2017 Atlantic Hurricane Season (Brickcraft1)

Tropical Storm Arlene
A low pressure system moved off the Florida Peninsula on April 5. It moved over the Gulf Stream, which had extremely warm waters for that time of year. No tropical development was expected from this system, so the NHC didn't even mention the system. It passed over Grand Bahama, bringing flooding rains there. This is where it started to show some tropical development. However, the NHC still didn't note the system. However, when it had a small burst of convection, the NHC noted it on their Tropical Weather Discussion. However, the low transitioned into a tropical wave, and the NHC gave it a near 0% chance of development, due to the rarity of this event. The wave had now moved north of the Bahamas and had moved northeast, and was starting to curve northwest. On April 6, it became even more organized, and chances of development were upped a slight bit. It moved into the warmest waters of the gulf stream, and it became better organized, and chances of development were upped to medium. Recon was even scheduled to investigate the system, due to its potential impact on the U.S. It continued to organize overnight, and chances were upped to 60%. Recon flew out right before dawn, and arrived in the system at about 7 AM EDT. At this point, chances of development were upped to high. What recon discovered was shocking. They found a tropical depression. Advisories were initiated on Tropical Depression One on April 7. The fact that it formed fully Tropical was also shocking. One was moving northeast, after forming near the southeast Georgia coast.

The NHC predicted it to become a weak tropical storm, after the forecasting disaster of Tropical Storm Walter just a few months earlier, they'd rather be safe than sorry. However, One was intensifying quicker than expected, with recon discovering tropical storm force winds early in the evening. At 9 PM EDT, a special advisory was issued on Tropical Storm Arlene. Arlene was causing rough surf along the coasts of Georgia, South and North Carolina. It was also causing rain in coastal South Carolina. Tropical Storm Warnings were issued from Charleston to Cape Hatteras during Arlene's approach. Arlene continued to intensify under unusually favorable conditions. It's outer bands moved further on shore, and started causing inland flooding. On April 8, Arlene was very close to Wilmington, causing some heavy rain and gusty winds there. Arlene was approaching its peak intensity. Storm Surge even started to occur in some areas. At about noon that day, Arlene hit its peak of 60 mph, tying Tropical Storm Ana of 2003. It approached landfall in coastal North Carolina. It maintained its peak as it headed towards landfall late night. Several rescues were being conducted due to the flooding. Rain poured and strong winds knocked out power to several areas. Flooding was major concern in these areas, as well as storm surge, which was forecast to be up to six feet. Residents in Atlantic Beach were told to prepare for the worst part of the storm. As it got dark, Arlene became even more dangerous. At about 11:54 PM EDT, Arlene made landfall in Atlantic Beach, North Carolina, slamming it with heavy rains, and wind that put most of the city into a blackout. Storm Surge flooded some beach front homes, and flash flooding occurred on roads, catching unsuspecting drivers off guard. Trees fell as well, crushing some roofs. Debris smashed windows open. Arlene began to rapidly weaken the further north it went. It weakened rapidly due to cold air. In Atlantic Beach 127 Rescues were reported. As it moved inland and into Virginia, it started to loose its convection. It was declared a remnant low near Richmond and Norfolk.

Arlene was the first April Tropical Storm since 2003. Arlene also caused some moderate damage, with totals adding to $100 Million. Arlene killed 5 people, all due to cars being washed away in flash flooding. Arlene was not retired, and is expected to be used in 2023.

Tropical Depression Two
A low pressure system moved off of South America, (Columbia) on May 25. It moved into a cold Caribbean Sea, including shear. So, the low pressure was not expected to become tropical. It was moving northwest slowly through the ocean. It headed towards the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico. On May 26, it moved over warmer waters near the Yucatan Peninsula. It was first noted for tropical development here, right before it moved onshore the Yucatan Peninsula. It caused severe weather and flash flooding in this area. Homes were flooded with torrents of water. It even caused a tornado outbreak. It caused roof damage in houses, and broke windows. On May 27, the low pressure system moved over an unusually favorable Bay of Campeche. It began to have bursts of Convection, and chances of development were upped. As it developed further, surf picked up across the Mexican Coastline. Recon was scheduled for that afternoon. When recon flew in, they found it had become a tropical wave, but it was very weak. The chances of development were upped to medium. The wave was becoming even better organized. On May 28, recon was flown out again, and this time, they found a tropical depression had developed, and an advisory was issued on Tropical Depression Two. Two was moving west, towards Mexico. However, the depression has become less organized. Tropical Storm Watches were issued from Tampico to Veracruz, as it had a huge size.

