2004 Tropical Season recap—part 3: Gaston formed as a tropical depression on 8/27, about 140 miles southeast of Charleston, South Carolina. It was named as a tropical depression the following day and made landfall on the South Carolina coast on the 29th. Post storm analysis indicates that Gaston was actually a hurricane at the time of landfall and It was recently upgraded after the fact. Gaston moved back over the water, regained tropical storm strength and caused serious flooding around Richmond, Virginia on 8/30, when a foot of rain fell in eight hours, drowning eight people.

Tropical Storm Hermine brought wins of 35 mph to eastern Massachusetts on August 31st, but it was already becoming extratropical.

Hurricane Ivan moved off the African coast on August 31st and became a depression on 9/2, a tropical storm on 9/3, a hurricane on 9/5 and a major hurricane the same day. Ivan caused serious damage and loss of life in the Windwards, especially Grenada. It became a major hurricane on the 9th and again on the 11th. It would reach top status again on the 13th. It caused heavy damage on the Cayman Islands, but missed Cuba. It moved into the Gulf and weakened slowly as it targeted the Central Gulf Coast. It made landfall near Gulf Shores on the 16th as a strong category two hurricane, but the storm surge damage was tremendous in Baldwin County and in Escambia County, Florida. Ivan caused tremendous damage all the way into North Central Alabama. It would describe a huge clockwise loop, exiting into the Atlantic, crossing Florida and becoming rejuvenated over the Gulf to make a second US landfall in Louisiana. Total damage in the U.S. was $10 billion. Ivan killed 90 in its rampage.

Jeanne was named on 9/14 as it was moving across the islands into the Caribbean. It caused devastating flash floods in the Greater Antilles. Jeanne followed roughly the same course as Frances some 20 days earlier. It made landfall as a Category Three storm near Stuart, Florida late on the evening of the 25th. Jeanne then moved northward and recurved over the Mid Atlantic States.

Hurricane Karl became a major hurricane, but remained over the open waters of the Atlantic. Lisa briefly became a hurricane over the open Atlantic. Tropical Storm Matthew made landfall near Cocodrie, Louisiana on October 10th. Finally, Subtropical Storm Nicole wandered over the open waters near Bermuda, affecting nothing but shipping.

It had to be the most beautiful sunset I have ever seen. I have seen what seems like a zillion sunrises and sunsets at various times of the year in at least 32 states, including much of the desert areas of the West.

Tonight's (Sunday night) was the prettiest ever. I suspected it was going to be great because when I walked Little Miss Molly before leaving for church, I noticed at least five different types of clouds at various levels. Including cirrus, altocumulus, altostratus and cirrustratus. Thrown into the mix were jet contrails and virga (precipitation from clouds that evaporates before hitting the ground.) The virga was from a band of altostratus at about 12,000 feet which means it was snow.

Driving from Trussville down I-59 to Huffman (NE edge of Birmingham) it was like driving into a panoramic brilliant painting. All colors you could ask for. No camera with me.

I know I get excited about such as this but I am like a little kid in a candy store when it comes to sunrise and sunset scenes.

Anybody else get a look? Unforgetable.

After a bout with some kind of "24 hour bug"... I am plowing through weather data this afternoon and noticed another significant tornado reported down in Baldwin county yesterday:

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MOBILE AL
115 PM CST SAT NOV 27 2004

..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..

1133 AM TORNADO SUMMERDALE 30.49N 87.70W
11/27/2004 BALDWIN AL EMERGENCY MNGR

*** 5 INJ *** EMA REPORTED 30 TO 50 HOMES DAMAGED IN
DOWNTOWN SUMMERDALE IN A 5 TO 6 BLOCK RADIUS. AT LEAST 6 OF THESE HOMES WERE RENDERED UNINHABITABLE. SOME INJURIES REPORTED...ESTIMATE 5 AT THIS TIME.

This has been quite a five stretch of severe weather here in Alabama...