Subtropical Storm Andrea (2007)

Subtropical Storm Andrea (2007)

Andrea was the first named storm to form in May in the Atlantic Ocean in 26 years. It was also the first pre-season storm to develop since Tropical Storm Ana in April 2003. Andrea caused large waves and tropical-storm force winds along the southeast coast of the United States. It is the first storm of the 2007 Atlantic hurricane season to be named.

About Subtropical Storm Andrea (2007) in brief

Summary Subtropical Storm Andrea (2007)Andrea was the first named storm to form in May in the Atlantic Ocean in 26 years. It was also the first pre-season storm to develop since Tropical Storm Ana in April 2003. Andrea caused large waves and tropical-storm force winds along the southeast coast of the United States. The storm produced rough surf along the coastline from Florida to North Carolina, causing beach erosion and some damage. Andrea weakened to a subtropical depression on May 10 while remaining nearly stationary, and the National Hurricane Center discontinued advisories early on May 11. Andrea’s remnant was subsequently absorbed into another extratropical storm on May 14. It became the first Atlantic named storm in May since tropical Storm Arlene in 1981. It is the first storm of the 2007 Atlantic hurricane season to be named and the first subtropicals cyclone of the 2006 hurricane season. It also caused some damage to the U.S. coastline, but six people drowned as a result of the storm, and no one was seriously injured in the flooding that it caused in South Carolina and North Carolina.

In some areas, the waves eroded up to 20 feet of beach, leaving 70 homes in danger of collapse, and three boats had to be rescued by the Coast Guard, although all nine sustained injuries. In early May, an upper-level trough dropped southward through the western Atlantic Ocean, forcing a back-door cold front—a cold front that moves southwestward ahead of a building surface ridge to its north or northeast—southward. For several days, forecast models had anticipated for the trough to evolve into a closed low pressure area, and on May 6, a frontal low with a large and well-defined circulation developed about 90 miles east of Cape Hatteras. On May 9, a Hurricane Hunters flight into the system revealed winds of 45 mph and a flat thermal core, which indicated the system was neither warm-core nor cold-core. The system changed little in organization throughout the day, though by the following morning, hurricane specialists indicated the low was acquiring subttropical characteristics as it tracked over progressively warmer waters.