Tropical Storm Chantal was a significant

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 ...

that brought strong winds and heavy rainfall to 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 ...

and

Hispaniola Hispaniola (, also ) is an island between Geography of Cuba, Cuba and Geography of Puerto Rico, Puerto Rico in the Greater Antilles of the Caribbean. Hispaniola is the most populous island in the West Indies, and the second-largest by List of C ...

in July 2013. The third tropical depression, and the third tropical storm of the

2013 Atlantic hurricane season The 2013 Atlantic hurricane season was a well below average Atlantic hurricane season in terms of the number of hurricanes. It was the first since 1994 with no major hurricanes, Category 3 or higher on the Saffir–Simpson scale, and the ...

, Chantal originated 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 ...

off the coast of Africa on July 4. By July 7, the wave had strengthened into a tropical storm, and had been named ''Chantal''. On July 8 and 9, Chantal was speeding into a highly sheared area, however, Chantal later reached a peak intensity of and a pressure of . By July 10, an aircraft flew into the system and could not find a well-defined center and on July 12, it degenerated into an open wave. Overall, the storm caused at least $10 million (2013

USD The United States dollar (symbol: $; currency code: USD) is the official currency of the United States and several other countries. The Coinage Act of 1792 introduced the U.S. dollar at par with the Spanish silver dollar, divided it int ...

) in damage. Minimal damage from the storm was reported in the Dominican Republic and the Lesser Antilles, and one person was killed.

Meteorological history

A large tropical wave moved off the west 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 July 4. By July 5, the storm produced a small but distinct cyclonic circulation around several hundred miles south of the

Cape Verde Islands 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 ...

. On July 6, a

kelvin wave A Kelvin wave is a wave in the ocean, a large lake or the atmosphere that balances the Earth's Coriolis force against a topographic boundary such as a coastline, or a waveguide such as the equator. A feature of a Kelvin wave is that it is non-d ...

had passed through the surrounding environment, resulting in favorable atmospheric conditions for the tropical wave. At around 12:00

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 ...

on July 7, the wave had strengthened into a tropical storm, and was named ''Chantal'' by 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 ...

while having winds of and a pressure of . Most of the tropical storm force-winds were in a small area in the north-eastern quadrant of the storm. Chantal then rapidly moved to the south of a strong subtropical ridge, exposing the northern or north-eastern side of the center because of

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 ...

. Despite this, the wind shear was not strong enough to stop Chantal from strengthening. Late on July 8 and early on July 9, Chantal sped into an area with more wind shear, and the cloud pattern of the cyclone because disorganized. However, aircraft data and surface observations indicated that the storm reached a peak intensity of and a pressure of as it passed just south of Martinique. Chantal then moved into the Caribbean with a forward speed of around as the system became less organized. On July 10, an Air Force Reserve hurricane hunter aircraft flew into the system, and could not locate a circulation center, which may have been because the circulation was small and moving faster than expected.

Deep 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 ...

later diminished, especially north and east of the center, however, the storm started to re-develop just prior to 12:00 UTC on July 10. The next

aircraft An aircraft ( aircraft) is a vehicle that is able to flight, fly by gaining support from the Atmosphere of Earth, air. It counters the force of gravity by using either Buoyancy, static lift or the Lift (force), dynamic lift of an airfoil, or, i ...

that flew into the system found a center around south-southwest of

Santo Domingo Santo Domingo, formerly known as Santo Domingo de Guzmán, is the capital and largest city of the Dominican Republic and the List of metropolitan areas in the Caribbean, largest metropolitan area in the Caribbean by population. the Distrito Na ...

. Despite this, the cloud pattern was still disorganized, and the storm degenerated into an open wave as it continued to move closer to Hispaniola late that morning. The remnants then moved north-west over eastern Cuba, before tracking over the south, central, and northern

Bahamas The Bahamas, officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an archipelagic and island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the Atlantic Ocean. It contains 97 per cent of the archipelago's land area and 88 per cent of its population. ...

on July 12. The remnants later became untrackable over the western

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 ...

