Tropical Storm Arlene was an unusually large and early-forming

tropical storm A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system with a low-pressure area, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depending on its lo ...

, being the first of twenty-eight different storms during the

2005 Atlantic hurricane season The 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was a record-breaking, devastating and deadly Atlantic hurricane season. It is the second-costliest hurricane season, just behind the 2017 season And 2024. It featured 28 tropical and subtropical storms, ...

, which would become the second most active season on record. Tropical Storm Arlene formed near

Honduras Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Ocean at the Gulf of Fonseca, ...

on June 8 and moved northwards. It crossed western

Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

on June 10 and strengthened to just under hurricane strength before making its final

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

Florida Panhandle The Florida panhandle (also known as West Florida and Northwest Florida) is the northwestern part of the U.S. state of Florida. It is a Salient (geography), salient roughly long, bordered by Alabama on the west and north, Georgia (U.S. state ...

the next day. The storm weakened as it continued to move north over the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, becoming extratropical on June 13. Arlene was responsible for two deaths and minor damage.

Meteorological history

Tropical Storm Arlene seemingly originated from the interaction between two

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 ...

s and the

Intertropical Convergence Zone The Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ , or ICZ), known by sailors as the doldrums or the calms because of its monotonous windless weather, is the area where the northeast and the southeast trade winds converge. It encircles Earth near the t ...

(ITCZ) over the western Caribbean in early June 2005. The ITCZ, initially focused over

Central America Central America is a subregion of North America. Its political boundaries are defined as bordering Mexico to the north, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest. Central America is usually ...

in the first days of the month, became more convective when the first wave arrived on June 5–6. Two days later, a stronger tropical wave moved through the western Caribbean, triggering

pressure Pressure (symbol: ''p'' or ''P'') is the force applied perpendicular to the surface of an object per unit area over which that force is distributed. Gauge pressure (also spelled ''gage'' pressure)The preferred spelling varies by country and eve ...

drops and the expansion of thunderstorm activity. The establishment of an upper-level

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 this disturbance on June 8 led to a reduction in

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 ...

. The system became increasingly organized and 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) marked the formation of Tropical Depression One at 18:00 UTC with the cyclone's center situated northeast of

Hurricane Hunters Hurricane hunters, typhoon hunters, or cyclone hunters are aircrews that fly into tropical cyclones to gather weather data. In the United States, the organizations that fly these missions are the United States Air Force Reserve's 53rd Weather ...

investigating the system observed a poorly organized albeit closed circulation at this time with the strongest winds displaced to the north and east within banding features. The lopsided structure was the result of an upper-level

trough Trough may refer to: In science * Trough (geology), a long depression less steep than a trench * Trough (meteorology), an elongated region of low atmospheric pressure * Trough (physics), the lowest point on a wave * Trough level (medicine), the l ...

over the

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico () is an oceanic basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, mostly surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north, and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States; on the southw ...

. Weak steering currents pushed the system along a slow northward trajectory. Early on June 9, notably deep convection organized into curved bands and signaled the system's intensification into a tropical storm by 06:00 UTC while situated west-southwest of the

Cayman Islands The Cayman Islands () is a self-governing British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory, and the largest by population. The territory comprises the three islands of Grand Cayman, Cayman Brac and Little Cayman, which are located so ...

. At this time, the NHC assigned the name ''Arlene'' to the cyclone. The depression began to move northward toward western

later that day, but as it was a very large and poorly organized system under the influence of high wind shear, the official forecasts from the

emphasized that the route the storm would take was uncertain. Despite this uncertainty, the official forecasts were highly accurate in predicting the storm's track. As the shear dropped, the depression strengthened further and it became Tropical Storm Arlene on June 9. It produced precipitation over a very wide area; the

reported tropical storm-force winds and heavy rain over 150

statute mile The mile, sometimes the international mile or statute mile to distinguish it from other miles, is a British imperial unit and United States customary unit of length; both are based on the older English unit of length equal to 5,280 English ...

s (240 km) east of the center. Arlene crossed the western tip of Cuba on the morning of June 10 with winds. Tropical Storm Arlene had an unusual structure throughout its life, with a large circulation containing numerous small centers rotating about a larger

gyre In oceanography, a gyre () is any large system of ocean surface currents moving in a circular fashion driven by wind movements. Gyres are caused by the Coriolis effect; planetary vorticity, horizontal friction and vertical friction determine the ...

