Kate (2015)

A small area of disturbed weather moved off Africa in late October and gradually organized near the Bahamas in early November. A tropical depression formed just north of the Turks and Caicos Islands at 1800 UTC on 8 November 2015. The system became Tropical Storm Kate by 0600 UTC on 9 November, moved generally northward and then east‑northeastward, reached hurricane strength on 0000 UTC 11 November, and became extratropical by 0000 UTC 12 November. The remnant low moved eastward and was absorbed by a larger extratropical cyclone by 1800 UTC 13 November.

Kate passed just east of the northwestern Bahamas on 9 November while strengthening, but its circulation was very small and tropical-storm‑force conditions were not widely observed in the watch and warning areas. No landfalls of hurricane force on major land areas were reported in the NHC record; the system remained over open water during its life as a tropical cyclone.

Maximum sustained winds peaked at 75 knots (about 86 mph) at 1200 UTC on 11 November, with a minimum central pressure of 980 mb. That peak made Kate a Category 1 hurricane on the Saffir‑Simpson scale; the strongest flight-level winds measured during reconnaissance were 72 kt at 700 mb about 12 hours before the peak surface estimate.

Storm surge and heavy rainfall impacts were minimal in the official record. Ship reports recorded tropical‑storm‑force winds but the report lists no specific storm‑surge heights at named coastal locations. There were no reports of damage or rainfall totals at cities or counties cited in the NHC report.

There were no confirmed deaths—direct or indirect—and no reported damage associated with Kate. Noteworthy aspects include that Kate was a late‑season cyclone that developed from a tropical wave (rare but not unprecedented), had a very small circulation, and was better forecast for intensity at short ranges than for track; official track errors for Kate were larger than recent averages while short‑range intensity forecasts (12–36 h) performed relatively well.