A tropical cyclone developed from a tropical wave that emerged off the west coast of Africa and became a tropical depression on September 14, 2016 near the eastern Cape Verde Islands. The system became Tropical Storm Karl on September 15 and spent many days moving generally westward and then northwestward across the tropical Atlantic. Karl weakened to a depression briefly on September 21, restrengthened to a tropical storm late on September 22, turned north and then northeast, passed near Bermuda on September 24, and became an extratropical cyclone on September 25. The remnant low merged with another extratropical system over the North Atlantic after September 25.
Karl made no U.S. landfalls; its closest approach to land was when it passed about 40 nautical miles southeast of Bermuda around 0900 UTC on September 24. At that time the storm’s maximum sustained winds were near 55 knots (about 63 mph). No other landfalls were recorded.
The storm’s peak intensity was 60 knots (about 69 mph) with a minimum central pressure near 990 millibars, reached by 0600 UTC on September 25. Karl remained a tropical storm throughout its life and did not reach hurricane strength.
Storm surge impacts were small. Bermuda reported rainfall totals of about 4.7 inches (Bermuda Weather Service) with nearly 5 inches across parts of the island. The Bermuda Weather Service estimated maximum sustained winds near 40 knots on the morning of September 24, and a wind gust of 59 knots was recorded at Harbor Radio/MAROPS in St. George’s.
There were no reported deaths associated with Karl. Damage on Bermuda was minor: roughly 800 customers lost power briefly due to a mainline fault believed to be caused by heavy rain rather than wind, and only slight other damage was reported.
Noteworthy aspects include that Karl’s genesis was not well forecast in advance, and the storm spent an unusually long time (about nine days) at relatively low intensity despite many model forecasts predicting strengthening. Official track forecasts performed well compared with recent averages, while intensity forecasts had larger errors at longer lead times because models tended to overpredict strengthening.
Paid members can generate summaries tailored to the counties of their choice. The Karl 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 Karl → (opens at nhc.noaa.gov)| Time (UTC) | Status | Lat | Lon | Winds (kt) | Pressure (mb) | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016-09-12 18:00 | LO | 13.10 | -19.00 | 20 | 1010 | |
| 2016-09-13 00:00 | LO | 13.30 | -19.30 | 20 | 1010 | |
| 2016-09-13 06:00 | LO | 13.60 | -19.60 | 20 | 1010 | |
| 2016-09-13 12:00 | LO | 14.10 | -20.00 | 25 | 1010 | |
| 2016-09-13 18:00 | LO | 14.80 | -20.80 | 25 | 1009 | |
| 2016-09-14 00:00 | LO | 15.50 | -21.90 | 25 | 1009 | |
| 2016-09-14 06:00 | TD | 16.20 | -23.20 | 25 | 1009 | |
| 2016-09-14 12:00 | TD | 16.80 | -24.50 | 30 | 1009 | |
| 2016-09-14 18:00 | TD | 17.20 | -25.80 | 30 | 1009 | |
| 2016-09-15 00:00 | TD | 17.40 | -27.30 | 30 | 1009 | |
| 2016-09-15 06:00 | TS | 17.50 | -28.70 | 35 | 1008 | |
| 2016-09-15 12:00 | TS | 17.60 | -29.80 | 35 | 1007 | |
| 2016-09-15 18:00 | TS | 17.70 | -30.80 | 35 | 1006 | |
| 2016-09-16 00:00 | TS | 17.80 | -31.80 | 40 | 1004 | |
| 2016-09-16 06:00 | TS | 18.00 | -32.80 | 40 | 1004 | |
| 2016-09-16 12:00 | TS | 18.30 | -33.80 | 40 | 1004 | |
| 2016-09-16 18:00 | TS | 18.50 | -34.90 | 40 | 1004 | |
| 2016-09-17 00:00 | TS | 18.40 | -36.20 | 40 | 1004 | |
| 2016-09-17 06:00 | TS | 18.30 | -37.40 | 40 | 1004 | |
| 2016-09-17 12:00 | TS | 18.20 | -38.60 | 40 | 1004 | |
| 2016-09-17 18:00 | TS | 18.10 | -39.70 | 40 | 1005 | |
| 2016-09-18 00:00 | TS | 17.90 | -40.70 | 35 | 1006 | |
| 2016-09-18 06:00 | TS | 17.90 | -41.80 | 35 | 1006 | |
| 2016-09-18 12:00 | TS | 18.00 | -42.90 | 35 | 1006 | |
| 2016-09-18 18:00 | TS | 18.10 | -44.30 | 35 | 1006 | |
| 2016-09-19 00:00 | TS | 18.10 | -45.60 | 35 | 1006 | |
| 2016-09-19 06:00 | TS | 18.20 | -46.80 | 35 | 1006 | |
| 2016-09-19 12:00 | TS | 18.40 | -47.80 | 35 | 1006 | |
| 2016-09-19 18:00 | TS | 19.00 | -48.90 | 35 | 1006 | |
| 2016-09-20 00:00 | TS | 19.70 | -50.30 | 35 | 1006 | |
| 2016-09-20 06:00 | TS | 20.00 | -52.10 | 35 | 1006 | |
| 2016-09-20 12:00 | TS | 20.00 | -53.70 | 35 | 1006 | |
| 2016-09-20 18:00 | TS | 20.00 | -54.90 | 35 | 1006 | |
| 2016-09-21 00:00 | TS | 20.00 | -56.00 | 35 | 1006 | |
| 2016-09-21 06:00 | TD | 20.20 | -56.90 | 30 | 1006 | |
| 2016-09-21 12:00 | TD | 20.80 | -57.50 | 30 | 1007 | |
| 2016-09-21 18:00 | TD | 21.50 | -58.20 | 30 | 1007 | |
| 2016-09-22 00:00 | TD | 22.50 | -59.20 | 30 | 1007 | |
| 2016-09-22 06:00 | TD | 23.50 | -60.30 | 30 | 1007 | |
| 2016-09-22 12:00 | TD | 24.40 | -61.70 | 30 | 1007 | |
| 2016-09-22 18:00 | TS | 25.30 | -62.90 | 35 | 1005 | |
| 2016-09-23 00:00 | TS | 26.40 | -63.70 | 40 | 1001 | |
| 2016-09-23 06:00 | TS | 27.30 | -64.30 | 50 | 997 | |
| 2016-09-23 12:00 | TS | 28.20 | -64.90 | 50 | 992 | |
| 2016-09-23 18:00 | TS | 29.20 | -65.30 | 55 | 988 | |
| 2016-09-24 00:00 | TS | 30.30 | -65.30 | 55 | 990 | |
| 2016-09-24 06:00 | TS | 31.50 | -64.80 | 55 | 990 | |
| 2016-09-24 12:00 | TS | 32.20 | -63.30 | 55 | 994 | |
| 2016-09-24 18:00 | TS | 32.90 | -61.50 | 55 | 994 | |
| 2016-09-25 00:00 | TS | 33.80 | -59.30 | 55 | 992 | |
| 2016-09-25 06:00 | TS | 35.80 | -55.10 | 60 | 990 | |
| 2016-09-25 12:00 | EX | 38.10 | -50.40 | 60 | 986 | |
| 2016-09-25 18:00 | EX | 41.00 | -45.00 | 60 | 980 | |
| 2016-09-26 00:00 | EX | 45.00 | -39.90 | 55 | 986 |
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.