Tropical Storm Alma (1974)
Encyclopedia
Tropical Storm Alma, the first named storm to develop in the 1974 Atlantic hurricane season
, was a short lived tropical storm
that made a rare Venezuela
n landfall
. The storm formed from an area of cumulonimbus clouds along a disturbance associated with the Intertropical Convergence Zone
(ITCZ) on August 12, but advisories were not issued until August 13, when it was named at peak intensity. After being named, Alma moved at an unusually brisk pace of between 20 mi/h to 25 mi/h through the southeastern Caribbean Sea
, causing numerous watches and gale warnings to be issued throughout the Caribbean, including Colombia
. This brisk pace was also responsible for the small amount of time it spent over Trinidad, which totaled three hours.
Alma was responsible for 51 fatalities throughout the Windward Islands and Venezuela, 49 of which resulted from a plane crash on Isla Margarita
.
, Senegal
was reporting mid-tropospheric
winds of 75 mi/h, the equivalent of a Category 1 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale
. A collection of rapidly-forming cumulonimbus clouds were observed to grow along the area and merge together, forming a tropical disturbance with a weak cyclonic vortex on August 10. The disturbance moved slowly over the Atlantic Ocean
, with movie loops showing signs of a circulation on August 11, but it wasn't until the next day when ship reports showed that the disturbance became a tropical depression at 18:00 UTC around 10° north latitude, a latitude it would remain around throughout its lifetime. Although it was at depression strength, operationally, it wasn't until Navy recon reached the storm on August 13 and reported winds of 65 mi/h, gusts of up to 75 mi/h, and a central pressure of 1007 mbar that advisories were started and the storm was named Alma while the center was 375 miles (603.5 km) east of Trinidad and Tobago. This same pass also reported that the storm had a circular eye
with a diameter of 36 miles (57.9 km); the only report of an eye from this storm. The storm's center was aligned more to the south, causing gale
-force winds to extend 75 miles (120.7 km) to the north while extending only 25 miles (40.2 km) to the south. At the time, further intensification was predicted and the possibility that Alma could reach hurricane strength prior to landfall on Trinidad was given, but the storm would not strengthen past the peak it reached when Navy recon investigated the cyclone, although an Air Force plane reported a squall of 80 mi/h at flight level.
After being named, Alma moved eastward at a pace of 23 mi/h, which NHC Director Neil Frank
noted was unusually rapid for a tropical cyclone at this time and location, while causing sea levels to rise up to 15 ft (4.6 m) ahead of it. Alma was able to move and maintain its low latitude movement to the west due to a strong subtropical ridge
, which was at an unusually lower latitude than expected in August. On August 14, the storm made landfall
on Trinidad with winds of 55 mi/h, becoming the southernmost landfall on that island since a storm in 1933
. The storm moved across Trinidad in only three hours, and, although disrupted from its landfall and barely tropical, it was able to maintain itself despite the high forward speed preventing any reintensification. The storm transitioned the Gulf of Paria
then made its second and final landfall on the Paria Peninsula
of Venezuela. The high mountains in Venezuela took a large toll on the storm, ripping the circulation and causing Alma to be downgraded to a tropical depression on August 15 while crossing Lake Maracaibo
. The final advisory issued on the cyclone by the National Hurricane Center
showed that the remains of Alma were in the northern part of Columbia, still moving at 25 mi/h, and later that day, all identity of the cyclone disappeared. Although the possibility was given that Alma could re-intensify upon exiting land into the southwestern Caribbean Sea, the storm did not redevelop east of Central America
. However, the remnants of Alma would eventually travel westward, reaching the Pacific Ocean
where they would re-intensify, becoming Hurricane Joyce
.
turboprop
airliner
crashed while circling the airport on Isla Margarita
. Around 9:20 a.m. local time, the aircraft struck the side La Gloria, 26 ft (8 m) below the summit. All but one of the 49 people aboard died on impact; the co-pilot survived for 17 more days before dieing from severe and irreversible brain damage.
1974 Atlantic hurricane season
The 1974 Atlantic hurricane season officially began on June 1, 1974, and lasted until November 30, 1974. These dates conventionally delimit the period of each year when most tropical cyclones form in the Atlantic basin...
, was a short lived tropical storm
Tropical cyclone
A tropical cyclone is a storm system characterized by a large low-pressure center and numerous thunderstorms that produce strong winds and heavy rain. Tropical cyclones strengthen when water evaporated from the ocean is released as the saturated air rises, resulting in condensation of water vapor...
that made a rare Venezuela
Venezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
n landfall
Landfall (meteorology)
Landfall is the event of a tropical cyclone or a waterspout coming onto land after being over water. When a waterspout makes landfall it is reclassified as a tornado, which can then cause damage inland...
. The storm formed from an area of cumulonimbus clouds along a disturbance associated with the Intertropical Convergence Zone
Intertropical Convergence Zone
The Intertropical Convergence Zone , known by sailors as The Doldrums, is the area encircling the earth near the equator where winds originating in the northern and southern hemispheres come together....
