Hurricane Henri (2039)

Hurricane Henri was the first major hurricane in history to make landfall in the Azores. Henri developed from a subtropical low of non-tropical origin, and underwent a brief period of rapid deepening as it approached the Azores Island of São Miguel.

Meteorological History
On August 3, just 18 hours before genesis occurred, the NHC began monitoring an area of thunderstorms and cloudiness. The next day, the low developed a tight, well-defined circulation, and convection began to increase in the northeastern quadrant of the cyclone. It is estimated that Subtropical Depression Eight formed at 18:00 UTC August 4. Twelve hours later, the subtropical depression strengthened into Subtropical Storm Henri. Henri was initially expected to fall well short of hurricane strength due to waters being marginally favorable (around ). However, these sea surface temperatures were well above the long-term average. Convection increased markedly early on August 6 near the center, signaling Henri's transition into a tropical cyclone.

Just after turning tropical, Henri developed an eye feature and began to undergo rapid intensification. 6 hours after tropical transition, Henri strengthened into a hurricane at 12:00 UTC on August 6. The hurricane was able to strengthen over marginally warm sea surface temperatures because of unusually high instability and the passage of a Madden-Julian Oscillation (MJO) which pronounced anomalous rising motion. Henri acquired its peak intensity at 06:00 UTC on August 7 while located just southwest of Sao Miguel Island. Henri made landfall directly over the island at this intensity. After passing through the Azores, increasing wind shear and cooling sea surface temperatures caused Henri to enter a rapid weakening phase. Just 6 hours after peak, Henri dropped to category 1 status. Henri fell below hurricane intensity at 00:00 UTC on August 8 as convection diminished and its circulation became exposed. By 12:00 UTC that day, Henri degenerated into a remnant low as the cyclone had become completely devoid of any deep convection. The remnant low then opened up into a trough around 06:00 UTC on August 9.

Impact
Henri was the deadliest and most destructive hurricane in Azores history, causing a total of 26 fatalities and $1.2 billion in damage. As a result, the name Henri was retired in April 2040, and replaced with Harry for the 2045 season.