2019 Atlantic hurricane season

The 2019 Atlantic hurricane season was a fairly active Atlantic hurricane season that produced 17 tropical cyclones, 16 named storms, 10 hurricanes, and five major hurricanes. The season officially lasted from June 1, 2019, to November 30, 2019, dates which by convention limit the period of each year when tropical cyclones tend to form in the Atlantic Ocean basin. The season began with Tropical Storm Andrea on May 30, and ended with Tropical Storm Pablo, which dissipated on December 9. The most intense storm was Hurricane Imelda, which attained Category 4 strength on the Saffir–Simpson Hurricane Scale.

The most damaging storms of the season were Hurricane Imelda, which caused extensive storm surge in Caribbean, Hurricane Erin, which struck the East Coast, Hurricane Karen, which caused flooding in the Gulf Coast, Hurricane Fernand, which affected many countries, and Hurricane Melissa, which affected Cuba.

Hurricane Chantal
On July 13, a Wave emerged off the coast of Africa. However the NHC disguarded the wave as it lost convection. On July 15, the NHC began to watch this wave again as it regained convection. The wave finally became designated as Tropical Depression Three-L. The Depression started to strengthen at a better rate, quickly becoming Tropical Storm Chantal a short distance Northwest of Puerto Rico.

Chantal began a period of rapid intensification and on July 21 became Hurricane Chantal, the first of the season. Intensification continued however, Chantal began to turn Northeast. Chantal later would become a Major Hurricane which would be the earliest since Bertha of 2008. Chantal would continue to strengthen despite decreasing Sea Surface Temperatures, eventually reaching a peak intensity of 120 mph with a minimum central pressure of 952 mbar. Conditions worsened, as a result Chantal would weaken. As Chantal accelerated, it still managed to retain Tropical characteristics and sustained Hurricane intensity for a long time after this. The still Hurricane Chantal finally turned more to the East barely avoiding Newfoundland and Nova Scotia. Chantal would preform an Extratropical transition on July 26, dissipating the same day.

While Chantal did not make landfall, effects still remained. Chantal brought healthy rainfall to portions of Puerto Rico and some portions of the East Coast(especially North Carolina). The only significant damages were from Bermuda, Newfoundland and Nova Scotia. Bermuda totalled 9.1 inches at the highest while some cities in both Nova Scotia and Newfoundland reported anywhere from 3-5 inches. One town even reported 5.9 inches in Newfoundland.

Hurricane Erin
A tropical wave moved off the coast of Africa on August 13. It crossed the Cape Verde islands with almost no shear and above-average temperatures. More organization was observed in the wave, prompting the NHC to declare Tropical Depression Five at 2100 UTC on August 15. The depression strengthened and was upgraded to Tropical Storm Erin at 1800 UTC on August 16. Erin continued to move westward. The storm intensified into a hurricane on August 17, while approaching the Lesser Antilles. Early on August 18, the storm strengthened into a Category 2 hurricane. Erin caught some dry air, plus it made landfall in Haiti, causing it to weaken to a tropical storm.

The storm then headed northwestward, until a weak frontal trough turned Felix northward on August 21. Wind shear decreased, allowing Felix to become a tropical storm again later on the same day. The storm continued to strengthen while moving northward and by early on August 22, it became a hurricane again. By the next day, Erin made its second peak with winds of 85 mph (140 km/h). Erin made landfall in South Carolina as a weak hurricane. At 1200 UTC on August 24, Erin became extratropical. The remnants later curved northeastward and then dissipated on September 10 at 2100 UTC.

Tropical Storm Gabrielle
On August 27, a tropical wave, with convection enhanced by Hurricane Fernand, developed in the western Caribbean sea, The small system began to quickly organized and develop banding, due to mostly low shear. A tropical depression formed on August 28, and it quickly intensified into Tropical Storm Gabrielle that evening, before making landfall over the Yucatán Peninsula. Gabrielle remained well-defined as it emerged into the Gulf of Mexico, and it re-intensified into a tropical storm on August 30. Gradual intensification than ensued that day, ultimately resulting in Gabrielle reaching peak intensity that evening, with 60 mph winds. Gabrielle then made landfall in Tamaulipas, Mexico. Land interaction rapidly weakened the storm, and it devolved into a remnant low on August 31.

