Tropical Cyclone Isabel

Tropical Cyclone Isabel:

*Hurricane Isabel was a classic Cape Verde storm that rapidly intensified into a Category Five Hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Scale. 

* The storm was quite unique by becoming one of the rare hurricanes to sustain Category Five Hurricane intensity for close to 30 hours.

* It was originally formed in West Coast of Africa on September 1st, 2003. Then, on the sixth of September, it became a tropical depression with winds of 35 mph, and a minimum central pressure of only 1009 millibars, or 29.80 inches of Hg.

* It quickly grew into a tropical storm. Within six hours of being formed, it became a named storm with winds of 40 mph, and a pressure that had dropped to 1005 mb, or 29.68 inches of Hg. By the end of the first day in its long journey, Isabel had become already a rather modest tropical storm with winds of 65 mph, and its pressure continued to drop as it fell below 1000 mb.

* Isabel began undergoing rapid intensification from a strong Category Two Hurricane to a ultra powerful Category Five Hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Scale. A Category Five Hurricane is the highest level of intensity that a hurricane can reach, and such a storm is capable of catastrophic damage.

*Isabel was probably the most powerful storm to hit North Carolina since Hurricane Hazel in 1954. It also affected other areas such as Maryland, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Virginia, and West Virginia while directly or indirectly causing deaths in New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Florida, and the District of Columbia. Hurricane Isabel, at its maximum strength, marked the most powerful storm in Atlantic Basin since Hurricane Mitch in 1998.

*The winds downed hundreds of trees, leaving up to 700,000 without power across the state. Damage from the hurricane totaled about $450 million (2003 USD, ($586 million 2017 USD)). Three people were killed in the state, a utility worker attempting to restore electricity and two by falling trees.