tropicalcyclonereport-nationalhurricanecenter（38页）.docVIP

Tropical Cyclone Report Hurricane Gustav (AL072008) 25 August – 4 September 2008 John L. Beven II and Todd B. Kimberlain National Hurricane Center 22 January 2009 Revised 15 September 2009 for peak intensity and to add new data Gustav moved erratically through the Greater Antilles into the Gulf of Mexico, eventually making landfall on the coast of Louisiana. It briefly became a category 4 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale and caused many deaths and considerable damage in Haiti, Cuba, and Louisiana. Synoptic History Gustav formed from a tropical wave that moved westward from the coast of Africa on 13 August. The wave continued westward across the tropical Atlantic, with the associated shower activity first showing signs of organization on 18 August. Westerly vertical wind shear, however, prevented significant development for the next several days. The wave moved through the Windward Islands on 23 August with a broad area of low pressure accompanied by disorganized shower activity. Organization increased late on 24 August as the system moved northwestward across the southeastern Caribbean Sea, and it is estimated that a tropical depression formed near 0000 UTC 25 August about 95 n mi northeast of Bonaire in the Netherland Antilles. The “best track” chart of the tropical cyclone’s path is given in Fig. 1, with the wind and pressure histories shown in Figs. 2 and 3, respectively. The best track positions and intensities are listed in Table 1. The depression formed a small inner wind core during genesis with a radius of maximum winds of less than 10 n mi. Subsequently, it rapidly intensified. It became a tropical storm near 1200 UTC 25 August and a hurricane just after 0000 UTC 26 August. Gustav reached an intensity of 80 kt later on 26 August, then weakened slightly before making landfall on the southwestern peninsula of Haiti near 1800 UTC that day. The center of Gustav crossed the peninsula into the Canal du Sud, and the cyclo