The new tropical depression was forecast to become a weak tropical storm before making landfall. However, the weak system had trouble strengthening. It was causing sporadic rain throughout the Mexican Coastline, and as well as Southern Texas. It quickly approached landfall in Mexico, and rough surf had killed a person in approach. Hillsides began as rain poured on Mexico. It seemed more and more likely it was not going to strengthen, and the watches were discontinued. Just 5 hours later, at 11:48 PM CDT, Two made landfall south of Tampico. As it moved inland, it caused moderate flooding. Land quickly began to weaken Two on May 29, and when it moved over the mountains, it started to be ripped apart. It lost nearly all convection, and some areas began to see sunshine. Rain was nothing but a light shower. At 10:00 AM CST, Two was declared a remnant low. Two was not very destructive. It caused 2 deaths, and cost $1 Million dollars in damages.

Tropical Storm Bret
A weak tropical wave developed in the Caribbean Sea on June 7, south of Puerto Rico. The wave moved over Puerto Rico that day, causing a massive flooding event, and government offices shut down. Several homes were flooded, as well as streets and cities. The wave also spawned 3 confirmed tornadoes, each EF0. It began to turn northwest, and was first noted for tropical development here. On June 8, it crossed north of Hispaniola, which started to tear the south side of the wave. The wave was dropped from the Tropical Weather Outlook (TWO). However, it started to redevelop as it moved away from Hispaniola. It moved into the southern Bahamas, and was put on the TWO again. However, it was not expected to develop until moving into the Gulf of Mexico. On June 9, reports of tornadoes came in from the Bahamas. It was causing a massive outbreak there. The strongest was an EF3 that stayed offshore as a waterspout. It suddenly dived south again, and moved close to Cuba, her before turning northwest, and paralleled Cuba. Florida experienced severe weather, with strong winds knocking out power to some parts of the island. At this point, it was given a high chance of development. It passed over the Florida Keys on June 10. It brought several waterspouts there, however, none moved onshore. Hurricane Hunters were scheduled to fly in the storm on June 11, and that day, they flew in at 9:00 AM, and just minutes later, discovered a tropical depression. A special advisory was issued on Tropical Depression Three at 10:00 AM EDT. Three was spreading rain across northwestern Cuba and Southwest Florida. Three was moving northwest.

Three was expected to curve into the Florida Panhandle, so Tropical Storm Warnings were issued there. It moved further away from Cuba, and late in the day, it was upgraded to Tropical Storm Bret. Bret was about to turn north, and as it was doing this, rip currents occurred on the Panhandle, which caused Red Flags to go up on beaches. On June 12, Bret was almost moving due north, but was moving slightly westerly as well. Bret was causing rough surf. A cruise ship was in the path of Bret, it was making a trip from Pensacola to San Juan. It was not cancelled, however, as they expected it to be weak. However, Bret had winds of 50 mph at this point. The cruise ship was battered with waves as tall as 14 feet, and several people were injured by being tossed around. The cruise was forced to make an emergency docking at Tampa. Bret was getting even stronger, and some models made it a hurricane. On June 13, beaches closed as it was approaching the Florida/Alabama border. It was approaching hurricane status, and hurricane watches were even posted for the area. The first outer bands moved onshore, and storm surge rushed into Mobile Bay. Heavy rain caused flooding throughout that area, and had wins of 65 mph, and still had time to strengthen as it approached. Tornadoes spawned in the Florida Panhandle. In Pensacola, an EF1 tornado was reported to had hit the city, damaging homes. It strengthened to 70 mph before landfall at 11:23 CST in Alabama, near the Florida border.

Mobile was reporting near hurricane force as the center of Bret passed just to the east. Several trees fell, and power was out for the whole city. Extensive storm surge flooding was reported in the Mobile Bay area. On June 14, Bret began to weaken over land. It suddenly curved sharply northeast, and was moving over Alabama slowly, dumping several inches of rain. Birmingham was battered with flash flooding with downpours persisting most of the day. The storm was losing its structure, but managed to stay a tropical storm far inland, before weakening to a depression south of Birmingham, and the state capital of Montgomery was shut down due to extreme flooding. Bret spawned weak tornadoes as it moved through Alabama. It was losing some of its convection. One tornado knocked out power to 45% of Montgomery. Bret dropped 21 inches of rain in some areas on June 14, and on the 15, it picked up speed, and moved into Georgia while dissipating. It passed directly over Atlanta, causing flash flooding in that city. Finally, in South Carolina, Bret degenerated into a Remnant Low. Bret was a moderately destructive storm, causing some $165 Million dollars in damages, and killed 9 people. The name Bret was not retired, and will be used again in 2023.

