Odd routes and old storms
Potential tropical cyclone takes indirect path from land to Gulf, joining past weird ways
Tropical cyclones have been known to take strange paths, and a weather system bearing down from the southern U.S. might soon join the club.
Forecasters say a disturbance in central Georgia will likely strengthen into a tropical depression — or even a storm — this week as it heads into the Gulf of Mexico, taking an uncommon path from north to south.
“It’s not unheard for systems in the Gulf of Mexico or off the southeast U.S. coast to have origins from a non-tropical disturbance that comes off the U.S. landmass,” said Dennis Feltgen, spokesman and meteorologist at the National Hurricane Center.
While the storm may have been born in an unusual place, it would mature into a trouble-maker in a more common area.
The northern Gulf of Mexico is a favored area of development for weather systems in the month of July, Feltgen said.
The weather system, described by the hurricane center as an area of low pressure, could become Tropical Storm Barry by the week’s end. It would be the second named storm of the year.
Below are some past Atlantic storms that have also taken unusual routes.
Hurricane Harvey took shape in mid-August 2017, sweeping through the Gulf of Mexico before stalling for days on the coast of Texas as a Category 4 storm and causing catastrophic flooding.
The hurricane backed out into the Gulf before making its final landfall in Louisiana several days later.
Hurricane Ivan touched down at Florida’s border with Alabama as a Category 3 storm and spun northeast and off the mid-Atlantic. But Ivan wasn’t done. The storm looped back all the way to South Florida and made landfall again, this time as a tropical depression. After crossing the state, Ivan strengthened to a tropical storm and landed in west Louisiana.
In September 2004, Hurricane Jeanne swept through Haiti, the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico and appeared to be moving into the open ocean as it lost strength.
But the storm got a boost in strength and looped around and barreled through Florida.
Hurricane Dennis brushed the East Coast in September 1999 and seemed to be moving into the open Atlantic as it was passing North Carolina.
Instead, it took a sharp pivot back toward the U.S. and hit North Carolina as a tropical storm.
Tropical Storm Gordon took the long way around Cuba before cutting across the Keys and then the southern half of Florida.
Floridians watched with relief as the storm strengthened to a Category 1 hurricane well off shore. But not so fast.
Gordon looped around, then looped again took aim at Florida.
Florida took a second hit from Gordon, but it was downgraded to a tropical depression by then.