Across the Yucatán and mainland Mexico, Gabrielle brought pouring rains to the country. Precipitation peaked at about 7.14 inches, near San Fernando. While impacts on the Yucatán were minimal, 7 people died in mainland Mexico, and $62.7 Million in damage was recorded.

Hurricane Humberto
On August 27, a tropical wave emerged off the coast of Africa. In a favorable environment, consisting of low shear and warm sea surface temperatures, it began to develop quickly. Tropical Depression Eight formed on August 29, with Humberto being named overnight. Humberto gradually moved westward, reaching an initial peak intensity of 45 mph. Another tropical wave, which would later spawn Hurricane Imelda, began interacting with Humberto, causing it to stall and upwell itself, weakening Humberto to a Tropical Depression. The wave pushed Humberto out of the way, which allowed it to re-intensify into a tropical storm. Humberto was located in a favorable environment again, and began to intensify more quickly. It was upgraded to a hurricane on September 3, and reached peak the following day, as a strong Category 1 hurricane, before it reached colder waters. The storm began to weaken as it accelerated northeast, but baroclinic forcing allowed Humberto to attain hurricane status one final time as it moved through the Azores, causing very severe weather across the Islands. As Humberto exited the islands, it began to lose tropical characteristics. Eventually, it was declared an extratropical cyclone on September 7.

The Azores were hit very hard by the hurricane. It was initially supposed to remain a tropical storm, but the re-intensification caught the Azores by surprise. Despite this, damage was not as bad as anticipated. The most severe impact was roof damage. $285 Million in damage, and 2 deaths were reported.

Hurricane Imelda
A tropical wave moved off the coast of Africa on August 30 and traveled westward across the Atlantic swiftly over the next few days of September with little development due to moderate wind shear. As it approached the Caribbean Sea, convection began to increase as it entered a more favorable area for development. Just as it passed over Dominica late on September 6, it is estimated a tropical depression formed at 00:00 UTC on September 7 as it entered the Caribbean Sea. Strengthening ensued, and the depression became Tropical Storm Imelda later that day.

Located within a very favorable environment for further intensification, Imelda steadily strengthened as it moved slowly westwards. After the consolidation of the inner core, an eye feature became evident early on September 8. Rapid intensification then ensued as a well-defined eye formed, and Imelda went from a moderate tropical storm to a high-end Category 4 major hurricane, with winds increasing from 60 mph (95 km/h) to 155 mph (250 km/h) – which was its peak intensity at 18:00 UTC on September 9 – in only 30 hours. At the same time, Imelda turned to the northwest towards Hispaniola as it rounded the southern periphery of a ridge to its north. Proximity to land began to impact the powerful hurricane, and Imelda began to weaken as it approached the Dominican Republic later that day. The hurricane moved ashore near the town of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic at 15:00 UTC on September 10 with sustained winds of 125 mph (200 km/h) and a pressure of 950 mbar (28.05 inHg). Imelda rapidly weakened as it traveled further across the peninsula, falling to a weak tropical storm as its circulation was disrupted.

Due to the significant deterioration of the system and a slight increase in wind shear, Imelda only gradually intensified as it pulled away from the Dominican Republic and moved through the Bahamas. At the same time, an upper level low in the Gulf of Mexico influenced the steering currents of Imelda, keeping it moving to the northwest. By 12:00 UTC on September 13, the cyclone had regained hurricane intensity as it left the Bahamas. Continuing to move around the upper-level low, Imelda turned westward towards the Georgia coastline, while subsequently rapidly intensifying again to a Category 3 major hurricane once more before it made landfall near Saint Simons Island, Georgia at 09:30 UTC on September 15 at that intensity. Rapid weakening occurred as Imelda moved further inland and began its extratropical transition, which it finished on September 16. The remnants dissipated a day later.

Storm names
The following list of names was used for named storms that formed in the North Atlantic in 2019. The names not retired from this list will be used again in the 2025 season. This was the same list used in the 2013 season with the exceptions for Imelda, which replaced Ingrid, respectively. The name Imelda was used for the first time this year.