Humberto formed from an African easterly wave that moved off West Africa on 7 September 2013. A well-defined circulation and persistent thunderstorm activity led to the designation of a tropical depression on 8 September about 195 nautical miles west-southwest of Dakar, Senegal. The system moved generally westward and then northwestward over the eastern Atlantic, existed as a tropical cyclone (including a brief post-tropical and subtropical phase) for about 12 days, and finally lost its closed circulation and was absorbed by a front on 19 September about 975–1,000 n mi west-southwest of the Azores.
Humberto passed just south of the southern Cape Verde Islands on 9 September. Tropical storm warnings were issued for Maio, Santiago, Fogo, and Brava on 8 September and discontinued on 9 September; no direct landfall on a major island is reported in the NHC best track. The system otherwise remained over open water and did not make a U.S. or European landfall before dissipating and being absorbed on 19 September.
The storm’s maximum sustained winds peaked at 80 knots (92 mph) with a minimum central pressure of 979 mb. That peak intensity occurred at 1800 UTC 11 September and corresponds to a Category 1 hurricane on the Saffir–Simpson scale. Humberto held that peak intensity for about 12 hours while a small intermittent eye was observed in satellite imagery.
Impacts were mainly on the southern Cape Verde Islands where Humberto produced heavy rains and gusty winds that caused some minor flooding and downed trees, according to media reports. No ships or land stations reported sustained tropical-storm-force winds in the official observations, and there were no reported casualties. The NHC report records no direct or indirect deaths associated with Humberto.
Noteworthy aspects include the storm’s rapid strengthening from a tropical storm to a hurricane on 11 September despite only modest sea-surface temperatures, attributed to unusually low wind shear at the time. Forecasts and watch/warning products performed well: genesis was anticipated several days in advance and NHC track and intensity forecast errors for Humberto were smaller than recent 5-year averages, though some forecast products showed a tendency to overestimate intensity during the later period.
Paid members can generate summaries tailored to the counties of their choice. The Humberto TCR covers impacts across many counties and states — a Pinellas County resident doesn't need the Asheville detail, and a Buncombe County resident doesn't need the Tampa surge data.
Upgrade for county-specific summariesSummary above produced from the National Hurricane Center's official post-storm Tropical Cyclone Report. Read the full report for casualty lists, damage estimates by area, forecast critique, and detailed meteorological discussion:
📄 Read NHC's full report on Humberto → (opens at nhc.noaa.gov)| Time (UTC) | Status | Lat | Lon | Winds (kt) | Pressure (mb) | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013-09-08 00:00 | LO | 13.00 | -17.60 | 25 | 1009 | |
| 2013-09-08 06:00 | LO | 13.00 | -18.40 | 25 | 1009 | |
| 2013-09-08 12:00 | LO | 13.00 | -19.30 | 25 | 1009 | |
| 2013-09-08 18:00 | TD | 13.00 | -20.30 | 25 | 1008 | |
| 2013-09-09 00:00 | TD | 13.10 | -21.30 | 30 | 1007 | |
| 2013-09-09 06:00 | TS | 13.30 | -22.40 | 35 | 1006 | |
| 2013-09-09 12:00 | TS | 13.50 | -23.60 | 40 | 1005 | |
| 2013-09-09 18:00 | TS | 13.70 | -24.60 | 45 | 1004 | |
| 2013-09-10 00:00 | TS | 13.90 | -25.50 | 50 | 1002 | |
| 2013-09-10 06:00 | TS | 14.10 | -26.50 | 55 | 1000 | |
| 2013-09-10 12:00 | TS | 14.30 | -27.30 | 55 | 1000 | |
| 2013-09-10 18:00 | TS | 14.70 | -27.90 | 55 | 999 | |
| 2013-09-11 00:00 | TS | 15.10 | -28.30 | 55 | 998 | |
| 2013-09-11 06:00 | TS | 15.60 | -28.60 | 60 | 994 | |
| 2013-09-11 12:00 | HU | 16.30 | -28.90 | 70 | 987 | |
| 2013-09-11 18:00 | HU | 17.40 | -28.90 | 80 | 979 | |
| 2013-09-12 00:00 | HU | 18.60 | -28.90 | 80 | 979 | |
| 2013-09-12 06:00 | HU | 19.90 | -28.90 | 80 | 979 | |
| 2013-09-12 12:00 | HU | 21.20 | -28.90 | 75 | 980 | |
| 2013-09-12 18:00 | HU | 22.30 | -29.10 | 75 | 980 | |
| 2013-09-13 00:00 | HU | 23.20 | -29.50 | 70 | 982 | |
| 2013-09-13 06:00 | TS | 24.00 | -30.00 | 60 | 986 | |
| 2013-09-13 12:00 | TS | 24.60 | -30.80 | 55 | 988 | |
| 2013-09-13 18:00 | TS | 24.80 | -31.70 | 45 | 995 | |
| 2013-09-14 00:00 | LO | 24.80 | -32.60 | 40 | 999 | |
| 2013-09-14 06:00 | LO | 24.90 | -33.60 | 35 | 1003 | |
| 2013-09-14 12:00 | LO | 25.20 | -34.80 | 35 | 1004 | |
| 2013-09-14 18:00 | LO | 25.50 | -36.30 | 35 | 1005 | |
| 2013-09-15 00:00 | TS | 25.60 | -37.80 | 35 | 1004 | |
| 2013-09-15 06:00 | TS | 25.60 | -38.90 | 35 | 1004 | |
| 2013-09-15 12:00 | TS | 25.90 | -39.70 | 35 | 1004 | |
| 2013-09-15 18:00 | TS | 26.40 | -40.40 | 35 | 1004 | |
| 2013-09-16 00:00 | TS | 26.70 | -41.30 | 35 | 1004 | |
| 2013-09-16 06:00 | TS | 26.70 | -42.40 | 35 | 1004 | |
| 2013-09-16 12:00 | TS | 26.80 | -42.90 | 40 | 1000 | |
| 2013-09-16 18:00 | TS | 26.90 | -43.30 | 40 | 1000 | |
| 2013-09-17 00:00 | TS | 27.00 | -43.20 | 35 | 1002 | |
| 2013-09-17 06:00 | TS | 27.40 | -42.90 | 35 | 1002 | |
| 2013-09-17 12:00 | SS | 28.40 | -42.60 | 40 | 1000 | |
| 2013-09-17 18:00 | SS | 29.50 | -42.70 | 40 | 1000 | |
| 2013-09-18 00:00 | SS | 30.50 | -43.20 | 35 | 1003 | |
| 2013-09-18 06:00 | SD | 31.10 | -43.60 | 30 | 1006 | |
| 2013-09-18 12:00 | SD | 31.60 | -43.90 | 30 | 1006 | |
| 2013-09-18 18:00 | SD | 32.00 | -44.10 | 30 | 1007 | |
| 2013-09-19 00:00 | SD | 32.50 | -44.30 | 30 | 1007 | |
| 2013-09-19 06:00 | SD | 33.00 | -44.50 | 30 | 1007 |
Source: NOAA National Hurricane Center HURDAT2 best-track database (nhc.noaa.gov/data). Data is in the public domain. Best-track positions and intensities are post-storm reanalysis estimates and may differ from real-time advisories.