No damage was reported in the

, though strong winds from the hurricane caused a

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

n air force Lockheed C-130 flight to crash near Lajes Field, killing all 68 aboard.

Meteorological history

A tropical wave moved off the coast of

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

between August 15 and August 16. The wave moved westward at , and developed

atmospheric convection Atmospheric convection is the vertical transport of heat and moisture in the atmosphere. It occurs when warmer, less dense air rises, while cooler, denser air sinks. This process is driven by parcel-environment instability, meaning that a "par ...

along the wave axis. It slowly organized, developing a low-level circulation, and formed into a tropical depression on August 20 while located about east of

Barbados Barbados, officially the Republic of Barbados, is an island country in the Atlantic Ocean. It is part of the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies and the easternmost island of the Caribbean region. It lies on the boundary of the South American ...

. A reconnaissance aircraft flight into the system on August 21 confirmed the existence of a depression, which reported winds of only with a pressure of 1,012 mbar. The depression slowly strengthened and organized, and after turning to the west-northwest, it intensified into Tropical Storm Emmy on August 22 while located east-northeast of

Guadeloupe Guadeloupe is an Overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department and region of France in the Caribbean. It consists of six inhabited islands—Basse-Terre Island, Basse-Terre, Grande-Terre, Guadeloupe, Grande-Terre, Marie-Galant ...

. The tropical wave from which Emmy developed from continued westward through the

Caribbean Sea The Caribbean Sea is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean in the tropics of the Western Hemisphere, located south of the Gulf of Mexico and southwest of the Sargasso Sea. It is bounded by the Greater Antilles to the north from Cuba ...

and ultimately developed into Tropical Storm Joanna in the eastern

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...

. Tropical Storm Emmy turned more to the northwest, and passed about northeast of Barbuda on August 23. The rapid development of an unseasonable frontal low pressure system to the northeast of the storm turned Emmy sharply east-northeastward on August 25. Its eastward movement at such a low latitude for the time of year was unprecedented. The storm steadily intensified and Emmy attained hurricane status later on the 25th while located north of Barbuda. After moving eastward for about 24 hours, the

Westerlies The westerlies, anti-trades, or prevailing westerlies, are prevailing winds from the west toward the east in the middle latitudes between 30 and 60 degrees latitude. They originate from the high-pressure areas in the horse latitudes (about ...

retreated northward, and Emmy turned gradually to the northwest. A strong

ridge A ridge is a long, narrow, elevated geomorphologic landform, structural feature, or a combination of both separated from the surrounding terrain by steep sides. The sides of a ridge slope away from a narrow top, the crest or ridgecrest, wi ...

over the north

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the ...

turned Emmy sharply eastward on August 29. The hurricane continued to strengthen, and Emmy attained a peak intensity of shortly after turning to the east while located northeast of

Bermuda Bermuda is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. The closest land outside the territory is in the American state of North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. Bermuda is an ...

. The hurricane maintained its peak intensity for 42 hours while moving eastward at , and slowly weakened after peaking in strength. On September 1, Emmy turned to the east-southeast, and a day later it turned to the northeast as its forward motion decreased. Emmy passed through the

on September 3, and the following day it became extratropical to the north of the islands. The extratropical remnant persisted another six hours before being absorbed by approaching Hurricane Frances.

Impact and preparations

Initially, the path of Emmy was uncertain whether it would affect the

. As a result, officials issued a hurricane watch for the northeastern

Leeward Islands The Leeward Islands () are a group of islands situated where the northeastern Caribbean Sea meets the western Atlantic Ocean. Starting with the Virgin Islands east of Puerto Rico, they extend southeast to Guadeloupe and its dependencies. In Engl ...

. The warning was cancelled when the storm turned more to the north, with the outer fringes of the hurricane slightly impacting

Antigua Antigua ( ; ), also known as Waladli or Wadadli by the local population, is an island in the Lesser Antilles. It is one of the Leeward Islands in the Caribbean region and the most populous island of the country of Antigua and Barbuda. Antigua ...

. Several ships experienced rough seas and strong winds from Emmy, though none reported any damage. After Emmy turned to the west for the final time, forecasters at 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 IERS Reference Meridian, Prime Meridian and the 140th meridian ...

considered the hurricane not a real threat to land, though they indicated it had a remote chance to affect land masses. The hurricane also posed a threat to the island of

initially, though it remained away from the island. Two days before Emmy passed through the

, the National Hurricane Center advised citizens there to closely monitor the progress of the storm. No damage reports exist from the Azores, though it was likely not severe. On September 3, a

C-130 Hercules The Lockheed C-130 Hercules is an American four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft designed and built by Lockheed Corporation, Lockheed (now Lockheed Martin). Capable of using unprepared runways for takeoffs and landings, the C-130 w ...

air force flight left

Caracas Caracas ( , ), officially Santiago de León de Caracas (CCS), is the capital and largest city of Venezuela, and the center of the Metropolitan Region of Caracas (or Greater Caracas). Caracas is located along the Guaire River in the northern p ...

, Venezuela, for

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

, with a flight crew of 10 and 58 members of the

Central University of Venezuela Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...

choir. That night, heavy rainfall from the hurricane forced the plane to land on the

island of

Terceira Island Terceira () is a volcanic island in the Azores archipelago, about a third of the way across the North Atlantic Ocean at a similar latitude to Portugal's capital Lisbon, with the island group forming an insular part of Portugal. It is one of the ...

, Portugal. After attempting twice to land in hurricane-force winds, the plane crashed in a hill one mile from the runway of Lajes Field, killing all 68 onboard.

References

External links

Hurricane Emmy Tropical Cyclone Report

1976 Monthly Weather Review
{{DEFAULTSORT:Emmy (1976) Category 2 Atlantic hurricanes 1976 Atlantic hurricane season Hurricanes in the Azores

Meteorological history

Impact and preparations

See also

References

External links