Hurricane Julia (2010)
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Hurricane Julia was the easternmost Category 4 hurricane recorded in the
Atlantic basin The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the Age of Discovery, it was known for se ...
since reliable satellite observations became available. The twelfth tropical cyclone, fifth hurricane and fourth major hurricane of the 2010 Atlantic hurricane season, Julia rapidly developed on September 12 from a
tropical wave A tropical wave (also called easterly wave, tropical easterly wave, and African easterly wave), in and around the Atlantic Ocean, is a type of atmospheric trough, an elongated area of relatively low air pressure, oriented north to south, which ...
near
Cape Verde Cape Verde or Cabo Verde, officially the Republic of Cabo Verde, is an island country and archipelagic state of West Africa in the central Atlantic Ocean, consisting of ten volcanic islands with a combined land area of about . These islands ...
. Passing near the islands, the system quickly organized into Tropical Storm Julia the next day. On September 14, Julia attained hurricane status and subsequently entered a trend of
rapid intensification Rapid intensification (RI) is any process wherein a tropical cyclone strengthens very dramatically in a short period of time. Tropical cyclone forecasting agencies utilize differing thresholds for designating rapid intensification events, th ...
; the storm strengthened from a minimal hurricane to a low-end Category 4 in only 24 hours. After peaking in intensity, further development was impeded as interaction with nearby Hurricane Igor began to occur; the storm was downgraded to a tropical storm by September 18. It subsequently moved into a region of unfavorable conditions, heading toward lower
sea surface temperature Sea surface temperature (or ocean surface temperature) is the ocean temperature, temperature of ocean water close to the surface. The exact meaning of ''surface'' varies in the literature and in practice. It is usually between and below the sea ...
s. Correspondingly, Julia entered an
extratropical transition Extratropical cyclones, sometimes called mid-latitude cyclones or wave cyclones, are low-pressure areas which, along with the anticyclones of high-pressure areas, drive the weather over much of the Earth. Extratropical cyclones are capable of p ...
on September 20, and advisories on the storm were discontinued by that time. As Julia never posed any significant threat to land, damage related to the storm was minimal. Trace amounts of rain reportedly fell across the Cape Verde islands, causing locally light flooding and minor inconveniences. Gusts battering the territory peaked at , resulting in some wind damage to crops. In addition, these winds produced rough sea conditions, and high waves posed few threats along coastlines.


