Sunday, November 30, 2008

Hurricane Paloma (2008)

Storm Active: November 5-10

A system in the extreme southern Caribbean Sea slowly strengthened and organized on November 3. On November 5, the system became Tropical Depression Seventeen. After skirting the coast of Central America, the system became Tropical Storm Paloma, the fourth "P" storm ever used in the Atlantic. By the evening of the next day, October 6, the system had become the eighth hurricane this season. Hurricane Paloma continued to move generally northward and strengthen until passing over the Caymen Islands as a Category 4 hurricane. Shortly after, Hurricane Paloma reached its peak intensity of 145 mph and a pressure of 940 millibars making it the second strongest November storm on record in the Atlantic. On November 8, after weakening to a Category 3, Paloma made landfall in Cuba. It rapidly weakened into a tropical storm the next day and by late November 10, the system had become a low. The low survived for three more days before dissipating in the Gulf of Mexico on November 13.

Image not available. For an image, see here.

No comments: