Difference between revisions of "Hurricane Sandra"

Revision as of 05:48, 4 June 2006

Hurricane Sandra was a rare Category 5 hurricane and the deadliest storm of 2139 anywhere in The Heartland. Sandra was the fourth named system of 2139 (when naming of tropical depressions was still common, Tropical Depression Pete was named earlier in the season), and the second named storm within the then-Liverpool England Meterological Service Cyclone Prediction Centre's new expanded area of responsibility (before the new Hurricane Prediction Centre took full control of naming and advising on storms in 2140).

Sandra made landfall as a Category 1 hurricane on Laudo Deo, causing at least 36 deaths, and at least L£1.5 billion in damage (preliminary estimates).

Storm history

Hurricane Sandra began life as Tropical Depression Two (despite the designation, there had been three other earlier depressions in the season — Pete, Queta and Ralph) south of The South Packerlands and east of Laudo Deo on the morning of April 18, 2139^[1]. Within the first two advisories, Tropical Depresison Four had strengthened into Tropical Storm Sandra, and tropical storm watches had been issued for the FN Fortress of Spero Noei, which was the southeasternmost land mass within the area of responsibility then. Sandra then started speeding up while it moved eastwards.

It reached hurricane strength in Advisory 3 (9 p.m. local time the same day it formed), becoming the first ever hurricane in the new AOR. It strengthened quickly overnight, reaching Category 3 strength 12 hours later. However, due to legal limitations, the potentially deadly storm, which had already claimed one life while crossing the FN Sea Fortress (which the LECPC did not designate as a landfall^[2]), was not allowed to be advised on once it had left the AOR, which it did two and a half hours after Advisory 4. The effect of land was quite significant, as it turned Sandra towards the southwest, and towards the edge of the AOR.

By the time it had left the AOR, it had become a Category 4 hurricane, packing sustained winds of 115 knots (215 km/h or 135 mph). In place of advisories, the MSCPC issued products it called "discussions" on Sandra while the storm was outside the MSCPC's jurisdiction. The first-ever discussion released was the first advisory to warn that Sandra had the potential to become a Category 5 hurricane, noting that "the prediction models all estimate for Sandra to possibly reach an extremely rare Category 5 strength."^[3]

Hurricane Sandra as a Category 4 hurricane shortly before leaving the AOR.

Sandra stayed outside the AOR for a total of 49.5 hours over two spells (broken in-between by a three-hour spell back inside the AOR during which no advisories were issued), and as predicted by the MSCPC in Discussion 2, Sandra re-entered the AOR right on cue as a 140-knot Category 5 hurricane.

By now, the hurricane was moving northwestwards while south of Miramar, Laudo Deo, and was predicted to weaken as it crossed over cooler waters it had previously crossed which caused the water temperatures to drop.^[4] However, as evidenced in an intermediate advisory released by the MSCPC at 8 p.m. local time April 21^[1], the prediction had failed to come true as Sandra strengthened further. However, the MSCPC mantained in this advisory that Sandra would start to weaken^[5].

Again, this failed to materialise, and in Advisory 5B, released at 12 a.m. local time April 22^[1], the storm reached its peak of 150 knots and a minimum pressure of 900 hPa.^[6] Over the next few advisories, Sandra repeatedly weakened and strengthened, briefly being a Category 4 hurricane before re-attaining Category 5 hurricane strength.

However, as the cold waters finally set in, Hurricane Sandra began a period of rapid weakening, weakening to a Category 1 hurricane just before making landfall, southwest of Miramar. The storm dissipated over land, thus ending its life as the strongest-ever storm on record in the AOR.

Notes and References

¹Liverpool England time.
²Hurricane Sandra Bulletin Advisory 004, Liverpool England Met Service Cyclone Prediction Centre.
³Hurricane Sandra Discussion Advisory 001, Liverpool England Met Service Cyclone Prediction Centre.
⁴Hurricane Sandra Bulletin Advisory 005, Liverpool England Met Service Cyclone Prediction Centre.
⁵Hurricane Sandra Intermediate Bulletin Advisory 005A, Liverpool England Met Service Cyclone Prediction Centre.
⁶Hurricane Sandra Intermediate Bulletin Advisory 005B (Mistitled heading) , Liverpool England Met Service Cyclone Prediction Centre.