Tropical Storm Cindy
A tropical disturbance developed in the Bahamas on about June 16. It was uncertain what it would do. The disturbance was causing harsh conditions in the Bahamas, as thunderstorms persisted throughout the day. 2 lightning fatalities were reported in the Bahamas, both due to people swimming in the ocean during a thunderstorm. Flooding also was reported, and down power poles after a reported tornado struck Nassau. The wave finally began to turn northeast. Here it was first noted for a low chance of development, but it suddenly began to rapidly increase in organization, and that chance was upped to medium. The wave continued to move northeast, but a high pressure system near Bermuda was expected to turn it southwest. On June 18, it began to become more organized, and was approaching Bermuda. The disturbance was causing rip currents throughout the East Coast of the United States. The Disturbance was forecast to pass Bermuda before curving southwest. On June 19, the disturbance passed to the west of Bermuda, bringing light showers there, and some gusty wind. It didn't move that far north before curving southwest, and here it was given a high chance of development. Suddenly, it came almost to a halt. It was over very warm water which let it organize more, and recon aircraft was scheduled to fly out the next morning. When recon flew out, they found tropical storm force winds, but no circulation. However, just hours later, a circulation developed, and the wave attained tropical storm status, receiving the name Cindy. Cindy began to move a little quicker. However, it had moved into colder water, and weakened to a tropical depression.

Tropical Depression Cindy continued southwest, stalling in strength almost. Cindy had scattered convection, sometimes having flared up and dying right back down. On the 21, Cindy became a Tropical storm again, and was moving in a more westerly direction, because it was curving. Cindy was moving rather fast, and hardly strengthening. It was encountering weak shear, which destroyed some of its convection. Cindy eventually moved over more favorable conditions in the Atlantic, and began to become more organized on late June 21. It started to produce strong rip currents on the east coast of the U.S. as it began to strengthen. On June 22, Cindy continued to strengthen, peaking as a 50 mph storm. It maintained that strength throughout the day. 1 person died in Virginia due to a rip current caused by Cindy. Many beaches told people not to swim, unless they were very experienced. People did not heed these warnings, and another fatality occured in North Carolina. The storm then began to encounter unfavorable conditions later that night, and began to loose its organization and strength. On June 23, it began to weaken quicker than the previous day. Cindy weakened to minimal tropical storm, and began to fluctuate in strength as it continued northeast, and was beginning to to turn extratropical. Rough surf could still be felt across the U.S. East coast, but as it weakened, this began to subside. It was still a tropical storm, but very quickly becoming extratropical. On June 24, Cindy began to start a huge increase and speed, and became extratropical shortly there after. Extratropical Cindy went on the affect Newfoundland as a weak extratropical cyclone. While tropical, Cindy caused no damage, and killed 2 people, due to rip currents. Cindy was not retired, and will be used again in 2023.

Tropical Storm Don
The origin of Don can be traced back to a tropical disturbance that had formed in the Bay of Campeche on June 26. The wave was originally noted for a small chance of development as it was expected to move east across the Gulf of Mexico. The Gulf of Mexico was favorable for development, but it remained unorganized. This is contributed to its speed as it moved across the Gulf of Mexico, as it was moving quite quickly. Several ships experienced high waters and strong winds as the disturbance passed over the Gulf, with a max wind gust of 44 mph. It approached Florida on June 27, and was expected to move into the Bahamas. It's five day development chances were upgraded to medium, before it moved into the Tampa Bay area. It caused very heavy tropical downpours in the region. The wave continued to cross Florida, with several tornadoes reported. The wave then moved off of Florida, leaving behind some damage, and moved into the Bahamas, where development seemed more likely. It was given a high chance of development as it crossed the northern Bahamas, causing flash flooding, and heavy downpours. The Grand Bahama reported as much as 11 inches of rain had fallen on the island. The wave then curved northeast, and began to almost stall. This caused a massive flooding event in parts of the Bahamas, shutting down schools and businesses as flood waters invaded cities and towns, and put a damper in the tourism industry. It began to develop more convection, which prompted hurricane hunters aircraft to go investigate the system early on June 29. They found that a closed circulation was beginning to form, and when they made a second round towards the center, they found a tropical depression. At 10 AM EDT, the first advisory was issued on Tropical Depression Five.

