Hurricane Eloise

Hurricane Eloise

Eloise was the fifth tropical storm, fourth hurricane, and second major hurricane of the 1975 Atlantic hurricane season. Eloise formed as a tropical depression on September 13 to the east of the Virgin Islands. The cyclone quickly matured and became a Category 3 hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico on September 23. It made landfall along the Florida Panhandle west of Panama City before moving inland across Alabama and dissipating on September 24. It was the most destructive storm of the season, with more than 40 deaths in Puerto Rico, Hispaniola and the Mid-Atlantic States.

About Hurricane Eloise in brief

Summary Hurricane EloiseEloise was the fifth tropical storm, fourth hurricane, and second major hurricane of the 1975 Atlantic hurricane season. Eloise formed as a tropical depression on September 13 to the east of the Virgin Islands. The cyclone quickly matured and became a Category 3 hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico on September 23. It made landfall along the Florida Panhandle west of Panama City before moving inland across Alabama and dissipating on September 24. The storm killed 80 people along its entire track; due to the severe damage, the name Eloise was retired from the Atlantic tropical cyclone naming lists. The origins of Hurricane Eloise trace back to a tropical wave that emerged from the western coast of Africa on September 6, 1975. The system was initially disjointed and poorly developed, although there was evidence of a low-level circulation. On September 13, a ship called the Gulf Hansa recorded winds of around 25 mph and 10 feet seas in association with the system. Shortly thereafter, a reconnaissance aircraft found a center of circulation 575 miles east of the Virgin Islands, and it is estimated that the storm became a tropical Depression at 0600 UTC. The depression continued moving towards the west as it gradually strengthened and was designated Eloise on September 16. On September 17, Eloise became better organized, and the storm rapidly intensified and reached Category 1 hurricane status 18 hours after being named. It weakened back to tropical storm upon making landfall over Hispaniola, but then re-intensified and reached a Category 2 hurricane on September 22.

The hurricane continued to strengthen until it reached Category 3 status as it turned northeast towards the northeast. It then dissipated on September 24, leaving a trail of destruction across the United States and Canada. It was the most destructive storm of the season, with more than 40 deaths in Puerto Rico, Hispaniola and the Mid-Atlantic States. It caused an unprecedented and far-reaching flooding event along the entire East Coast of the U.S., especially into the mid-Atlantic states. In advance of the storm, about 100,000 residents evacuated from the Gulf Coast region, but reports on the storm’s exact location were scarce, leading to uncertainty in its location and strength. Several experimental buoys recorded its center during its passage through the gulf, aiding meteorologists in their forecasts in predicting Eloise’s strength and intensity. It produced torrential rainfall throughout the islands of Puerto Rico and Hispaniola causing extensive flooding that led to severe damage and more than40 deaths. It also affected Cuba to a lesser extent, with the storm crossing over the northern tip of the peninsula as it moved northward in response to an approaching trough. Despite favorable upper-level conditions, its interaction with land—combined with the weakening of a ridge to the north—left the storm’s center distorted. It remained a fairly disorganized tropical storm until September 20, when it approached the Yucatan Peninsula and began to re-into the open waters of the northern Caribbean Sea.