, as opposed to an inner convective core. Tropical Storm Arlene Jun 10 2015 UTC

Arlene then entered the

later that afternoon and strengthened further to its peak strength of . The official forecast at this time called for further intensification to minimal hurricane strength. This did not occur however and Arlene instead weakened as result of dry air entering the circulation. The storm made landfall just west of

Pensacola, Florida Pensacola ( ) is a city in the Florida panhandle in the United States. It is the county seat and only incorporated city, city in Escambia County, Florida, Escambia County. The population was 54,312 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. ...

in the afternoon of June 11 as a moderate tropical storm with winds of . As most of the convection of the storm was located north and east of the center, most of the effects of the storm were on land long before it made landfall. Arlene was the most intense landfalling June storm since Hurricane Allison hit the same location as a strong tropical storm during the 1995 season. Arlene weakened into a tropical depression later that day, but managed to persist as a tropical system as it moved north over the United States. The storm finally became extratropical on June 13 just northeast of

Flint, Michigan Flint is the largest city in Genesee County, Michigan, United States, and its county seat. Located along the Flint River (Michigan), Flint River northwest of Detroit, it is a principal city within the Central Michigan, Mid Michigan region. Flin ...

and was absorbed by a larger system the next day.

Preparations

While Arlene was over Cuba, a tropical storm watch was issued for the

Gulf Coast The Gulf Coast of the United States, also known as the Gulf South or the South Coast, is the coastline along the Southern United States where they meet the Gulf of Mexico. The coastal states that have a shoreline on the Gulf of Mexico are Tex ...

from

Morgan City, Louisiana Morgan City is a small city in St. Mary Parish, Louisiana, United States, located in the Acadiana region. The population was 11,472 at the 2020 census. Known for being "right in the middle of everywhere", Morgan City is located southeast of ...

to Indian Pass, Florida. Local branches of the National Weather Service issued coastal flood watches for Escambia and Santa Rosa counties. A general flood watch was issued for

South Florida South Florida, sometimes colloquially shortened to SoFlo, is the Regions of the United States#Florida, southernmost region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is one of Florida's three most commonly referred to directional regions; the two others are ...

; heavy rains antecedent to Arlene left grounds saturated and prime for flooding. A tropical storm warning was issued for a stretch of coast slightly further east than the area covered by the preceding watch, and a hurricane watch was issued for the central section of the region. This turned into a hurricane warning from Pearl River, Louisiana to Indian Pass due to fears of the system strengthening to hurricane strength. The warnings were reduced and were then canceled eight hours after the second landfall. County authorities in parts of Alabama held conferences on June 10 in anticipation of heavy rain from Tropical Storm Arlene. The Elmore County Emergency Management Agency had hundreds of sandbags ready for use. Local officials in Escambia and Santa Rosa counties activated their emergency operations centers on June 10. Transportation department crews were dispatched to clear debris from storm drains and distribute sandbags where necessary. In accordance with a policy passed a week prior, FEMA began strapping down trailers provided for victims of Ivan shortly before the arrival of Arlene. Still recovering from

Hurricane Ivan Hurricane Ivan was a large, long-lived, and devastating tropical cyclone that caused widespread damage in the Caribbean and United States. The ninth named storm, the sixth hurricane, and the fourth major hurricane of the active 2004 Atlantic h ...

which struck the Gulf Coast in September 2004, construction contractors and residents were forced to hasten home repair efforts in order to secure structures. Approximately 40,000 buildings in the Pensacola Bay area alone were covered by blue roof tarps.

State Farm State Farm Insurance is a group of mutual insurance companies throughout the United States with corporate headquarters in Bloomington, Illinois. Founded in 1922, it is the largest property and casualty insurance, property, casualty and auto i ...

Florida Insurance Spokesman Tom Hagerty advised residents to thoroughly document possessions for potential claims related to Arlene as they would be treated as a separate claim from those related to Ivan. By June 10, homes in and around Pensacola were boarded up with plywood or storm shutters. Gas canisters, tarps, and generators were in high-demand at local stores. Debris from Ivan remained littered across Pensacola Beach, Perdido Key, and Navarre Beach. Florida Governor

Jeb Bush John Ellis "Jeb" Bush (born February 11, 1953) is an American politician and businessman who served as the 43rd governor of Florida from 1999 to 2007. A member of the Bush family, Bush political family, he was an unsuccessful candidate for pre ...

issued a state of emergency two days before the storm's final landfall. Recovery teams were also deployed to the area. An evacuation order was issued for all areas south of Gulf Beach Highway, including Pensacola Beach, Perdido Key, and Innerarity Point. Walton County officials issued a voluntary evacuation order for low-lying areas and mobile homes. Walton County also opened a shelter in Freeport, and four shelters and one special needs shelter were opened in Escambia County. Two days prior to landfall, 36 oil platforms and 16 rigs were evacuated. The cumulative production loss caused from the evacuation of the storm totaled 0.109% of the yearly production, approximately 575 million barrels. The stopped rigs also accounted for 3.87% of the daily production on June 13.