Five had curved northwest, and was beginning to strengthen quite quickly, becoming a tropical storm late in the day, after hurricane hunters aircraft confirmed. The tropical storm was named ''Don. ''Don looked to be on a course to hit South Carolina, and because of this, tropical storm warnings were raised for the entirety of the South Carolinan coast. Don had been causing rough surf on Florida, which killed one person. Don was moving at a quick rate, which meant preparations for Don had to bebe rushed, as it was expected to make landfall the next day. The quick rate at which Don was strengthening did not help the fact that panicked civilians were rushing to complete preparations. Don intensified to 50 mph at the end of the day, which was a 15 mph jump that day. On June 30, the storm was quickly approaching landfall. School was cancelled throughout the region, and government offices and businesses closed that day. The South Carolina governor issued a state of emergency for the entire state. Charleston was expected to experience major flooding. Don strengthened further to 60 mph, as the first outer bands affected the states. Heavy rains began to batter the state, and street flooding had already become a problem in Charleston. The mayor ordered everyone to stay inside their homes, as streets were being filled with water, as numerous flash floods began as a result of the relentless rain. The winds began to increase, and tree limbs began to snap. Tornado watches were issued throughout the region. Winds became stronger, and power began to be blown out across coastal South Carolina. This all took place in the early afternoon hours, and Don hit its peak wind speed of 65 mph, as it approached Charleston.

At about 3 PM EDT, Don made landfall directly on Charleston, slamming the region with a massive flooding event, that practically shut down the city. Hurricane force gusts were reported in that general area, as well as a 3 foot storm surge. Due to land interaction, Don began to weaken, but it was slowly weakening, possibly due to the Brown Ocean effect. As it moved inland, it spawned many tornadoes, causing noticeable damage, the most notable an EF2 that ripped through the outskirts of Myrtle Beach, causing a citywide blackout. Most of Charleston went dark as well as Don ripped through the city. As Don moved further inland, flooding became widespread, as floods washed away bridges and flooded towns. Rushing water knocked out power too almost one million in South Carolina, as Don wreaked havoc throughout the night. Don approached the North Carolina Border after turning due north the next day as a minimal tropical storm. Suddenly, much to North Carolina's dismay, Don slowed down. Its heavy rains were relentlessly pounding the state, causing a widespread flooding event, with the North Carolina governor issuing a state of emergency. Charlotte reported half the city had rushing water flowing through its streets. However, around this point, Don weakened to a tropical depression, and began to loose its organization. The rain finally began to relent, but was still dropping rain, which did not allow flood waters to receded quickly. Rescues were being made as flood water creeped up on houses. It was causing unprecedented flooding. On July 2, Don picked up forward speed, and moved into Virginia, causing some rain, but it was moving too quickly to cause major problems. Don was declared post tropical in West Virginia. Due to Don's unreasonably slow speed across North and South Carolina in some places, a major flooding event unfolded. Don killed 27 people due to this massive flooding event, and caused $3 Billion in damages. In the spring of 2018, the name Don was retired by the World Meteorological Organization, and was replaced with Dane for the 2023 season. This marked only the third time a tropical storm was retired, with the others being Allison of 2001, and Erika of 2015. It also the first male tropical storm to be retired.

Hurricane Emily
The origins of Emily can be traced back to a cluster of thunderstorms in the eastern Caribbean Sea that eventually developed into a tropical wave on July 8. The wave was located south of Puerto Rico. It began to move west, at a somewhat normal speed. It was causing tropical downpours in Puerto Rico, which caused flash flooding throughout the island. When the wave gained more convection towards the center, the NHC gave the wave a slight chance, 10%,  of development over the next two days. However, the wave was over favorable conditions, and most models were hinting at development very shortly. The NHC upgraded the chance of development to medium late that evening. Overnight, it had a convective burst, but by daybreak, it had seemed to weaken. As it moved south of Hispaniola, it's convection weakened on the northern part, as the mountainous terrain of Hispaniola interacted with the wave. However, it looked like it was still develop, and chances were upped again that afternoon to 50%. The wave drifted further south, into even warmer waters. It started to organize faster, and got stronger. Reconnaissance aircraft were scheduled for the next day, July 10. When recon flew out that day, they didn't find a closed circulation in the wave, but tropical storm force winds were sustained. The wave then began to moved south of Jamaica, and severe flooding occurred in the island, as heavy, persistent rain fell. 4 people died as a result of flash flood that washed away a bridge. The wave then moved away from Jamaica. On July 11, another reconnaissance flight occurred, and this time, they found a closed circulation, and because of tropical storm force winds, the wave was upgraded to Tropical Storm Emiily in a special advisory at 9 AM EDT, while Emily was situated southwest of the Grand Cayman, and tropical storm warnings were issued for that island, as well as western Cuba, and watches being issued for western Florida, as the current pattern, and model runs made it look like it would turn that way in the subsequent days.

