Details – Hurricane Isidore
Storm Path:
Storm Facts:
| Storm Life | September 14 – 27, 2002 |
| Landfall | Grand Isle, LA |
| T.S. FCMP Deployment | September 24 – 27, 2002 |
| Estimated Damage | $165 Million† |
| Casualties | 5 |
| Links | NOAA – NHC, AOML |
Synopsis of FCMP Deployment
Isidore became a hurricane at 1800 UTC on September 19, 2002 as it tracked west-northwest across the Cayman Islands. As the cyclone neared the southwest coast of the Isle of Youth, Cuba, the FCMP deployed one UF team to monitor the storm from Key West, Florida. Isidore moved westerly, however, and the team only succeeded in capturing the outermost bands of the cyclone. Isidore moved west and southwestward toward the Yucatan Peninsula, reaching its maximum intensity of 56.6 m/s (126.7 mph) at 1800 UTC on the 21st. The cyclone remained nearly stationary for 24 to 36 hours over northern Yucatan and weakened to a minimal tropical storm, before it moved northward over the Gulf of Mexico.
UF and CU FCMP teams remained on standby as the cyclone moved northward into the Gulf of Mexico, anticipating the possibility that Isidore might strike somewhere in the array of instrumented homes located on the west end of the panhandle of Florida. On the 24th, UF met CU in Gulf Breeze, Florida, to ready three instrumented homes and set up three towers (T0, T1 and T2) in close proximity. Isidore made landfall with winds of 28.3 m/s (63.4 mph) with a minimum pressure of 984 mb just west of Grand Isle, Louisiana at 0600 UTC on the 26th. Although it weakened to a minimal tropical storm in the Gulf of Mexico, its circulation expanded which provided significant wind (as high as 26.9 m/s) approximately 350 km away.
Participating Team Members
Luis Aponte
Cos Gardener
Kurt Gurley, Ph.D.
Jon Lamb
Forrest Masters
Matt McCann
Tim Reinhold, Ph.D.
Scott Robinette
Robin Weaver
†Source: Property Claim Services Division of the Insurance Services Office