The biggest storms of the 2007 global hurricane season
Last week, I took a look at the statistics for the global 2007 hurricane season. Today, let's look at the significant storms from each ocean basin.
The Atlantic's (and the world's) most intense tropical cyclone of 2007 was Hurricane Dean. Dean peaked at an intensity of 905 mb, with 175 mph winds, as it made landfall on Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula on August 21, 2007. Dean killed a total of 32 people, 12 of them in Mexico. Remarkably, no deaths occurred in the Yucatan. Dean's Mexican deaths all occurred due to Dean's second Mexican landfall in the Gulf of Mexico, after it had crossed the Yucatan Peninsula.

Figure 1.The world's strongest tropical cyclone of 2007, Hurricane Dean, as seen from the Space Shuttle Endeavour, Saturday August 18, 2007 at 1pm EDT. Image credit: NASA.
The Atlantic's deadliest storm was Hurricane Noel, which killed up to 222 people. Noel dumped up to 15 inches on Haiti and 35 inches of rain on the Dominican Republic between October 28-31. The resulting floods killed 219 people in those countries. Flooding killed three other people in Cuba, the Bahamas, and Jamaica.
Also notable: Hurricane Felix killed 200 people in Nicaragua and Honduras after striking the northwest coast of Nicaragua as a Category 5 hurricane with 175 mph winds on September 4, 2007.

Figure 2. Moonrise over the eyewall of Hurricane Felix as it intensified into a Category 5 hurricane. Wunderblogger Randy Bynon has more great photos in his blog where he recounts his mission into Hurricane Felix.
North Indian Ocean
The world's two deadliest tropical cyclones of 2007--and its costliest--all occurred in the North Indian Ocean.
Deadliest storm: Cyclone Sidr was the worst weather disaster in the world in 2007. The Category 4 cyclone crashed ashore on the heavily populated coast of Bangladesh in the Bay of Bengal on November 15, bringing winds of 150 mph and a storm surge of up to 5 m (16 ft) to the coast. At least 3447 people were killed. Damage was estimated at $450 million. Despite the high death toll, the evacuation and preparedness efforts were considered a success. Similar storms have exacted much higher death tolls in Bangladesh in the past.
Strongest storm: Tropical Cyclone Gonu, a Category 5 storm with 160 mph winds, was the strongest tropical cyclone on record in the Arabian Sea, and tied for the strongest tropical cyclone on record in the northern Indian Ocean (Wikipedia). Gonu caused about $4 billion in damage and over 50 deaths in Oman, where the cyclone was considered the nation's worst natural disaster of all time. Gonu dropped heavy rainfall near the eastern coastline, reaching up to 610 mm (24 inches) which caused flooding and heavy damage. In Iran, the cyclone caused 23 deaths and $215 million in damage.
Also notable: Cyclonic Storm Yemyin was 2007's second deadliest tropical cyclone. Yemyin hit the coast of Pakistan on June 22, killing as many as 933 people in Pakistan and 140 people in India. An additional 80 people died in Afghanistan due to flooding from Yemyin's remnants. Incredibly, the Indian Meteorological Service (IMD), who is responsible for tropical cyclone warnings in the North Indian Ocean, never classified Yemyin as anything stronger than a tropical depression. As I noted in a blog on the disaster, there was ample evidence that Yemyin was at least a strong tropical storm and perhaps a weak Category 1 hurricane. The Joint Typhoon Warning Center on Guam classified Yemyin as a strong tropical storm with 50 knot (60 mph) winds.