Emily was moving northwest. It was beginning to intensify as it pulled away from the Grand Cayman, gaining more convection towards the middle as the day went on. The expansive outer rain bands of Emily began to move onshore the western tip of Cuba. They continued to expand across western Cuba as the storm moved closer. The Isle of Youth was also experiencing poor conditions. It looked more likely Emily was going to pass through the Yucatan Channel, and by late that evening it was obvious. However, heavy, flooding rains pelted western Cuba, and winds began to pick up, as it made its closest approach late on the 11th and into early on the 12th. At this point, Emily had winds of 60 mph. Storm surges of 3 feet were reported in western Cuba. Winds of 46 mph were reported. Scattered power outages were reported in Cuba, and one person died due to stepping in electric water caused by a down power line. After passing through the channel, Emily turned northeast. Hurricane Watches were issued for the Florida coast. Preparations were beginning to be made. Fort Myers was told they would most likely be hit hardest, and voluntary evacuations went up for that area. Now, Emily's southern rain bands were hitting Cuba, and this time, it was a larger portion of the island. Emily had quite expansive rain bands, with even Havana starting to feel affects. Emily was moving rather slowly, yet, it had trouble strengthening. This is credited to weak wind shear. Late into the evening of July 12, rain began to move onshore Florida, and all evacuations were stopped and preparations were required to have been completed. Rains were very heavy, and flash flooding began in the Fort Myers area. As the night pushed on, conditions only got worse. At 10 PM EDT, a special advisory upgraded Emily to a hurricane, the first one of the year. Early July 13, it was reported several windows had been cracked, and some even smashed, in Fort Myers skyscrapers. Tornadoes had been reported throughout the area, and an EF2 skirted the northern side of West Palm Beach. On the 13th, Emily had winds of 80 mph, and at 3:30 AM EDT, Emily made landfall JUST south of Fort Myers, with the eye moving into the southern part of the city.

As the day progressed, Emily moved slowly through Florida. It caused numerous flooding problems in the area. Storm surges of up to 7 feet occured near Fort Myers, and started to cause a surge on Lake Okeechobee. Several homes were flooded with water. Winds caused roof damage on several homes, with several shingles being torn off and flying away. In Miami, several inches of rain fell, causing numerous traffic problems. Tropical Storm Force winds in Miami caused some very isolated power outages. As Emily continued, it weakened to a minimal hurricane west of Lake Okeechobee, where storm surge was up to 4 feet in that area. Near Cape Canaveral, a waterspout moved onshore, intensifying into an EF2 Tornado, causing a lot of downed trees, and some home damage. Eventually, Emily's center passed just north of Lake Okeechobee, and weakened to a tropical storm. Emily was causing very heavy rain in West Palm Beach, and flooding ensued in suburbs of the city, flooding several homes, and several government offices and businesses closed down early in the area, due to the rapidly deteriorating conditions. The heaviest rain began to move over Cape Canaveral, and high tide was raised by high winds, and some areas flooded. By 10:00 EDT, Emily was a 60 mph storm, and was north of West Palm Beach, and was nearing its exit of Florida. At about 11:00 EDT, Emily's center officially moved off of Florida. However, it was still adding rainfall to the drenched area. Flooding was still occurring, as rivers quickly topped banks in Florida. As Emily continued to northwest, it was being inhibited from strengthening by wind shear. However, the wind shear was having trouble weakening it. It bounced between wind speeds of 60 and 65 mph, as it moved quickly northwest. In South Carolina, major rip currents were occurring, causing red flags to be raised on several beaches, with some even shutting down. Rip currents also occurred in Florida and Georgia as Emily moved away from the coastline. Emily's size had decreased, yet, it was still cloudy in coastal South Carolina, with some showers occurring. Late that night, it became imminent that Emily was going to begin to weaken, as it had moved into strong wind shear, and was moving into colder waters.