(ITCZ) on August 12, but advisories were not issued until August 13, when it was named at peak intensity. After being named, Alma moved at an unusually brisk pace of between 20 mi/h to 25 mi/h through the southeastern Caribbean Sea
Caribbean Sea
The Caribbean Sea is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean located in the tropics of the Western hemisphere. It is bounded by Mexico and Central America to the west and southwest, to the north by the Greater Antilles, and to the east by the Lesser Antilles....
, causing numerous watches and gale warnings to be issued throughout the Caribbean, including Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
. This brisk pace was also responsible for the small amount of time it spent over Trinidad, which totaled three hours.
Alma was responsible for 51 fatalities throughout the Windward Islands and Venezuela, 49 of which resulted from a plane crash on Isla Margarita
Isla Margarita
Margarita Island is the largest island of the state of Nueva Esparta in Venezuela, situated in the Caribbean Sea, off the northeastern coast of the country. The state also contains two other smaller islands: Coche and Cubagua. The capital city of Nueva Esparta is La Asunción, located in a river...
.
Storm history
The initial formation of Alma was traced back to a strong tropical disturbance associated with the ITCZ that left the coast of Africa on August 9. Around this time, DakarDakar
Dakar is the capital city and largest city of Senegal. It is located on the Cap-Vert Peninsula on the Atlantic coast and is the westernmost city on the African mainland...
, Senegal
Senegal
Senegal , officially the Republic of Senegal , is a country in western Africa. It owes its name to the Sénégal River that borders it to the east and north...
was reporting mid-tropospheric
Troposphere
The troposphere is the lowest portion of Earth's atmosphere. It contains approximately 80% of the atmosphere's mass and 99% of its water vapor and aerosols....
winds of 75 mi/h, the equivalent of a Category 1 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale
Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale
The Saffir–Simpson Hurricane Scale , or the Saffir–Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale , classifies hurricanes — Western Hemisphere tropical cyclones that exceed the intensities of tropical depressions and tropical storms — into five categories distinguished by the intensities of their sustained winds...
. A collection of rapidly-forming cumulonimbus clouds were observed to grow along the area and merge together, forming a tropical disturbance with a weak cyclonic vortex on August 10. The disturbance moved slowly over the Atlantic Ocean
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
, with movie loops showing signs of a circulation on August 11, but it wasn't until the next day when ship reports showed that the disturbance became a tropical depression at 18:00 UTC around 10° north latitude, a latitude it would remain around throughout its lifetime. Although it was at depression strength, operationally, it wasn't until Navy recon reached the storm on August 13 and reported winds of 65 mi/h, gusts of up to 75 mi/h, and a central pressure of 1007 mbar that advisories were started and the storm was named Alma while the center was 375 miles (603.5 km) east of Trinidad and Tobago. This same pass also reported that the storm had a circular eye
Eye (cyclone)
The eye is a region of mostly calm weather found at the center of strong tropical cyclones. The eye of a storm is a roughly circular area and typically 30–65 km in diameter. It is surrounded by the eyewall, a ring of towering thunderstorms where the second most severe weather of a cyclone...
with a diameter of 36 miles (57.9 km); the only report of an eye from this storm. The storm's center was aligned more to the south, causing gale
Gale
A gale is a very strong wind. There are conflicting definitions of how strong a wind must be to be considered a gale. The U.S. government's National Weather Service defines a gale as 34–47 knots of sustained surface winds. Forecasters typically issue gale warnings when winds of this strength are...
-force winds to extend 75 miles (120.7 km) to the north while extending only 25 miles (40.2 km) to the south. At the time, further intensification was predicted and the possibility that Alma could reach hurricane strength prior to landfall on Trinidad was given, but the storm would not strengthen past the peak it reached when Navy recon investigated the cyclone, although an Air Force plane reported a squall of 80 mi/h at flight level.
After being named, Alma moved eastward at a pace of 23 mi/h, which NHC Director Neil Frank
Neil Frank
Dr. Neil Frank, Ph.D. is an American meteorologist and former director of the National Hurricane Center in Florida. He was instrumental in advancing both the scientific and informational aspects of hurricane forecasting. He retired as Chief Meteorologist at KHOU-TV in Houston. Dr...
noted was unusually rapid for a tropical cyclone at this time and location, while causing sea levels to rise up to 15 ft (4.6 m) ahead of it. Alma was able to move and maintain its low latitude movement to the west due to a strong subtropical ridge
Subtropical ridge
The subtropical ridge is a significant belt of high pressure situated around the latitudes of 30°N in the Northern Hemisphere and 30°S in the Southern Hemisphere. It is characterized by mostly calm winds, which acts to reduce air quality under its axis by causing fog overnight, and haze during...
, which was at an unusually lower latitude than expected in August. On August 14, the storm made landfall
Landfall (meteorology)
Landfall is the event of a tropical cyclone or a waterspout coming onto land after being over water. When a waterspout makes landfall it is reclassified as a tornado, which can then cause damage inland...
on Trinidad with winds of 55 mi/h, becoming the southernmost landfall on that island since a storm in 1933
1933 Atlantic hurricane season
The 1933 Atlantic hurricane season was the second most active Atlantic hurricane season on record, with 21 storms forming during that year in the northwest Atlantic Ocean. The season ran through the summer and the first half of fall in 1933, and was surpassed in total number of tropical cyclones by...