, to the northeast of the Bahamas.

Preparations and impacts

Tropical storm warnings and watches were placed over many islands in the eastern Caribbean in preparation for the storm.

Carnival Cruise Line Carnival Cruise Line is an international cruise line with headquarters in Doral, Florida. The company is a subsidiary of Carnival Corporation & plc. Its logo is a funnel (ship), funnel shaped like a whale's tail, with a red, white, and blue colo ...

would change the itineraries of two cruises threatened by the storm. Damage was estimated by Aon Benfield Inc. at $10 million (2013 USD).

Lesser Antilles

Around of rainfall was expected in most areas, while some areas expected up to of rainfall. Up to of storm surge was also expected in some areas. In

Dominica Dominica, officially the Commonwealth of Dominica, is an island country in the Caribbean. It is part of the Windward Islands chain in the Lesser Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean Sea. The capital, Roseau, is located on the western side of t ...

, airports and the countries ferry service were closed down, while in

Saint Lucia Saint Lucia is an island country of the West Indies in the eastern Caribbean. Part of the Windward Islands of the Lesser Antilles, it is located north/northeast of the island of Saint Vincent (Saint Vincent and the Grenadines), Saint Vincent ...

, two airports shut down and the government ordered all schools a midday closure, not opening up until the next day. Government offices and businesses in

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 ...

were shut down as the storm approached. On

Martinique Martinique ( ; or ; Kalinago language, Kalinago: or ) is an island in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the eastern Caribbean Sea. It was previously known as Iguanacaera which translates to iguana island in Carib language, Kariʼn ...

, a peak wind gust of was reported. Numerous homes had their roofs torn off in Dominica. Multiple parts of Dominica were left without power after the storm passed through. Winds gusts of up to would lash the island, while just of rain would fall on the island. Citizens on the island of St. Lucia were urged to stay inside and not venture out as reports of fallen power lines came out.

Greater Antilles

A tropical storm warning was issued for most of the coast of

as well as

Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...

, while a hurricane watch was issued from Barahona to Samana. In

Yauco Yauco () is a town and municipality in southern Puerto Rico. Although the downtown is inland, the municipality stretches to a southern coast facing the Caribbean Sea. Yauco is located south of Maricao, Lares and Adjuntas; east of Sabana Grande ...

, 17 roads were closed as a preventive measure against landslides. Nearby, in Cabo Rojo, crews cleared branches and debris out of storm drains to stop blockages and flooding.Up to of rain was expected in

Haiti Haiti, officially the Republic of Haiti, is a country on the island of Hispaniola in the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and south of the Bahamas. It occupies the western three-eighths of the island, which it shares with the Dominican ...

, threatening regions still recovering from the

2010 Haiti earthquake The 2010 Haiti earthquake was a catastrophic Moment magnitude scale, magnitude 7.0 Mw earthquake that struck Haiti at 16:53 local time (21:53 UTC) on Tuesday, 12 January 2010. The epicenter was near the town of Léogâne, Ouest (departm ...

. Chantal produced a 2–4-foot (0.6–1.2 meter) storm surge in the Dominican Republic, accompanied by dangerous waves. A firefighter in

Maimón Maimón is a town in the Monseñor Nouel province of the Dominican Republic. Maimón is situated between Maimón river, La Leonora river, Yuna river and Zinc river, formed by a little valley and mountains in his sides. The colonies that were est ...

was killed as he was swept away by floodwaters while attempting to clear a clogged storm drain. A peak wind gust of was reported in Puerto Rico. Multiple roads were closed due to fallen trees and power lines.

References

External links

{{2013 Atlantic hurricane season buttons

Chantal Chantal (, , ) is a feminine given name of French origin. The name Chantal can be traced back to the Old Occitan word , meaning "stone". It came into popular use as a given name in honor of the Catholic saint, Jeanne de Chantal. It may also be s ...