Tropical Storm Earl caused minor damage in the

Windward Islands The Windward Islands are the southern, generally larger islands of the Lesser Antilles of the Caribbean islands or the West Indies. Located approximately between latitudes 10° and 16° N and longitudes 60° and 62° W, they extend from D ...

in mid-August 2004. The fifth

tropical cyclone 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 locat ...

and

named storm Tropical cyclones and subtropical cyclones are named by various warning centers to simplify communication between forecasters and the general public regarding forecasts, watches and warnings. The names are intended to reduce confusion in the ...

of the annual hurricane season, Earl developed on August 13 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 ...

centered well 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 ...

. The depression gradually organized as it tracked west-northwestward and was upgraded to Tropical Storm Earl roughly a day after genesis. As the system approached the Windward Islands it continued to slowly strengthen, peaking as a 50 mph (85 km/h) tropical storm early on August 15. However, the system unexpectedly degenerated into a tropical wave that afternoon, likely due to its fast forward motion. The remnants of Earl continued across 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 eventually re-developed into Hurricane Frank 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 ...

on August 23. Gusty winds in

Grenada Grenada is an island country of the West Indies in the eastern Caribbean Sea. The southernmost of the Windward Islands, Grenada is directly south of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and about north of Trinidad and Tobago, Trinidad and the So ...

damaged at least 34 roofs and knocked down twelve trees and six electrical poles. Additionally, a nursing home on the island was evacuated due to significant structural damage. Two houses lost their roofs in

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, sometimes known simply as Saint Vincent or SVG, is an island country in the eastern Caribbean. It is located in the southeast Windward Islands of the Lesser Antilles, which lie in the West Indies, at the south ...

, while moderate crop damage was reported on the island. Downed trees and power lines in

Tobago Tobago, officially the Ward of Tobago, is an List of islands of Trinidad and Tobago, island and Regions and municipalities of Trinidad and Tobago, ward within the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. It is located northeast of the larger islan ...

left 90% of the island without electricity. Overall, Earl was responsible for one fatality, nineteen missing, and an unknown amount of damage.

Meteorological history

The formation of Tropical Storm Earl is attributed to a low-latitude, vigorous

that emerged off the western coast of Africa and into the eastern Atlantic Ocean on August 10. As the disturbance moved towards the west, satellite imagery revealed a much better structure with much-improved banding features and fair upper-level outflow, leading to the formation of Tropical Depression Five at 1800 UTC on August 13, situated roughly 1000 mi (1610 km) east of the Lesser Antilles. The depression progressed rapidly towards the west-northwest the following day, embedded and under the influence of a deep easterly flow around the southern periphery of a

subtropical ridge The horse latitudes are the latitudes about 30 degrees north and south of the Equator. They are characterized by sunny skies, calm winds, and very little precipitation. They are also known as subtropical ridges or highs. It is a high-pressur ...

to the cyclone's north. A combination of improved banding features and satellite intensity estimates by the afternoon of August 14 led to the subsequent upgrade of the system to Tropical Storm Earl. At this time, the cyclone was situated about 325 mi (525 km/h) 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 ...

. Within an environment characterized by low

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 ...

, high atmospheric humidity, and warm

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, Earl intensified, reaching a peak intensity of 50 mph (85 km/h) by 0600 UTC on August 15. Initial forecasts from 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 ...

depicted gradual intensification into a powerful hurricane as the system entered the central Caribbean Sea, but these forecasts were lowered in later advisories. Despite an impressive satellite presentation associated with Earl as it passed through the southern Leeward Islands, a

hurricane hunter 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 ...

flight reported that the system no longer had a low-level circulation late on August 15. As a result, the NHC discontinued advisories on the system and declared it an open tropical wave. While not entirely sure, it is suspected that the fast motion of the cyclone attributed to its dissipation. The remnant wave eventually entered the eastern Pacific Ocean, developing into Hurricane Frank by August 23.

Preparations, impact, and aftermath

Following the development of Tropical Storm Earl, tropical storm watches were issued for Barbados,

St. Vincent Saint Vincent may refer to: People Saints * Vincent of Saragossa (died 304), a.k.a. Vincent the Deacon, deacon and martyr * Saint Vincenca, 3rd century Roman martyress, whose relics are in Blato, Croatia * Vincent, Orontius, and Victor (died 305 ...

, and

St. 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 ...

. This watch was modified to a tropical storm warning by August 14 at 2100 UTC, with the addition of the islands of the

Grenadines The Grenadines () is a chain of small islands that lie on a line between the larger islands of Saint Vincent and Grenada in the Lesser Antilles. Nine are inhabited and open to the public (or ten, if the offshore island of Young Island is counted ...

Trinidad Trinidad is the larger, more populous island of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, the country. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is the southernmost island in ...

, and

. The tropical storm warning for Barbados was changed to a tropical storm watch the following day at 1200 UTC, and all tropical cyclone watches and warnings were discontinued by 1800 UTC. In preparation of the storm, several hundred people in Grenada evacuated from low-lying areas to schools set up as shelters. Shopkeepers boarded windows, while airports were temporarily shut down across the Leeward Islands. Initial forecasts predicted that Earl would strengthen considerably into a hurricane and head towards

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

once in the Caribbean Sea, a state already impacted heavily earlier in the month by

Hurricane Charley Hurricane Charley was the first of four separate hurricanes to impact or strike Florida during 2004, along with Frances, Ivan and Jeanne, as well as one of the strongest hurricanes ever to strike the United States. It was the third named sto ...

. The local officials urged residents to exercise caution, but not panic due to the large errors in long-range forecasts. These warnings eased upon the system's degeneration into an open tropical wave. In Grenada, Earl produced heavy rains and strong winds that caused moderate damage. On the main island, roofs were blown off twelve homes while three others were partially damaged; twelve trees and six power poles were also knocked down by the winds. The heavy rain associated with the tropical storm triggered nine mudslides and three rockslides on the island. Nearby, six homes had their roofs completely blown off while thirteen others were damaged. Flooding was also reported on both islands; however, no known damage resulted from them. During the storm, a nursing home had to be evacuated due to significant damage to the structure. On

St Vincent and the Grenadines Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, sometimes known simply as Saint Vincent or SVG, is an island country in the eastern Caribbean. It is located in the southeast Windward Islands of the Lesser Antilles, which lie in the West Indies, at the south ...

, at least two homes had their roofs blown off and banana crops sustained moderate damage. In

, numerous trees and power lines were downed throughout the island, cutting power to 90% of the island. The highest surface sustained winds in relation to Earl occurred on the morning of August 15 in Barbados and St. Lucia; winds were reported at 35 mph (55 km/h). One person was killed by the storm and nineteen others were listed as missing. Following the storm, Grenada requested assistance from the United States Agency of International Development. Local crews worked quickly to cover broken roofs and repair other structural damage. The National Emergency Relief organization were sought for assistance.

References

{{2004 Atlantic hurricane season buttons

Earl Earl () is a rank of the nobility in the United Kingdom. In modern Britain, an earl is a member of the Peerages in the United Kingdom, peerage, ranking below a marquess and above a viscount. A feminine form of ''earl'' never developed; instead, ...

Earl (2004) Earl (2004) 2004 in Grenada

Meteorological history

Preparations, impact, and aftermath

See also

References