Florida's Double Deluge, Part I: Tropical Storm Cristobal

摘要

In the 2008 summer Olympics of meteorology, the gold medal for heavy rainfall goes to Florida, where over 30 inches of fresh water fell on parts of the east-central peninsula during July and August. The deluge was courtesy of a tropical depression in July, which later became Tropical Storm Cristobal, and August's Tropical Storm Fay. In this two-part set of "Highlights," I will point out some interesting differences and similarities between these two tropical systems, which were relatively weak in terms of standard measures such as minimum central pressure or maximum sustained wind. Cristobal got its start as a small vortex over west-central Florida on July 15. The tiny whirl lacked a well-defined circulation and looped around for 2 days before being ejected toward the northeast on the 17th. These were humble beginnings, as the National Hurricane Center'sTropical Prediction Center did not find sufficient cause to label the vortex a depression until the 19th, by which time Cristobal was cruising the South Carolina coastline.