Edouard (2014)

A tropical depression formed from a westward-moving tropical wave well west of the Cape Verde Islands and was designated at 1200 UTC on 11 September 2014. The system moved generally northwestward then northward and northeastward over the central and western Atlantic, weakening as it accelerated into the mid-latitude westerlies. It became post-tropical early on 19 September and its remnant low merged with a frontal system by 21 September. The track remained over the open ocean and the cyclone never approached the U.S. coastline.

Edouard did not make any landfalls. It remained far from land throughout its life, with no tropical cyclone watches or warnings issued.

The storm’s peak intensity occurred at 1200 UTC on 16 September 2014. Maximum sustained winds were estimated at 105 knots (121 mph), the minimum central pressure was about 955–956 mb, and Edouard was a Category 3 major hurricane at its strongest.

Because Edouard stayed over the open Atlantic, there were no reported storm surge observations tied to the hurricane along coasts, and no significant rainfall totals reported for populated locations in the NHC report. No ship reports of tropical-storm-force winds were associated with the cyclone while it was tropical.

There were no reported deaths or damage associated with Edouard. Regions near the storm reported no casualties or measurable impacts in the NHC record.

Noteworthy aspects include that Edouard was the first major Atlantic hurricane since Sandy (2012) and was the subject of extensive research flights. NASA and NOAA conducted multiple missions, including the first-ever release of an unmanned Coyote aircraft into an Atlantic tropical cyclone and numerous dropwindsonde releases from a Global Hawk. NHC track and intensity forecasts for Edouard had generally low errors compared with recent averages.