Meteorological Analysis
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Helene originated from a tropical wave which moved off the coast of Africa on
September 10th. The wave initially lost convection as it traveled west under the
subtropical ridge but, by the 14th began to show some signs of organization as
convection flared across the wave. The wave was declared a tropical depression
on the 15th but, on the 16th there was no surface circulation evident and the
depression degenerated into an open wave. The wave was still very vigorous
however, with winds well above tropical storm force. The wave then moved
through the Leeward Islands on the 17th, bringing with it tropical storm
conditions. The wave finally managed to regenerate a surface circulation on the
19th near Grand Cayman Island, and became a tropical depression again. The
depression strengthened as it moved north into the Gulf of Mexico on the 21st,
and it became tropical storm Helene. Helene continued to strengthen and
reached its max winds of 70 mph on the 21st before weakening due to heavy
shear. Helene made landfall as a 40 mph tropical storm on the 22nd near
Fort Walton Beach, Florida. Helene weakened into a depression right after
landfall and brought heavy rains as it continued up the east coast. Helene
emerged off of Virginia on the 23rd and became a tropical storm again despite
heavy shear. Helene continued to strengthen and reached a peak intensity of
70 mph again on the 25th. Helene finally merged with a cold front on the 25th as
it raced rapidly NE.
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Casualty and Damage Overview
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One death is attributed to Helene. This death was caused by an F2 tornado in
South Carolina that formed within Helene's rain bands. There was also extensive
flooding from Helene in the Florida Panhandle, with up to 9 inches of rain reported.
There are no official damage totals however.
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Helene Hurricane Research Division Products
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Imagery
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Tracking Data
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Tropical Storm Helene
Time Lat Lon Wind(mph) Pressure Storm type
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12 GMT 09/15/00 14.9N 52.2W 30 1010 Tropical Depression
18 GMT 09/15/00 15.3N 53.0W 30 1010 Tropical Depression
0 GMT 09/16/00 15.6N 53.6W 30 1010 Tropical Depression
6 GMT 09/16/00 15.8N 54.4W 30 1010 Tropical Depression
12 GMT 09/16/00 16.1N 55.9W 35 1010 Tropical Depression
18 GMT 09/16/00 16.4N 58.0W 35 1010 Tropical Depression
0 GMT 09/17/00 16.6N 59.9W 35 1010 Tropical Depression
6 GMT 09/17/00 16.6N 61.7W 35 1010 Tropical Depression
12 GMT 09/17/00 16.4N 63.6W 35 1010 Tropical Depression
18 GMT 09/17/00 16.7N 65.6W 35 1010 Tropical Depression
0 GMT 09/18/00 17.0N 67.1W 35 1010 Tropical Depression
6 GMT 09/18/00 17.1N 68.7W 35 1010 Tropical Depression
12 GMT 09/18/00 17.2N 70.6W 35 1010 Tropical Depression
18 GMT 09/18/00 17.4N 72.5W 35 1010 Tropical Depression
0 GMT 09/19/00 17.6N 74.4W 35 1010 Tropical Depression
6 GMT 09/19/00 18.3N 76.3W 35 1010 Tropical Depression
12 GMT 09/19/00 18.9N 78.3W 35 1010 Tropical Depression
18 GMT 09/19/00 19.4N 79.6W 35 1010 Tropical Depression
0 GMT 09/20/00 19.9N 81.0W 35 1010 Tropical Depression
6 GMT 09/20/00 20.7N 82.6W 30 1010 Tropical Depression
12 GMT 09/20/00 21.8N 84.3W 30 1010 Tropical Depression
18 GMT 09/20/00 23.0N 85.4W 30 1010 Tropical Depression
0 GMT 09/21/00 23.9N 86.1W 30 1008 Tropical Depression
6 GMT 09/21/00 24.9N 86.6W 40 1007 Tropical Storm
12 GMT 09/21/00 26.1N 87.0W 50 1006 Tropical Storm
18 GMT 09/21/00 27.1N 87.1W 70 999 Tropical Storm
0 GMT 09/22/00 28.4N 87.2W 70 996 Tropical Storm
6 GMT 09/22/00 29.5N 87.2W 60 1001 Tropical Storm
12 GMT 09/22/00 30.5N 86.6W 40 1006 Tropical Storm
18 GMT 09/22/00 31.6N 85.4W 30 1010 Tropical Depression
0 GMT 09/23/00 32.9N 83.5W 30 1011 Tropical Depression
6 GMT 09/23/00 33.6N 81.7W 30 1012 Tropical Depression
12 GMT 09/23/00 34.4N 80.0W 30 1011 Tropical Depression
18 GMT 09/23/00 35.4N 78.0W 40 1010 Tropical Storm
0 GMT 09/24/00 36.4N 76.1W 45 1008 Tropical Storm
6 GMT 09/24/00 37.2N 74.7W 50 1005 Tropical Storm
12 GMT 09/24/00 38.0N 72.5W 50 1001 Tropical Storm
18 GMT 09/24/00 39.2N 70.1W 50 997 Tropical Storm
0 GMT 09/25/00 40.1N 66.8W 65 993 Tropical Storm
6 GMT 09/25/00 41.6N 62.2W 70 986 Tropical Storm
12 GMT 09/25/00 44.0N 55.5W 65 988 Tropical Storm
18 GMT 09/25/00 46.1N 48.8W 50 990 Tropical Storm
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Tracking maps courtesy of NHC
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Selected Satellite Image
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