Tropical Storm Marco (1990)

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Tropical Storm Marco
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Part of the 1990 Atlantic hurricane season

Tropical Storm Marco was the only

Hurricane Lili
, Marco continued northward until being absorbed by a cold front on October 13.

In Florida, the cyclone triggered flooding of some houses and roadways. Rainfall across its path peaked at 19.89 inches (505 mm) in Louisville, Georgia, though several locations received over 10 inches (250 mm) of precipitation. The flooding caused a total of 12 deaths, mostly due to drowning, as well as $57 million in damage (1990 USD$, 128 million 2024 USD).

Meteorological history

A small storm forms off the coast of Cuba and continues northward before making landfall in Florida as a tropical storm.
Map plotting the storm's track and intensity, according to the Saffir–Simpson scale
Map key
  Tropical depression (≤38 mph, ≤62 km/h)
  Tropical storm (39–73 mph, 63–118 km/h)
  Category 1 (74–95 mph, 119–153 km/h)
  Category 2 (96–110 mph, 154–177 km/h)
  Category 3 (111–129 mph, 178–208 km/h)
  Category 4 (130–156 mph, 209–251 km/h)
  Category 5 (≥157 mph, ≥252 km/h)
  Unknown
Storm type
triangle Extratropical cyclone, remnant low, tropical disturbance, or monsoon depression

By early on October 6, a

Key West, Florida.[2]

Tropical Storm Marco at peak intensity straddling the west coast of Florida on October 11

After passing midway between Key West and the

landfall near Cedar Key early on October 12.[2][5]

After landfall, the cyclone accelerated in forward speed northward, weakening in intensity, and, by 1200 UTC on October 12, Marco became an extra-tropical cyclone. It turned to the northeast and east through

Hurricane Lili to its northeast.[3] For a time, the system's proximity to Lili resulted in hints of the Fujiwhara effect, in which two tropical cyclone appear to rotate around each other.[6] The cold front that absorbed the weakening low was to the storm's north on October 13,[2] though moisture from the remnants of Marco dropped heavy rainfall across the southeast United States for another day.[3]

Preparations

A

Carolinas and for high elevations in Virginia and West Virginia.[9]

Impact

Florida

Colored rainfall amounts for the amount of rain and mentioning its peak amount stretching from as south as the Florida Keys, through Georgia, where it peaked, and up to Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Ohio, where it caused minor rains
Rainfall summary for Tropical Storm Marco

With most of its circulation over the western portion of Florida during its existence, Tropical Storm Marco produced 39–74 mph winds across western Florida.[7] As it brushed the coastline, the storm developed strong convective rain bands,[10] leading to peak sustained winds of 69 mph (111 km/h) with gusts to 85 mph (137 km/h) on the Sunshine Skyway Bridge;[7] the bridge was closed after gusts reached 70 mph (113 km/h).[11] Squalls from the storm spawned four tornadoes in the state,[7] one of which struck the city of Crystal River, destroying a mobile home and leaving 2,000 people without power for about an hour.[12] Storm damage left about 25,000 customers across the state without power and about 40 families temporarily homeless.[11]

Paralleling the coastline, the storm produced a light

U.S. highways. Statewide damage totalled $3 million (1990 USD$, 6.72 million 2024 USD),[7] of which $1 million (1990 USD$, 2.24 million 2024 USD) occurred in Manatee County.[11]

Elsewhere

As the remnants of Marco entered Georgia, they combined with the remnant moisture from Hurricane Klaus and a slow-moving cold front, which caused large amounts of precipitation to fall across the eastern portion of the state. Rainfall peaked at 19.89 inches (505 mm) at a weather station near Louisville, Georgia where over 16 inches (410 mm) fell in a 24‑hour period.[7] In Augusta, 2.79 inches (71 mm) of rainfall fell in one hour, which forced the evacuation of about 300 people. Some roads in eastern Georgia were flooded up to 6 feet (1.8 m) deep, and police officers in Augusta rescued people in flooded cars. The flooding resulted in some power outages. In the deluge, five people drowned,[9] and 450 were left homeless.[15] The remnants of the storm spawned a tornado in Brantley County, which destroyed 25 unoccupied homes.[16] Damage in Georgia totaled $42 million (1990 USD$, 94.1 million 2024 USD).[7] On October 19, 1990, President George H. W. Bush declared several counties in Georgia as federal disaster areas, which permitted the use of emergency funds for victims.[17][18]

