Hurricane Colin

Hurricane Colin was the strongest Atlantic tropical cyclone ever recorded in the Main Development Region (MDR) of the satellite era.

Meteorological History
A tropical wave exited the coast of western Africa on August 12, with a broad moisture envelope. The wave that spawned Colin was not well predicted by global computer models, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) did not mention it into their Tropical Weather Outlook (TWO) until August 13. That day, the wave began to become better organized, with deep convection consolidating around a developing low pressure area. Early on August 14, the low pressure system began developing banding features, and it developed into Tropical Depression Three at 12:00 UTC on August 14, while located south of the Cabo Verde Islands.

Six hours after formation, the depression was upgraded to Tropical Storm Colin. The NHC in their intensity forecast said that "conditions could support an unusual episode of rapid intensification in the deep tropics in a few days." This was due to near-zero deep-layer and mid-level shear values, mid-level relative humidity values of over 75%, and abnormally warm sea surface temperatures of. Colin initially struggled to strengthen much due to some light easterly shear, but this shear subsided by August 16 when microwave passes confirmed the development of a mid-level eye feature.