Breakdown: Why 14 new tropical storms have been discovered

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (WMC) - The 1966 to 1970 Atlantic hurricane seasons have been reanalyzed.

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), a systematic study of the 1966 to 1970 Atlantic hurricane seasons has discovered 14 new tropical storms.

Additionally, two new hurricanes were diagnosed, which previously were only considered to be a tropical depression (AL151970) and a tropical storm (AL081970).

These systems were all added into the hurricane database (HURDAT2) based upon a re-examination of all weather station, ship, Hurricane Hunter, and satellite observations using today’s understanding of tropical cyclone structure and life cycle.

On the flip side, two major hurricanes in 1969 (Francelia and Inga) were downgraded to a Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale category 2 hurricane.

For U.S. hurricanes, 1966′s Alma was upgraded from a Category 2 to a Category 3 hurricane impact in southwest Florida, 1966′s Inez was upgraded from a Category 1 to a Category 2 hurricane in south Florida, 1970′s Celia was upgraded from a Category 3 to a Category 4 hurricane in lower Texas, and 1969′s Gerda was downgraded from a Category 1 hurricane to a tropical storm in Maine.

Revised 1966 North Atlantic Tropical Storms, Subtropical Storms, and Hurricanes — Revised 1966 North Atlantic Tropical Storms, Subtropical Storms, and Hurricanes(NOAA)

Revised 1967 North Atlantic Tropical Storms, Subtropical Storms, and Hurricanes — Revised 1967 North Atlantic Tropical Storms, Subtropical Storms, and Hurricanes(NOAA)

Revised 1968 North Atlantic Tropical Storms, Subtropical Storms, and Hurricanes — Revised 1968 North Atlantic Tropical Storms, Subtropical Storms, and Hurricanes(NOAA)

Revised 1969 North Atlantic Tropical Storms, Subtropical Storms, and Hurricanes — Revised 1969 North Atlantic Tropical Storms, Subtropical Storms, and Hurricanes(NOAA)

Revised 1970 North Atlantic Tropical Storms, Subtropical Storms, and Hurricanes — Revised 1970 North Atlantic Tropical Storms, Subtropical Storms, and Hurricanes(NOAA)

The Atlantic Hurricane Database Re-analysis Project is an effort to extend and revise the National Hurricane Center’s North Atlantic hurricane database (or HURDAT). Going back to 1851 and revisiting storms in more recent years, information on tropical cyclones is revised using an enhanced collection of historical meteorological data in the context of today’s scientific understanding of hurricanes and analysis techniques.

This research was supported previously by the NOAA Climate Program Office via a funded proposal entitled ‘’Reanalysis of the Atlantic Basin Tropical Cyclone Database in the Modern Era.’’

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