Impact

Caribbean

Arlene produced heavy rain across parts of Central America and the Cayman Islands during its developmental stages. Tropical storm warnings were briefly issued for the Cayman Islands on June 9. Meteorologists raised concerns over the possibility of flooding and mudslides in Honduras and Nicaragua. In

Campeche Campeche, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Campeche, is one of the 31 states which, with Mexico City, make up the Administrative divisions of Mexico, 32 federal entities of Mexico. Located in southeast Mexico, it is bordered by the sta ...

, Mexico, heavy rain saturated soils and led to trees falling. One person was killed in the state and another was injured. Some flooding occurred in parts of

Campeche City San Francisco de Campeche (; , ), 19th c., also known simply as Campeche, is a city in Campeche Municipality in the List of states of Mexico, Mexican state of Campeche, on the shore of the Bay of Campeche in the Gulf of Mexico. Both the seat of t ...

. Upon the formation of Tropical Depression One on June 8, a tropical storm watch was issued for western Cuba and was soon upgraded to a tropical storm warning the next day. On June 9, the stated that western parts of Cuba, particularly

Pinar del Río Province The Pinar del Río Province is one of the 15 provinces of Cuba. It is at the western end of the island of Cuba. The capital and largest city is Pinar del Río (191,081 pop. in 2022). Geography The Pinar del Río province is Cuba's westernmost p ...

, would see impacts from Arlene. Approximately 50,000 people were evacuated across Cuba in preparation for Arlene. Fishermen were ordered to return to port and secure their vessels. Between June 9 and 10, Tropical Storm Arlene produced heavy rains over western areas of Cuba, leading to school closures in several cities. The area impacted by the rainfall was previously suffering from a severe drought and moisture brought in by Arlene helped alleviate the dry conditions. Tropical storm-force winds buffeted communities in western Cuba, with sustained winds peaking at in

Punta del Este Punta del Este () is a seaside city and peninsula on the Atlantic Coast in the Maldonado Department of southeastern Uruguay. Starting as a small town, Punta del Este grew to become a resort for the Latin and North American jet set and tourists. T ...

Isla de la Juventud Isla de la Juventud (; ) is the second-largest Cuban island (after Cuba's mainland) and the seventh-largest island in the West Indies (after mainland Cuba itself, Hispaniola, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, Trinidad, and Andros Island). The island was ...

. Rainfall reached a maximum of in

Pinar del Río Pinar del Río is the capital city of Pinar del Río Province, Cuba. With a population of 191,081 (2022), it is the List of cities in Cuba, 10th-largest city in Cuba. Inhabitants of the area are called ''Pinareños''. History Pinar del Río was ...

on the mainland.

United States

Florida

The outer edges of the storm brought tropical storm-force winds to

. In the

Florida Keys The Florida Keys are a coral island, coral cay archipelago off the southern coast of Florida, forming the southernmost part of the continental United States. They begin at the southeastern coast of the Florida peninsula, about south of Miami a ...

, Arlene produced wind gusts of up to on Duck Key and at Key West International Airport. Damage was limited to snapped tree limbs. At Fowey Rocks Light, offshore to the east of

Key Biscayne Key Biscayne () is an island located in Miami-Dade County, Florida, located between the Atlantic Ocean and Biscayne Bay. It is the southernmost of the barrier islands along the Atlantic coast of Florida, and lies south of Miami Beach and sout ...

, a gust of was observed. The only death attributed to Arlene was that of a woman caught in a

rip current A rip current (or just rip) is a specific type of water current that can occur near beaches where waves break. A rip is a strong, localized, and narrow current of water that moves directly away from the shore by cutting through the lines of bre ...

Miami Beach Miami Beach is a coastal resort city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. It is part of the Miami metropolitan area of South Florida. The municipality is located on natural and human-made barrier islands between the Atlantic Ocean an ...

