Nate (2005)

A tropical depression formed from a tropical wave interacting with an upper-level low on 5 September 2005 about 305 nautical miles south-southwest of Bermuda. The system moved generally northeastward, strengthened to a tropical storm within 6 hours, and became a hurricane on 7 September while roughly 225 nmi south-southwest of Bermuda. Nate moved slowly at first, then accelerated northeastward past Bermuda on 8 September, reached peak strength early on 9 September, and weakened to a tropical storm later that day. By 10 September the storm became extratropical about 700 nmi west of the Azores and was absorbed by a larger low by 13 September.

Nate did not make landfall on any continental coastline. It passed about 110 nautical miles southeast of Bermuda on 8 September, sparing the island the cyclone’s core. No other landfalls were recorded; the system remained over the central Atlantic until it became extratropical and later merged with another low.

The storm’s maximum sustained winds peaked at 80 knots (about 92 mph) with a minimum central pressure of 979 mb, making Nate a Category 1 hurricane at its strongest on 9 September 2005. Aircraft, satellite microwave imagery, and remote sensing estimates supported the 80-kt peak assessment.

Observed storm tide and rainfall effects were modest on Bermuda. A 2-minute average wind of 30 kt (gust to 42 kt) was recorded at Bermuda IAP, and local sites reported sustained winds up to about 50 kt at elevated locations on the island. Reported storm surge values in the selected observations were small; for example, the Bermuda IAP reported a storm tide/sea-level change of about 0.94 ft and measured rainfall totals near 0.94 inches at the airport. Offshore ship reports included sustained winds of 41 kt and 35 kt from two vessels in the vicinity of Nate.

There were no reported deaths or damage attributed to Hurricane Nate. Tropical storm watches, a hurricane watch, and warnings were issued for Bermuda as the storm approached, but the abrupt turn to the east-northeast on 8 September kept the island outside Nate’s strongest winds. Forecast track errors were larger than average at longer lead times because early forecasts slowed the storm and predicted a different small clockwise track; once forecasters increased the predicted forward speed the longer-range errors decreased. Otherwise, Nate’s intensity forecasts were generally better than the 1995–2004 average.