Meteorological history

The origins of Julia trace back to a vigorous
tropical wave A tropical wave (also called easterly wave, tropical easterly wave, and African easterly wave), in and around the Atlantic Ocean, is a type of atmospheric trough, an elongated area of relatively low air pressure, oriented north to south, which ...
, or an
equator The equator is the circle of latitude that divides Earth into the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Southern Hemisphere, Southern Hemispheres of Earth, hemispheres. It is an imaginary line located at 0 degrees latitude, about in circumferen ...
ward
low-pressure area In meteorology, a low-pressure area (LPA), low area or low is a region where the atmospheric pressure is lower than that of surrounding locations. It is the opposite of a high-pressure area. Low-pressure areas are commonly associated with incle ...
, which emerged into the
Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the Age of Discovery, it was known for se ...
along the western 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 ...
on September 11. At the time, the system maintained deep
convection Convection is single or Multiphase flow, multiphase fluid flow that occurs Spontaneous process, spontaneously through the combined effects of material property heterogeneity and body forces on a fluid, most commonly density and gravity (see buoy ...
and strong easterly winds, prompting 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 ...
(NHC) to commence tracking the system as an area of interest. As the wave moved generally westward at , a quick increase in organization as well as a significant drop in
surface pressure Surface pressure may refer to: * " Surface Pressure", a song from the film ''Encanto'' (2021) * Surface pressure in physical chemistry * Surface pressure within the Earth's atmosphere {{dab ...
became notable. The system continued to organize, and several hours later, the NHC noted only a slight increase would suffice for the development of a tropical cyclone. By September 12, a tropical depression developed, and the NHC initiated advisories at 1500 
UTC Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) is the primary time standard globally used to regulate clocks and time. It establishes a reference for the current time, forming the basis for civil time and time zones. UTC facilitates international communica ...
that day. At the time, the cyclone was situated southeast of the southernmost islands of
Cape Verde Cape Verde or Cabo Verde, officially the Republic of Cabo Verde, is an island country and archipelagic state of West Africa in the central Atlantic Ocean, consisting of ten volcanic islands with a combined land area of about . These islands ...
. For several hours, steady strengthening continued as the depression maintained a westward track. Operationally, it was upgraded to Tropical Storm Julia early on September 13, though post-analysis confirmed the storm had reached winds of twelve hours after formation. For several hours, no significant change occurred in its intensity or organization as Julia passed near Cape Verde, though the storm gradually retraced to the west-northwest along the southern periphery of a deep-layer ridge. Slow intensification resumed as the storm bypassed the Cape Verde islands; by early September 14, it displayed a ragged, banded eye-like feature in
satellite imagery Satellite images (also Earth observation imagery, spaceborne photography, or simply satellite photo) are images of Earth collected by imaging satellites operated by governments and businesses around the world. Satellite imaging companies sell im ...
. Due to locally high
sea surface temperature Sea surface temperature (or ocean surface temperature) is the ocean temperature, temperature of ocean water close to the surface. The exact meaning of ''surface'' varies in the literature and in practice. It is usually between and below the sea ...
s of about , a period of rapid intensification subsequently commenced; within hours, Julia attained
Category 1 hurricane Category, plural categories, may refer to: General uses *Classification, the general act of allocating things to classes/categories Philosophy *Category of being * ''Categories'' (Aristotle) *Category (Kant) *Categories (Peirce) *Category (Vais ...
status. Though located over an area with relatively low oceanic heat content, Julia continued to intensify rapidly under low
vertical wind shear Wind shear (; also written windshear), sometimes referred to as wind gradient, is a difference in wind speed and/or direction over a relatively short distance in the atmosphere. Atmospheric wind shear is normally described as either vertical o ...
and over favorable sea surface temperatures; as such, the hurricane was upgraded to Category 2 status on September 15. In less than two hours, the hurricane deepened to reach Category 3 intensity, becoming the fourth
major hurricane Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...
of the season. The rapid intensification trend continued, and Julia eventually strengthened into a Category 4 hurricane six hours later. Based on satellite estimates, its winds peaked at and a minimum barometric pressure of 948 
mbar The bar is a metric unit of pressure defined as 100,000  Pa (100 kPa), though not part of the International System of Units (SI). A pressure of 1 bar is slightly less than the current average atmospheric pressure on Earth at sea ...
(
hPa The pascal (symbol: Pa) is the unit of pressure in the International System of Units (SI). It is also used to quantify internal pressure, stress, Young's modulus, and ultimate tensile strength. The unit, named after Blaise Pascal, is an S ...
; 27.99 
inHg Inch of mercury (inHg, ″Hg, or in) is a non- SI unit of measurement for pressure. It is used for barometric pressure in weather reports, refrigeration and aviation in the United States. It is the pressure exerted by a column of mercury in h ...
), though operationally estimated at and , respectively. Upon peaking in intensity, Julia accelerated slightly as it re-curved toward the northwest along a mid to
upper-level low A cold-core low, also known as an upper level low or cold-core cyclone, is a cyclone aloft which has an associated cold pool of air residing at high altitude within the Earth's troposphere, without a frontal structure. It is a low pressure syste ...
to its southwest. In addition, this system generated unfavorable southerly flow aloft, inducing a slight weakening of the storm. By early September 16, Julia's eye became indistinguishable on satellite images, and the storm further dropped to below major hurricane status. Upon doing so, Julia became embedded within a south-southeasterly steering current along deep-layer ridging in its vicinity, resulting in a more westward track. Though still a hurricane, the relatively small tropical system moved to the east of the much larger Hurricane Igor. Concurrently, Igor's outflow began impinging on Julia's circulation, and due to colder sea surface temperatures, the storm weakened below hurricane intensity late on September 17. Henceforth, Julia re-accelerated as it further curved northward around the contiguous ridge, nearly merging with Igor as a result. Progressively tracking to the north over the next hours, Julia subsequently executed a turn to the northeast, then to the east. Proceeding eastward, the low-level center of the storm became partially exposed on September 18; however, for several hours thereafter, convection gradually redeveloped over its center. Despite the deep convection, vertical wind shear again increased over the system, causing the storm to enter an
extratropical transition Extratropical cyclones, sometimes called mid-latitude cyclones or wave cyclones, are low-pressure areas which, along with the anticyclones of high-pressure areas, drive the weather over much of the Earth. Extratropical cyclones are capable of p ...
. It is estimated Julia degenerated into a post-tropical low by 1800 UTC on September 20, while located about west of 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 ...
. The resultant storm meandered around over the Atlantic for several days, continuing generally eastward before executing an elongated loop to the south. Following this erratic track, the remnants of Hurricane Julia proceeded northwestward and came within 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 ...
, where they were once again briefly monitored by the NHC. However, chance of redevelopment dwindled, as conditions were not conducive for tropical formation; convection nearly diminished entirely, and the NHC discontinued monitoring the system on September 28.