Figure 2. The North Indian Ocean's fearsome threesome of 2007. Left, Cyclone Gonu at Cat 5 intensify (160 mph winds), 0900Z Jun. 4, 2007. Middle, Cyclone Sidr at 0445Z Nov. 14, 2007 (Cat 4, 140 mph winds). Right, Cyclone Yemyin at 0610Z Jun. 25, 2007 (tropical storm, 40 mph winds). Image credit: NASA.
Eastern Pacific
Deadliest storm: Hurricane Henriette, a Category 1 hurricane that hit tip of the Baja California peninsula near San Jose del Cabo on September 4, killed seven people near Acapulco due to landslides; two fishermen also died off the Sonora coast. Henriette caused $275 million in damage to Mexico.
Strongest storm: Cat 4 Flossie (140 mph, 949 mb). Flossie did not hit land.
South Indian
Deadliest storm: Tropical Cyclone Indlala killed 80 people on Madagascar March 15 when it hit the island as a Category 3 storm with 120 mph winds. Indlala had 145 mph winds at its peak intensity, shortly before landfall on Madagascar.
Strongest storm: Cat 4 Favio (145 mph). Favio hit Mozambique on February 22 as a Category 3 storm, killing 4 and injuring 70.
Also notable: Tropical Cyclone George killed three people when it made landfall March 8 in the Port Hedland region of Western Australia. George was a Category 3 storm with winds of 125 mph at peak intensity.
South Pacific
Deadliest storm: Tropical Cyclone Guba killed 150 people on Papau New Guinea when it brushed the island on November 20. Guba was a Category 1 storm with 85 mph winds at peak intensity.
Strongest storm: Cat 3 Daman (120 mph), Dec. 5-9.
Western Pacific
Deadliest storm: Tropical Storm 06W had top winds of only 40 mph, but the storm was a prodigious rain maker, dumping up to two feet of rain on Vietnam August 3-4. At least 60 people died in the resulting flooding.
Strongest storm: Category 5 Super Typhoon Sepat (160 mph). Sepat hit Taiwan as a Category 4 storm on August 18, then mainland China as a strong tropical storm on August 19. Sepat killed 39 people in China and did $658 million in damage.
Also notable: Typhoon Man-Yi, a Category 4 typhoon, killed nine people when it sank a ship near Guam on July 9. Man-yi made landfall on Okinawa with 150 mph winds, and later hit Japan as a Category 1 typhoon.
Jeff Masters
Reader Comments
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ROOF BLOWN OFF OF PINNACLE AIRLINE HANGER AT MEMPHIS
INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT. PLANES WERE MOVED. AIRSTAIRS MOVED
100 YARDS. MOVED A 737 AIRPLANE A FOOT.
My thoughts go out to these folks....
Hook Echo i caught on radar.
Jackson, Madison County.
Tornado, reported by Emergency Mngr.
People trapped in water commons building at Union
University... overturned vehicles between mile marker 68
and 76... damage in the vincinity of mile marker 79 and
Hwy 412... damage at the regional hospital at Channing way
drive... damage at Northside High School and in the Oak
Hill area.
... A Tornado Warning remains in effect until 900 PM CST for Stoddard
County in southeast Missouri...
At 828 PM CST... local law enforcement reported damage due to a
tornado along the Butler and Stoddard County line near Fisk. This
storm was located near Dexter... moving east at 70 mph.
The tornado will be...
8 miles south of Himmel by 840 PM CST...
This is an extremely dangerous and life threatening situation. This
storm is capable of producing strong to violent tornadoes. If you are
in the path of this tornado... take cover immediately!
The National Weather Service in Jackson has issued a
* Tornado Warning for...
northern Catahoula Parish in northeast Louisiana...
* until 1115 PM CST
* at 1023 PM CST... National Weather Service meteorologists detected a
tornado 7 miles southwest of manifest... moving northeast at 45 mph.
* The tornado will be near...
manifest by 1030 PM CST...
Sherwood and 7 miles northwest of Wallace Ridge by 1040 PM CST...
Enterprise by 1045 PM CST...
In addition to the tornado... this storm is capable of producing
quarter size hail and destructive straight line winds.
The safest place to be during a tornado is in a basement. Get under a
workbench or other piece of sturdy furniture. If no basement is
available... seek shelter on the lowest floor of the building in an
interior hallway or room such as a closet. Use blankets or pillows to
cover your body and always stay away from windows.
If in Mobile homes or vehicles... evacuate them and get inside a
substantial shelter. If no shelter is available... lie flat in the
nearest ditch or other low spot and cover your head with your hands.
I am holding all involved in the Light, in the dark. ♥
Is this expected to break up over the Adirondacks, at least?
I think so.
Take care, all.
GULF OF MEXICO/NORTHWEST ATLANTIC OCEAN WEST OF 50W....
A surface cold front is pushing across the area extending from a 1011 mb low along the Mexican Coast to the Deep South of United States. The front lies at between an upper trough across the Great Plains and an upper ridge along the United States East Coast. Upper divergence and low-level lift along the frontal boundary is producing scattered showers across the Gulf waters and scattered thunderstorms across the Deep South. A good amount of fair weather is seen ahead this frontal system with surface return flow from the Atlantic to 95W and mid-upper level dry air within a region of upper level confluence.
A broad surface anticyclone is sprawled out across the Atlantic with exceptionally fair weather and patches of shallow cloudiness clearly seen rotating around the ridge.
CENTRAL AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN REGION....
The dominate weather maker across the region is a broad 1025 mb high north of area. This high is producing 10-20 knot surface trades, which are advecting widespread patches of cloudiness and showers from the Lesser Antilles to the Central American Terrain. Meanwhile, increase shower activity is noted across Northern South America in association with the Near-equatorial Convergence Zone (NECZ) being enhanced by outflow of the South American Monsoon System (SAMS). Expect seas to generally be 4-6 ft, increasing to 11 ft through the Caribbean and downstream of the tradewind regime.
by W456
A terrible weather night in the SE.
Hi Ike long time no talk. How you been.
OK....I remember that storm we had the debate over...forget which one....LOL........hurricane season will be here before you know it...tornadoes can be worse...not much warning.......
Ike that day was funny.....lol
It'll be back in 3 1/2 months~ All of the craziness will start again!
Link
Morning folks
Link
Been watching the site about an hour west from me...in Niceville (Valpariso)..little added dimension to my radar... Link
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