Tropical Storm Hermine was the eighth named storm of the 2004 Atlantic hurricane season. Hermine formed on August 27 to the south of Bermuda. Hermine moved west-northwest, then took a turn to the north and made landfall near New Bedford, Massachusetts early on August 31 as a minimal tropical storm with winds of 40 mph. Hermine quickly became an extratropical cyclone after landfall. Hermine made landfall on the 50th anniversary of Hurricane Carol's destructive New England landfall.
Hermine caused no damage and no fatalities.
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| Formation | August 27, 2004 |
|---|---|
| Dissipation | August 31, 2004 |
| Highest winds | 60 mph |
| Lowest pressure | 1002 mbar |
| Deaths | None reported |
| Damages | Unknown |
| Areas affected | Massachusetts, New Brunswick |
| Part of the | 2004 Atlantic hurricane season |
Meteorological History[]
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Hermine developed from a nearly stationary frontal zone over the subtropical Atlantic Ocean, the same frontal system that spawned Hurricane Gaston. On August 25, satellite imagery revealed that cloudiness and showers began to increase along the front south of Bermuda. The activity became detached from the front and began to show evidence of a cyclonic circulation at the mid-levels of the atmosphere on August 26. The next day, visible satellite imagery suggested that a weak surface circulation developed within the area of disturbed weather, and it is estimated that the system developed into Tropical Depression Eight at 1800 UTC August 27 while located about 200 miles south of Bermuda. After forming, the depression's convection fluctuated during the following couple of days as the depression moved west-northwest, but the overall organization of the cyclone increased. At 1200 UTC August 29, the depression strengthened into Tropical Storm Hermine. At 0600 UTC August 30, Hermine reached its peak intensity of 60 mph with a pressure of 1002 mb. Hermine turned to the north and began to gradually weaken due to increased northerly vertical wind shear caused by the outflow of Gaston, which was located over the eastern United States. The low-level circulation center became removed from the deep convection, and Hermine continued northward and made landfall near New Bedford, Massachusetts as a minimal tropical storm with winds of 40 mph at 0600 UTC August 31.
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Hermine with most of the deep convection removed from the center.
Thereafter, Hermine continued northward, weakened rapidly to a tropical depression, and started the transition into an extratropical cyclone. Hermine became absorbed by a frontal zone at 1800 UTC that same day.
Impact[]
Hermine produced moderate to heavy rainfall as well as thunderstorms over Long Island and eastern portions of New England, but most people did not realize a tropical storm had struck. A few rainbands accompanied by heavy rains and tropical storm force wind gusts were recorded over eastern Massachusetts, although there were no reports of sustained tropical storm force winds in the state from Hermine. Rainfall over Cape Cod and adjacent islands was mostly less than a half an inch. However, rainbands from Hurricane Gaston began to spread over the same area shortly after Hermine exited Cape Cod, which made it difficult to separate the rainfall amounts from these two storms.
Hermine caused no casualties or damage, although it did cause locally heavy rain over portions of southern New Brunswick, which picked up around 2 inches of rain. Minor basement flooding and street closures were reported in Moncton, New Brunswick.
Lack of Retirement[]
Because of the very minimal damage, the name Hermine was not retired in the Spring of 2005 by the World Meteorological Organization. It is on the list of names to be used for the 2010 Atlantic hurricane season.
See Also[]
2004 Atlantic hurricane season
References[]
http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/2004hermine.shtml
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tropical_Storm_Hermine_%282004%29