Hurricane Jeanne, September 2004|
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...Hurricane Jeanne was the 10th named tropical cyclone of the 2004 Atlantic hurricane season...
...7 of the 10 named tropical cyclones have impacted North Carolina...
...Rain bands associated with Jeanne produced several tornadoes over the Sandhills and Piedmont of North Carolina. Tornado touch downs were reported in Moore, Richmond and Wake Counties...
...A swath of 2 to 4 inches of rain with localized amounts in excess of 6 inches fell across the North Carolina Mountains, Foothills and western Piedmont...
Tropical Depression Jeanne developed late
in the afternoon on Monday, September 13, 2004, 70 miles east-southeast of Guadeloupe.
Jeanne became a Tropical Storm early on Tuesday, September 14, 2004, about 135 miles southeast of St. Croix.
The tropical storm moved steadily northeast toward Puerto Rico,
reaching the southeast coast of Puerto Rico on Wednesday, September 15, 2004, with maximum sustained winds of 70 MPH. Jeanne slowly moved across the island of Puerto Rico dropping
extreme amounts of rain. The community of Naguabo, in the eastern portion of the island received more than 24 inches of rain.
Jeanne became the 6th Hurricane of the 2004 Atlantic season at around 800 AM, Thursday, September 16, 2004, while located
near the eastern tip of Hispaniola. The hurricane moved slowly northwestern across the northern tier of the Dominican Republic and
Haiti on Thursday and Friday, weakening to tropical storm strength. Tropical storm Jeanne moved offshore late on Friday evening
after dumping over a foot of rain across portions of the Dominican Republic and Haiti. Over two thousand residents of Haiti, primarily
in the northern city of Gonaives, died from flooding and mudslides resulting from the heavy rain produced by Jeanne.
Impacted by the terrain and landmass of Hispaniola,
Jeanne weakened to tropical depression status at 500 PM, Friday, September 17, 2004.
The system became better organized Friday night and was reclassified a tropical storm. The tropical storm remained rather weak and disorganized
while moving slowly north on Saturday, September 17, 2004. Gradually Jeanne strengthened on Sunday and into Monday, September 19, 2004.
Jeanne strengthened back into a hurricane at 500 PM,
Monday, September 20, 2004 while slowly moving north. Upper level steering winds
weakened and Jeanne was blocked from continuing its northward motion by a large ridge of high pressure over the western Atlantic. During the
next four days, Jeanne would make a clockwise loop over the Atlantic ocean, northeast of the Bahamas. During this same period,
Jeanne strengthened into a formidable hurricane with maximum sustained
winds of 100 MPH.
After completing the loop late Thursday, Jeanne developed a steady westward motion
toward the Florida peninsula. This motion continued on Friday
and into Saturday, September 25, 2004. Jeanne intensified into a category 3 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 115 MPH at 1100 AM
Saturday. The hurricane moved onshore around midnight Sunday, September 26, 2004 near Stuart
Jeanne turned northwest and moved across the central Florida peninsula on Sunday. The hurricane weakened to a tropical storm at
200 PM, Sunday, September 26, 2004 near Brooksville Florida. The tropical storm turned northward and moved into Georgia early Monday morning.
At 200 PM, Monday, September 27, 2004, Jeanne weakened to a tropical depression. The remnants of Jeanne turned northeastward, reaching northern Georgia
late on Monday.
A southeasterly flow ahead of Jeanne transported warm and moist air into the Coastal Plain of the Carolinas. Meanwhile, cooler and more stable
air was located across interior portions of the Carolinas. The interaction of the boundary between these two distinct air masses along with
the moisture and circulation associated with Jeanne resulted in the
development of severe thunderstorms and tornadoes across the southeast on Monday and Monday night.
The remnants of Jeanne then moved northeast across upstate South Carolina late Monday night producing
heavy rain, flooding, and several tornadoes. The system continued to accelerate northeast across North
Carolina Monday night and Tuesday morning, September 28, 2004 producing additional heavy rain,
flooding, and tornadoes. The remnants of Jeanne moved into Virginia by Tuesday afternoon.