Heavy rainfall continued northward into the Carolinas. Much of South Carolina experienced over 7 inches (180 mm) of precipitation; statewide, the rainfall peaked at 13.96 inches (355 mm) in Pageland.[3][19] The highest totals in 100 years in some locations[20] also ended a severe drought.[21] In the flooding, 80 bridges in the state failed; in total, more than 120 bridges were either closed, damaged, or destroyed.[22] In South Carolina, the system caused three drowning deaths;[15] damage totaled $12 million ($1990, 26.9 million 2024 USD).[7] In North Carolina, rainfall reached 10.74 inches (273 mm) in Albemarle.[19] The storm directly caused two deaths in North Carolina,[7] and indirectly caused two traffic deaths.[15]

Rainfall from the combined remnants of Marco and Klaus extended into the

Hurricane Lili, which triggered flooding that closed a portion of a railway line and a highway.[23]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b National Hurricane Center (1990). "Hurricane Klaus Preliminary Report". Retrieved 2007-10-31.
  2. ^ a b c d e National Hurricane Center (1990). "Tropical Storm Marco Preliminary Report". Retrieved 2007-10-31.
  3. ^ a b c d David Roth (2006). "Rainfall Summary for Tropical Storm Marco/Hurricane Klaus". Hydrometeorological Prediction Center. Retrieved 2007-10-31.
  4. ^ a b David K. Rogers (1990-10-11). "Tropical Storm Marco aims south of Tampa Bay". The Saint Petersburg Times. p. 3.
  5. ^ National Hurricane Center (1990). "Tropical Storm Marco Preliminary Report Page 2". Retrieved 2007-11-08.
  6. ^ Alan F. Srock; Lance F. Bosart & John Molinari (2004). "A Composite Study of Precipitation Distribution in U.S. Landfalling Tropical Cyclones". University at Albany. Retrieved May 18, 2010.
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Max Mayfield & Miles B. Lawrence (1992). "Atlantic Hurricane Season of 1990" (PDF). American Meteorological Society. Retrieved 2011-02-27.
  8. ^ Bill Adair, Bill Duryea; Stephen Hegarty; Elijah Gosier (1990-10-12). "State employees get day off, but children attend school". The Saint Petersburg Times (City ed.). p. 12A.
  9. ^ a b Andrew Yarrow (1990-10-13). "Storms Batter the East Coast From Georgia to Delaware". The New York Times. p. 111. Retrieved 2007-11-17.
  10. ^ . Retrieved 2007-11-09.
  11. ^ a b c David Rogers; et al. (1990-10-12). "Marco sprinkles state with rain". The Saint Petersburg Times. p. 18.
  12. ^ Ross, Jim; Moritsugu, Ken; Drummond, Steve (1990-10-12). "Tropical storm spawns tornado". The Saint Petersburg Times (city ed.). p. 1.
  13. ^ Roth, David M (May 12, 2022). "Tropical Cyclone Rainfall in Florida". Tropical Cyclone Rainfall. United States Weather Prediction Center. Retrieved January 6, 2023. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  14. ^ Steven Drummond (1990-10-12). "Storm won't ease water restrictions". The Saint Petersburg Times. p. 68.
  15. ^ a b c Dennis Hevesi (1990-10-14). "East Breathes Easier as Storms' Threat Pales". The New York Times. p. 123.
  16. ^ Julia C. Muller (2004). "15 years of area natural disasters". Savannah Morning News. Archived from the original on 2004-08-24. Retrieved 2007-11-18.
  17. ^ Government of Augusta, Georgia (2005). Hazard Mitigation Plan (Draft) for Richmond County (Report).
  18. ^ Federal Emergency Management Agency (1990). "Georgia Flooding, Severe Storm". Archived from the original on 2012-02-18. Retrieved 2007-11-18.
  19. ^ a b c Roth, David M (May 12, 2022). "Tropical Cyclone Rainfall in the Southeastern United States". Tropical Cyclone Rainfall. United States Weather Prediction Center. Retrieved January 6, 2023. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  20. ^ "10 die as torrential storms cause floods in southern U.S.". Associated Press. 1990-10-13.
  21. ^ South Carolina State Climatology Office (2004). "Climate Statistics for South Carolina". Retrieved 2007-11-17.
  22. ^ South Carolina District of U.S. Geological Survey (2004). South Carolina Science Goals 2004–2009 (Report).
  23. ^ Tracy Walmer (1990-10-15). "Southeast mops up, calms down after storms' havoc". USA Today.

External links