It then began to weaken quicker. The eastern side of the storm was being sheared off by very strong wind shear, and winds were dying down. By early July 15, Emily was moving in a ENE direction as a 45 mph storm. Emily was also speeding off in that direction, and rip currents became stronger. However, it had slowed down more towards the end of the day, and was close to weakening to a tropical depression. However, a pocket of warm water helped Emily maintain tropical storm status. Towards the end of the day, Emily made a peculiar wobble, first going northeast for a very short time, before curving southwest for a short time, and recurving ENE. This wobble weakened Emily to a depression, and it was struggling greatly, with very weak convection toward the center of the system. On the 16th, Emily very suddenly and sharply curved north, and begin to pick up speed as it began an extratropical transition. The extratropical transition was completed in the early afternoon, and the NHC issued to last advisory. The weak extratropical cyclone eventually went on to effect Nova Scotia. Throughout the course of its lifetime, Emily caused $500,000,000 in damages, and killed 9 people, mainly due to flash flooding. Emily was not retired, and will be used again in the 2023 season.

Hurricane Franklin
A weak cluster of thunderstorms developed into a tropical wave off the western African coastline on August 12. The wave quickly sped into the Cape Verde islands, causing heavy rainfall that caused road flooding, though it was relatively minor. It was very disorganized, and very large. It was not given a chance of development from the National Hurricane Center. At about 1 AM on July 13, the NHC noted the wave for a slight chance of development over 2 days, 10%. It continued west, and started to become better organized, with more convection developing near the center early in the morning. It was then given a 20% chance of development. The storm was struggling to develop because of a pocket of dry air it was traveling through. However, it was poised to move into the Caribbean Sea, where models developed the system. The storm continued to move at a rapid pace, eventually moving out of the dry air pocket mid-afternoon. The National Hurricane Center then gave it a thirty percent chance of development. It was gaining more convection towards the center, and ships that were caught by the system reported rough seas, and brief, but heavy, downpours. Overnight, the system lost some convection, causing the NHC to lower it's chances back down to 20%. It was in a cool pocket of water, but by the early morning hours, it had moved out, and was beginning to organize once more. At this point, it was a around 1000 miles away from the Lesser Antilles. It had weak convection towards the center. However, in the late morning hours, convection blew up on the system towards the center. It wasn't enough to be classified extremely well organized, but enough to prompt the NHC to raise chances to 40%. However, through out the day, it began to weaken again, and chances were dropped to 30% early the evening. The system was having trouble keeping itself together. Overnight, however, the system dramatically increased in organisation, promoting the NHC to raise development chances to 50%. It was slowing down, and was beginning to approach the Lesser Antilles. It was slowing down over a pocket of warm water. It wasn't expected to develop that day, the 15th, because of some shear prohibiting said development. By early afternoon, a convective burst rose chances to 70% as it moved slowly to the west.

Late that evening, the Lesser Antilles were beginning to feel effects from the wave. Light showers began to fall, and winds were gusty. It was also very cloudy. Flash flood alerts were issued in preparation for the wave to come through. They couldn't rule out if the wave would develop at that point either, but it looked unlikely, as new convection was having trouble firing. As the early morning hours came, the wave was about to cross the Lesser Antilles, particularly near the islands of Dominica and Martinique. Heavy rain began to fall on said islands, with visibility dropping quickly, and winds were gusting higher. As the sun rose, the wave was about to make its cross. The island of Dominica was reporting very heavy flooding, and moderate damage. Martinique was also reporting flooding, but to a lesser degree. The wave eventually passed between those two islands, which when conditions hit there worst. Extensive tree damage was recorded, and flooding hit its worst. Several power outages were reported in those areas. As it entered the Caribbean, the warm water was having a noticeable effect on the wave, as it became even more organized, and the first recon flight was scheduled for the early afternoon. As the recon flew into the system, they encountered heavy rain, but when they got towards the center, they could find no closed circulation. No winds were recorded above tropical storm either. However, the system had turned northwest, and was now beginning to approach Puerto Rico. Overnight, the system became even better organized, and it looked like a tropical depression. The next morning, on July 17th, and recon flight flew to investigate the system. It was near Puerto Rico at the time, and when recon investigated, the found a closed low level circulation. No tropical storm force winds were found, but it was discovered it was a tropical depression. So, at 5:00 AM EDT, the NHC issued the first advisory on Tropical Depression Seven, just as it was about to move into Puerto Rico. Just hours after formation, Seven made landfall in extreme western Puerto Rico. It brought very heavy rain to the area, and it caused flash flooding, and warnings were issued. Several basements reported flooding, and several streets were flooded. Unfortunately, a person was killed after driving his vehicle into a flash flood. Seven left a minimal impact on Puerto Rico, and moved off the island in the late afternoon hours, and when recon flew out to investigate the system, tropical storm force winds were sustained on several occasions, and at 8:00 PM EDT, Seven was upgraded to a tropical storm, receiving the name Franklin.

