Tropical Storm Matthew was a weak tropical storm in the

2004 Atlantic hurricane season The 2004 Atlantic hurricane season was a very deadly, destructive, and extremely active Atlantic hurricane season, with over 3,200 deaths and more than $61 billion (2004 USD, $95.77 billion 2022 USD) in damage. More than half of the 1 ...

that made

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 ...

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a U.S. state, state in the Deep South and South Central United States, South Central regions of the United States. It is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 20th-smal ...

. It was the thirteenth tropical storm of the season and the ninth to affect the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

. It formed over the western

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico ( es, Golfo de México) is an ocean basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, largely surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United S ...

on October 8 and struck south-central Louisiana two days later. The combination of the storm and an upper cyclone over the southern Plains brought heavy rains to much of the

Gulf Coast The Gulf Coast of the United States, also known as the Gulf South, 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 Texas, Louisiana, Missis ...

, with the highest amounts reported over in northern Louisiana. Damage was minimal, totaling $305,000 (2004 USD), and no casualties were reported.

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 in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

on September 19. The wave moved westward, but was difficult to track due to its proximity to Hurricane Lisa and another large tropical wave. It passed through the

Lesser Antilles The Lesser Antilles ( es, link=no, Antillas Menores; french: link=no, Petites Antilles; pap, Antias Menor; nl, Kleine Antillen) are a group of islands in the Caribbean Sea. Most of them are part of a long, partially volcanic island arc bet ...

, and slowly organized as convection increased due to an upper-level low. On October 5, it entered the

, and developed an area of low pressure two days later. The system continued to organize, and on October 8, after developing a circulation, it developed into Tropical Depression Fourteen while located to the southeast of Brownsville, Texas. The depression moved to the east-northeast, and quickly strengthened into Tropical Storm Matthew. Operationally, Matthew fluctuated between tropical depression and tropical storm status, but in post-season analysis, the storm remained a tropical storm. The storm turned to the northeast while moving around the periphery of a high pressure system over

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

, and attained a peak intensity of on October 9. Strong wind shear limited further strengthening, and on October 10, Matthew struck Cocodrie, Louisiana as a minimal tropical storm. It became an extratropical cyclone, occluding near the time of landfall. After it merged with the system, the storm moved inland over

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the ...

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to ...

and the

Ohio Valley The Ohio River is a long river in the United States. It is located at the boundary of the Midwestern and Southern United States, flowing southwesterly from western Pennsylvania to its mouth on the Mississippi River at the southern tip of Illino ...

. While moving inland, Matthew spun off another low pressure system that formed over

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia a ...

on October 13. The low moved off the Mid-Atlantic coast before hitting

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

two days later, and later merged with the original low pressure system of Matthew.

Preparations

Initially, 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 Prime Meridian and the 140th meridian west poleward to the 3 ...

predicted that Matthew would take a more eastern track and hit the

Florida Panhandle The Florida Panhandle (also West Florida and Northwest Florida) is the northwestern part of the U.S. state of Florida; it is a salient roughly long and wide, lying between Alabama on the north and the west, Georgia on the north, and the G ...

. Because the track shifted westward, the National Hurricane Center issued a Tropical Storm Warning from the

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, a ...

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = " Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County , LargestMetro = Greater Birmingham , area_total_km2 = 135,7 ...

border to Intracoastal City, Louisiana on the day before landfall.

Impact

Though damage was minor throughout its path, Matthew dropped moderate to heavy rainfall across much of the Gulf Coast, peaking at over in portions of

Louisiana

Upon making landfall, Matthew caused a storm surge of up to in Frenier, Louisiana. The storm surge and waves resulted in significant beach erosion in Grand Isle. Matthew produced heavy rainfall across its path, totaling to in Reserve in the southeastern portion of the state. Portions of northwestern Louisiana experienced significant rainfall, including a peak of in Haynesville near the Louisiana/

border. In addition, Matthew spawned one tornado, causing damage to the roof of a trailer in

Golden Meadow Golden Meadow french: Canal Yankee is a town along Bayou Lafourche in Lafourche Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 1,761 in 2020. It is part of the Houma– Bayou Cane–Thibodaux metropolitan statistical area. Its mai ...

. The rainfall also caused rivers to crest higher than normal, including the Killian River which peaked at . Rainfall and storm surge flooded 20 homes in Terrebonne Parish. In addition, several homes in Lafouche Parish experienced flooding, including two with over two feet of water. Numerous homes in Golden Meadow experienced flooding, as well. The flooding also forced the temporary closing of numerous roads across the state, including portions of U.S. Route 11 and

Interstate 10 Interstate 10 (I-10) is the southernmost cross-country highway in the American Interstate Highway System. I-10 is the fourth-longest Interstate in the United States at , following I-90, I-80, and I-40. This freeway is part of the originally ...

. Flood waters from the storm cracked a water line in

LaPlace Pierre-Simon, marquis de Laplace (; ; 23 March 1749 – 5 March 1827) was a French scholar and polymath whose work was important to the development of engineering, mathematics, statistics, physics, astronomy, and philosophy. He summariz ...

, leaving nearly 30,000 residents and many businesses without tap water. The problem was expected to take little time to fix, though residents were advised to boil the water before drinking it. Matthew also left 2,500 people without power for a short period of time. The storm's impact also closed several schools, forcing school administrators to reschedule plans for making up school closings caused by

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

one month earlier. In all, Matthew caused no deaths and $255,000 in damage (2004 USD).

Elsewhere

As the storm made landfall, the outer-bands of Matthew brought heavy rains in

. The rain was reported as far south as

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

. In

Pensacola Pensacola () is the westernmost city in the Florida Panhandle, and the county seat and only incorporated city of Escambia County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 54,312. Pensacola is the principal ...

, gusts were reported, as well rainfall totaling up to . In

, wind gusts peaked at at

Dauphin Island Dauphin Island is an island town in Mobile County, Alabama, United States, on a barrier island of the same name, in the Gulf of Mexico. It incorporated in 1988. The population was 1,778 at the 2020 census, up from 1,238 at the 2010 census. T ...

. The storm produced light rainfall across the state, totaling to at Grand Bay. In addition, Matthew produced tides of above normal, causing minor to major beach erosion. The beach erosion, which typically would have been minor for a weak storm, was greater than expected due to the passage of

just weeks before. No major damage was reported in Alabama. In

Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Mis ...

, winds gusts peaked at with sustained winds of in Waveland. Storm surge ranged from along much of the coastline, though Waveland reported a peak of . Rainfall totals were mainly between . Damage in Mississippi totaled to $50,000 (2004 USD). Matthew produced moderate rainfall on its west side, as well. Portions of

and Oklahoma experienced over of rain, while southern

received over of rainfall. The rainfall was well-received due to a period of dry weather in the area. Though it slowed harvest activities, it aided pastures. Rainfall patches left in Matthew's reached as far north as Northeastern Ohio.

References

External links

Matthew's Tropical Cyclone Report

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Matthew Matthew may refer to: * Matthew (given name) * Matthew (surname) * ''Matthew'' (ship), the replica of the ship sailed by John Cabot in 1497 * ''Matthew'' (album), a 2000 album by rapper Kool Keith * Matthew (elm cultivar), a cultivar of the Chi ...

Matthew (2004) Matthew (2004) Matthew (2004) Matthew (2004) Matthew (2004) Matthew (2004) Matthew (2004) Matthew (2004) 2004 natural disasters in the United States