. The storm moved across Trinidad in only three hours, and, although disrupted from its landfall and barely tropical, it was able to maintain itself despite the high forward speed preventing any reintensification. The storm transitioned the Gulf of Paria
Gulf of Paria
The Gulf of Paria is a shallow inland sea between the island of Trinidad and the east coast of Venezuela. This sheltered body of water is considered to be one of the best natural harbours on the Atlantic coast of the Americas...
then made its second and final landfall on the Paria Peninsula
Paria Peninsula
Paria Peninsula is a large peninsula in Sucre State, northern Venezuela. It separates the Gulf of Paria and Caribbean Sea. Península de Paria National Park is located on the peninsula...
of Venezuela. The high mountains in Venezuela took a large toll on the storm, ripping the circulation and causing Alma to be downgraded to a tropical depression on August 15 while crossing Lake Maracaibo
Lake Maracaibo
Lake Maracaibo is a large brackish bay in Venezuela at . It is connected to the Gulf of Venezuela by Tablazo Strait at the northern end, and fed by numerous rivers, the largest being the Catatumbo. It is commonly considered a lake rather than a bay or lagoon, and at 13,210 km² it would be the...
. The final advisory issued on the cyclone by the National Hurricane Center
National Hurricane Center
The National Hurricane Center , located at Florida International University in Miami, Florida, is the division of the National Weather Service responsible for tracking and predicting weather systems within the tropics between the Prime Meridian and the 140th meridian west poleward to the 30th...
showed that the remains of Alma were in the northern part of Columbia, still moving at 25 mi/h, and later that day, all identity of the cyclone disappeared. Although the possibility was given that Alma could re-intensify upon exiting land into the southwestern Caribbean Sea, the storm did not redevelop east of Central America
Central America
Central America is the central geographic region of the Americas. It is the southernmost, isthmian portion of the North American continent, which connects with South America on the southeast. When considered part of the unified continental model, it is considered a subcontinent...
. However, the remnants of Alma would eventually travel westward, reaching the Pacific Ocean
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
where they would re-intensify, becoming Hurricane Joyce
1974 Pacific hurricane season
The 1974 Pacific hurricane season officially started May 15, 1974 in the eastern Pacific, and June 1, 1974 in the central Pacific, and lasted until November 30, 1974. These dates conventionally delimit the period of each year when most tropical cyclones form in the northeast Pacific Ocean.With...
.
Impact
Despite being a tropical storm at landfall in both Trinidad and Venezuela, there were no reports of tropical storm force winds on land. However, an Air Force Flight recorded a gust of 80 mph (128.7 km/h) in the squall at 700 mb flight level within Tropical Storm Alma. On land, a station in Trinidad reported sustained winds at 35 mph and a gust at 53 mph (85.3 km/h). Tropical Storm Alma caused 2 direct fatalities in Trinidad. On August 14, a Linea Aeropostal Venezolana Vickers Viscount 749Vickers Viscount
The Vickers Viscount was a British medium-range turboprop airliner first flown in 1948 by Vickers-Armstrongs, making it the first such aircraft to enter service in the world...
turboprop
Turboprop
A turboprop engine is a type of turbine engine which drives an aircraft propeller using a reduction gear.The gas turbine is designed specifically for this application, with almost all of its output being used to drive the propeller...
airliner
Airliner
An airliner is a large fixed-wing aircraft for transporting passengers and cargo. Such aircraft are operated by airlines. Although the definition of an airliner can vary from country to country, an airliner is typically defined as an aircraft intended for carrying multiple passengers in commercial...
crashed while circling the airport on Isla Margarita
Isla Margarita
Margarita Island is the largest island of the state of Nueva Esparta in Venezuela, situated in the Caribbean Sea, off the northeastern coast of the country. The state also contains two other smaller islands: Coche and Cubagua. The capital city of Nueva Esparta is La Asunción, located in a river...
. Around 9:20 a.m. local time, the aircraft struck the side La Gloria, 26 ft (8 m) below the summit. All but one of the 49 people aboard died on impact; the co-pilot survived for 17 more days before dieing from severe and irreversible brain damage.
See also
- Tropical cycloneTropical cycloneA tropical cyclone is a storm system characterized by a large low-pressure center and numerous thunderstorms that produce strong winds and heavy rain. Tropical cyclones strengthen when water evaporated from the ocean is released as the saturated air rises, resulting in condensation of water vapor...
- Tropical Storm Bret (1993)Tropical Storm Bret (1993)Tropical Storm Bret was the second named storm of the 1993 Atlantic hurricane season. The third tropical cyclone of the season, Bret formed on August 4 from a westward moving, African tropical wave. Bret would later peak as a 60 mph tropical storm as it neared Trinidad...
: Another low latitude tropical storm that made landfall on Venezuela.