Bill (2009)

A tropical depression formed about 330 nautical miles west-southwest of the Cape Verde Islands on 15 August 2009 and strengthened into Tropical Storm Bill later that day. Bill moved west-northwest across the central Atlantic, became a hurricane on 17 August, and reached peak strength on 19 August while east-northeast of the northern Leeward Islands. After peaking, it turned north and then northeast, accelerated, weakened, and brushed Bermuda on 22 August. Bill moved past the south coast of Nova Scotia early on 23 August, crossed the Burin Peninsula of Newfoundland as a tropical storm on 24 August, and became extratropical later that day before being absorbed near the British Isles on 26 August.

Bill’s only direct U.S./Canadian landfall occurred near the Burin Peninsula, Newfoundland on 24 August as a tropical storm (about 60 kt or 70 mph sustained). It did not make a direct landfall on Bermuda but passed about 150 nautical miles west of the island on the morning of 22 August, bringing tropical-storm-force winds there. The storm also brushed Nova Scotia early on 23 August as a hurricane-strength system offshore, producing strong winds and coastal impacts.

Maximum intensity was estimated at 115 knots (about 132 mph), with a minimum central pressure of 943 mb. That intensity corresponds to a Category 4 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson scale; Bill remained at or near Category 4 strength for about a day around 19–20 August.

Storm surge and rainfall produced notable local impacts. Measured storm surge and water heights included a 3.1 ft storm surge at St. Lawrence, Newfoundland and a 2.5 ft surge with a 1.20 in rainfall total at Argentia, Newfoundland. McNabs Island, Nova Scotia recorded a 2.1 ft storm surge. Coastal tide and surge combined produced localized coastal flooding along much of the Atlantic coast; Environment Canada reported widespread coastal flooding, road washouts, and tens of thousands without power in Nova Scotia. Bermuda observed sustained winds up to 65 kt reported at an elevated station (255 ft), and buoys and ships recorded tropical-storm to hurricane-force winds over a broad area of the Atlantic.

Two deaths were associated with Bill: a 7-year-old girl swept into the water by large waves in Acadia National Park, Maine, and a 54-year-old swimmer who drowned in New Smyrna Beach, Florida, both attributable to rough seas and large surf. Damage included coastal flooding, washed-out roads, and coastal infrastructure damage in the Dominican Republic, Nova Scotia, and Newfoundland; widespread power outages occurred in Nova Scotia.

Noteworthy items: Bill was a long-lived Cape Verde hurricane whose rapid intensification to a peak Category 4 was well observed by multiple aircraft and satellite missions. NHC track forecasts for Bill were more accurate than recent averages at all forecast periods, while intensity forecasts were generally better than five-year means at several time points though post-peak strengthening that some models predicted did not occur.