Preparations and impact

Immediately upon developing into a tropical depression, Julia posed a threat to
Cape Verde Cape Verde or Cabo Verde, officially the Republic of Cabo Verde, is an island country and archipelagic state of West Africa in the central Atlantic Ocean, consisting of ten volcanic islands with a combined land area of about . These islands ...
. At the time, at least of precipitation was expected, with locally accumulations of up to . In response, the Government of Cape Verde issued a tropical storm warning for the southern portion of the archipelago, which included Maio, Sao Tiago, Fogo, and Brava. The tropical storm warning remained in effect after Julia intensified into a tropical storm; it was finally discontinued early on September 14. Since Julia stayed at sea and never directly struck land as a significant cyclone, there were no reports of major damage or casualties. Across southern Cape Verde, intermittent rains and some gusty winds were reported when the storm neared the islands. Winds reached between ; the only known report of rainfall accumulations was in Sal, where no more than of precipitation was recorded. During the passage of the storm, authorities canceled several local and international flights across Cape Verde. In Sao Tiago, floods triggered several landslides, resulting in the isolation of the community of Covão Grande from roadways. Several communities also reported wind damage to maiz crops. In addition, rough seas with waves of resulted in minor disruptions along coastlines.


See also

*
List of Category 4 Atlantic hurricanes A Category 4 Atlantic hurricane is a tropical cyclone that reaches Category 4 intensity on the Saffir–Simpson scale. Category 4 hurricanes that later attained Category 5 strength are not included in this list. The Atlantic ...
* Hurricane Igor – another Category 4 hurricane that co-existed with Julia *
Hurricane Fred (2009) The 2009 Atlantic hurricane season was a below-average Atlantic hurricane season that was the first since 1997 to feature less than 10 tropical storms. Overall, the season produced eleven tropical cyclones, nine named storms, three hurricanes, ...
– another major hurricane that formed unusually far east * Hurricane Frances (1980) - another eastern-forming major hurricane *
Hurricane Lorenzo (2019) Hurricane Lorenzo, also known as Storm Lorenzo for Ireland and the United Kingdom while extratropical, was the easternmost Category 5 Atlantic hurricane on record. Lorenzo was the twelfth named storm, fifth hurricane, third major hurrican ...
– the easternmost Category 5 Atlantic hurricane on record


References


External links

*
Hurricane JULIA Public Advisory Archive
{{2010 Atlantic hurricane season buttons
Julia Julia may refer to: People *Julia (given name), including a list of people with the name *Julia (surname), including a list of people with the name *Julia gens, a patrician family of Ancient Rome *Julia (clairvoyant) (fl. 1689), lady's maid of Qu ...
Julia Julia may refer to: People *Julia (given name), including a list of people with the name *Julia (surname), including a list of people with the name *Julia gens, a patrician family of Ancient Rome *Julia (clairvoyant) (fl. 1689), lady's maid of Qu ...
Julia Julia may refer to: People *Julia (given name), including a list of people with the name *Julia (surname), including a list of people with the name *Julia gens, a patrician family of Ancient Rome *Julia (clairvoyant) (fl. 1689), lady's maid of Qu ...
Julia Julia may refer to: People *Julia (given name), including a list of people with the name *Julia (surname), including a list of people with the name *Julia gens, a patrician family of Ancient Rome *Julia (clairvoyant) (fl. 1689), lady's maid of Qu ...