This article needs to be updated. The reason given is: It has not been updated using information from the Tropical Cyclone Report and so may contain out-of-date information.. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.(February 2025)
Hurricane Franklin
Franklin shortly before attaining peak intensity on August 28
Hurricane Franklin was a long-lived,and powerful tropical cyclone that brought tropical-storm force winds to parts of the Greater Antilles and Bermuda. The sixth named storm,[1] second hurricane and first major hurricane of the 2023 Atlantic hurricane season,Franklin impacted Hispaniola as a tropical storm before strengthening into a high-end Category4 hurricane several days later. Possessing a large wind field,the hurricane produced tropical storm force winds over Bermuda and soon became extratropical as it accelerated into the open northern Atlantic Ocean. The extratropical cyclone persisted for several more days before dissipating on September10.
Franklin brought heavy rainfall and winds to the Dominican Republic,causing damage to buildings,homes,and light posts.[2] Two fatalities were reported in the country,with an additional person also missing.[2] At least 350people were displaced,and more than 500homes and 2,500roads were affected or damaged.[3] Several communities were cut off from transportation,and nearly 350,000homes were left without power,with an additional 1.6million homes cut off from potable water.[3]
Meteorological history
Map plotting the storm's track and intensity,according to the Saffir–Simpson scale
In mid-August, a monsoon formed in the tropical Atlantic, which would go onto to form Franklin, Gert, and Emily in a short time span. Franklin was the westernmost of the three disturbances, located east-southeast of the Windward Islands.[4] The NHC began monitoring the disturbance for development on August17.[5] An area of low pressure formed on August19 east of the Leeward Islands, and after entering the Caribbean Sea on August20, the disturbance organized into a tropical cyclone170 miles (270km) west of Saint Vincent. A subtropical ridge to the north of Franklin steered the tropical storm west-northwestward. Franklin continued organizing into August21 when westerly wind shear began de-organizing the system. Around the same time, the storm began turning to the west then southwest. The degeneration was so severe that Franklin may have lacked a central circulation, and may have not been a tropical cyclone as a result, on August22. A trough over the Southeastern United States allowed Franklin to turn northwestward by breaking the ridge. Early on August23, Franklin turned northward and shear decreased, causing organization to improve. The storm soon made landfall on the Barahona Peninsula in Dominican Republic, at 10:00UTC on August23.[4] Landfall intensity is uncertain due to a lack of measurements, but the NHC estimated Franklin as having 45mph (72km/h) winds and a central pressure of 1,003 millibars.[4]
Weakening occurred after Franklin made landfall, and it crossed Hispaniola in about 12hours, emerging in the Atlantic as a minimal tropical storm.[4][6] The storm moved northwest. The trough that was over the Southeastern United States moved north of Franklin, causing westerly wind shear. The trough would also cause Franklin to move erratically to the east through August25. On August26, the trough split, one part allowing a ridge to develop that would cause Franklin to suddenly move to the northwest and intensify be removing wind shear. Franklin would become a hurricane by 12:00UTC that day.[4] A further decrease in wind shear along with less dry air allowed Franklin to begin to rapidly intensify as it moved northwestward, becoming the season's first major hurricane at 09:00UTC on August28.[7] Franklin then began to intensify even more rapidly, becoming a Category4 hurricane just over 2+1⁄2 hours later.[8] Franklin then turned northward reached its peak intensity shortly afterwards with maximum sustained winds of 150mph (240km/h) and an estimated central pressure of 926mbar (27.34inHg) before initiating an eyewall replacement cycle, causing it to begin to slowly weaken as it turned northeastward. That trend continued after the cycle was completed as northerly wind shear from the outflow from Hurricane Idalia to the southwest increased over Franklin and by 09:00UTC on August30, it had weakened to Category2 strength.[9] The following day, while passing north of Bermuda, the wind shear over Franklin increased even further, causing the storm's eye to disappear as it became increasingly asymmetric and its forward speed to accelerate.[10]
That same day, Franklin began losing its tropical characteristics, and by 21:00UTC on September1 it had become a hurricane-force extratropical cyclone.[11] Shortly thereafter, the strong cyclone absorbed the smaller and weaker Tropical Storm Jose, which was situated to its east, following a brief Fujiwhara interaction.[12][13] Afterward, the system accelerated towards the northeast. By September4, it was located north of the Azores, then, it moved southeastward to near the northwestern coast of Spain three days later. As the system was moving over warmer waters at the time, the NHC began to monitor it again for possible redevelopment.[14] Some reorganization did take place,[15] but the system did not regenerate into a tropical or subtropical cyclone. The NHC stopped monitoring the post-tropical cyclone as it moved northward on September7,[16] and the remnant cyclone dissipated two days later.
Preparations and impact
Dominican Republic
Rainfall map on Hispaniola.
Schools, governmental buildings, and airports were closed until August24.[17][18] In the Dominican Republic, more than 200people were in shelters, and 24 of the 31provinces in the country were under a red alert.[18][19] Around 3,300residents in low-lying areas were evacuated to higher grounds ahead of the storm.[20] An additional 352people were in government shelters.[21]
Franklin brought heavy rainfall and wind, causing damage to buildings and homes,[22] leaving numerous communities isolated.[21] A peak wind gust of 50mph (80km/h) was recorded in Barahona.[4] Nearly 350,000homes were left without power and 1.6million homes were cut off from potable water.[3] Around 830,000aqueduct users were affected after close to 120aqueducts were put out of service.[18][20] Santo Domingo recorded 330.7mm (13.02in) of rain from Franklin.[23] Two people, including a teenager, were killed. A 15-year-oldboy died after falling into the Rio Nigua, while another man was killed in San Cristóbal as he attempted to cross a ravine. Another man remains missing after he fell into a ravine in Santo Domingo Oeste.[24] Preliminary agricultural damage was estimated to exceed RD$1billion (US$17.6million).[25] Total damage reported the government amounted to RD$5.1billion (US$90million).[26]
Haiti
The Haitian Civil Protection Agency warned residents of strong winds and rains expected as the storm made landfall. Haitian prime minister Ariel Henry urged residents to stock up on essential items such as food, water, and medications.[27]
Bermuda
Several flights departing for Bermuda were cancelled. Franklin brought tropical-storm-force winds to the island's northern shores on August30,[28] causing scattered power outages to 300residences.[29] Several boat cruise routes that departed for Bermuda were affected due to Franklin.[30]
↑ Jonathan Bell; Sékou Hendrickson (August 31, 2023). "Island dodges worst of Franklin". The Royal Gazette. Retrieved August 30, 2023.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