, far from the center of circulation. In the

, the storm dropped heavy rainfall, peaking at in Plantation Bay, Florida in Flagler County. Upon making landfall, Arlene caused a storm surge of up to in Walton County. Moderate

beach erosion Coastal erosion is the loss or displacement of land, or the long-term removal of sediment and rocks along the coastline due to the action of waves, currents, tides, wind-driven water, waterborne ice, or other impacts of storms. The landward r ...

also occurred. Storm surge and strong waves caused moderate to severe damage to roads along the panhandle. Strong winds caused power outages to 500 people in Walton,

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

and

Bay A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a ''gulf'', ''sea'', ''sound'', or ''bight''. A ''cove'' is a small, ci ...

counties. The storm spawned a weak

tornado A tornado is a violently rotating column of air that is in contact with the surface of Earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud. It is often referred to as a twister, whirlwind or cyclone, although the ...

in Navarre, Florida, causing minor damage on its 0.1-mile (0.2-km) path. Damage on the panhandle totaled to $3.5 million (2005 USD), $2.5 million of which was in Fort Pickens alone.

Alabama

Upon making landfall, the storm produced storm tides of up to in height. Minor beach erosion occurred as well. Arlene dropped moderate to heavy rainfall throughout

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

, with higher totals of up to to the west of

Interstate 65 Interstate 65 (I-65) is a major north–south Interstate Highway System, interstate highway in the central United States. As with most primary interstates ending in 5, it is a major crosscountry, north–south route, connecting between th ...

. of rain fell in a three-hour period in the Mobile area. Several roads were temporarily impassable from the flooding, and one road was completely washed away. Wind speeds were around 20 to 30 mph (30 to 50 km/h), while wind gusts of over 60 mph (95 km/h) existed. The winds downed several trees and power lines, leaving thousands without power for several hours. With the storm following a path similar to

just nine months earlier, many trees damaged previously by Ivan were downed completely. In addition, several homes experienced light wind damage. The outer bands of the storm also caused numerous funnel clouds, though no tornadoes were reported. Overall, damage was light, amounting to $1.7 million (2005 USD).

Elsewhere

Heavy rainfall in Towns County, Georgia forced multiple residents to evacuate from rising flood water. Numerous creeks and rivers in the northern portion of the state overflowed. Tropical Storm Arlene caused light rainfall across southeastern

Mississippi Mississippi ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Alabama to the east, the Gulf of Mexico to the south, Louisiana to the s ...

, typically between . The effects were generally minimal. In

Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...

, the remnants of Arlene dropped heavy rainfall, peaking at in

Evansville Evansville is a city in Vanderburgh County, Indiana, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 118,414 at the 2020 census, it is Indiana's third-most populous city after Indianapolis and Fort Wayne, the most populous city in S ...

. In

Indianapolis Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Indiana, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana, Marion ...

, fell at the

International Airport An international airport is an airport with customs and border control facilities enabling passengers to travel between countries. International airports are usually larger than domestic airports, and feature longer runways and have faciliti ...

. Rainfall from the storm was 85% of the typical June rainfall level. Arlene also spawned two tornadoes. An F1 tornado developed to the southwest of Hayden on June 12. The tornado damaged several buildings and trees on its 5.3-mile (8.5-km) path, with total damage amounting to $100,000 (2005 USD). Outer rainbands also developed an F0 tornado just south of

, downing a few tree limbs. The remnants of Arlene combined with a non-tropical system caused heavy rainfall across

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

, with some locations reporting of precipitation in a 2-hour period. The rainfall collected into streams and rivers, with some officials calling it a 1 in 500 year flood. Flash flooding caused at least one mudslide and damaged several roads. The flooding forced at least 20 people to evacuate their homes, and numerous houses were damaged. Strong winds also downed trees and power lines, causing scattered power outages. Damage totaled to $6.5 million (2005 USD).

References

External links

NHC's archive on Tropical Storm Arlene
* The

Hydrometeorological Prediction Center The Weather Prediction Center (WPC), located in College Park, Maryland, is one of nine service centers under the umbrella of the National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP), a part of the National Weather Service (NWS), which in turn is ...

's (HPC
archive on Tropical Storm Arlene
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Arlene (2005) 2005 Atlantic hurricane season Atlantic tropical storms Hurricanes in Cuba Hurricanes in Florida Hurricanes in Alabama Hurricanes in Mississippi Hurricanes in Georgia (U.S. state) Hurricanes in North Carolina Hurricanes in Tennessee Hurricanes in Indiana Hurricanes in New York (state) Hurricanes in Michigan Tropical Storm Arlene Tropical Storm Arlene June 2005 in North America Arlene