Franklin continued to move northwest, approaching the Turks and Caicos. On the 18th Franklin was steadily strengthening, and had 50 mph winds by sunrise. It had turned more westward, and the Turks and Caicos were put under a Tropical Storm Warning, as the storm was posed to go through those islands late in the night. Rough surf was stirred up by Franklin on the northern coast of Hispaniola. A tropical storm warning was also posted for most of the Bahamas, as well as Hurricane Watches. Franklin continued to intensify as it came closer to the Turks and Caicos, and Hurricane Watches were posted. As the sun set in the area, the first outer bands became to move over the islands. The storm was nearing hurricane intensity at this point, and because of this, Hurricane warnings were put in place for areas under a watch. Some forecasters thought rapid intensification was possible, and that residents should stay alert. Rain pelted the Turks and Caicos as Franklin inched closer, and at 10:00 PM EDT, Franklin was upgraded to a 80 mph hurricane, becoming the second hurricane of the year. Not to soon after, the center of Franklin passed through the Turks and Caicos. Winds lashed the area, knocking over power lines and causing notable roof damage. The storm surge was 5 feet in some areas, and some houses were flooded by this water. Heavy rains caused flash flooding as well. Franklin quickly exited the islands, leaving behind moderate damages if 157,000,000 dollars. It continued, and began to move in the Bahamas area, hammering islands with heavy rain, and numerous reported flash flooding. By 5:00 AM, Franklin had 100 mph winds, indicating rapid intensification may begin to occur. Franklin was moving fast, and turned more westerly, and began to approach Nassu by the late afternoon hours. The storm was being investigated by recon, and what they found struck fear in to some in the Bahamas. Franklin had winds of 120 mph, making it the seasons first major hurricane. Residents of Nassu were told to rush preparations to completion, and to prepare for the worst. As it looked, Franklin was heading directly at them. As the sun set, rain bands with tropical storm force winds moved onshore. Trees swayed in the winds and branches fell. As Franklin approached, conditions got even worse, and some gusts were knocking out power in the area, and small storm surge flooding was already occurring. Then, the stronger bands moved onshore, and hurricane force winds began, cutting off power to most of the island. Everything was put on lockdown.

The hurricane was still moving towards the island, and ferocious winds slammed the island as the northern eyewall came ashore. Winds of up to 117 mph slammed the island, destroying weak buildings and ripping roofs off sturdy structures, as well as sending walls crashing down. The storm surge was up to 12 feet, flooding and destroying several homes as it continued to move in. Then, at around 11:30 EDT, the eye moved over the island. One tourist said, "Suddenly, the winds came to a halt, and the rain stopped. I was still terrified, but I made my way out the hotel. I could see stars. Someone said, 'We are in the eye!' and I thought, 'This is not over' The sight was eerily calming. Then, I felt rain drops, and rushed back inside." Then, the next part of the storm slammed the region, with strong winds. Even more buildings collapsed, and some that made it off unscathed in the first round were getting damaged. As the sun rose, Franklin began moving towards the Grand Bahama, and as it moved towards that island, the unthinkable happened. Franklin rapidly intensified to a Category 4 with winds of 140 mph, which was its peak intensity. The Grand Bahama was already experiencing extreme winds, with power outages already being reported throughout most of the island as it approached early on the 20th. The storm surge was already flooding houses, and heavy rain was battering the island. As the hurricane got closer, even stronger winds began to rip off roofs.

Retirement
In the spring of 2018, the WMO retired the names Don, Lee, Nate, and Philippe from their naming lists due to the significant damages caused by these storms. The names Dane, Logan, Nathaniel, and Paulo were selected to replace these names in 2023