Tammy (2005)

A small tropical cyclone formed from a tropical wave interacting with an upper-level trough and became Tropical Storm Tammy on 5 October 2005 just off the southeastern coast of Florida near Jupiter. Tammy moved northwestward, then west-northwest, hugging the Florida east coast before turning west across southern Georgia. The storm was short-lived, existing as a tropical cyclone roughly 36 hours from early 5 October until it weakened over land on 6 October and became a remnant low that was absorbed by a larger system on 7 October.

Tammy made a single U.S. landfall near Atlantic Beach, Florida, at about 2300 UTC on 5 October 2005. At landfall the storm had sustained winds of about 45 knots (roughly 52 mph) and a central pressure near 1002 mb. After landfall it accelerated westward across southern Georgia and weakened to a tropical depression by about 1200 UTC on 6 October, then to a remnant low later that day.

The storm’s maximum intensity was 45 knots (about 52 mph), corresponding to a strong tropical storm. The lowest pressure observed was about 1001–1002 millibars (1001 mb from reconnaissance extrapolation at 2005 UTC, 1002.0 mb observed at Mayport Naval Base). Tammy did not reach hurricane strength.

Storm surge and heavy rain caused most of Tammy’s impacts. Storm surge along extreme northeastern Florida, coastal Georgia, and South Carolina was generally 2–4 feet; reported local values include about 2.3 ft at Mayport, 2.5 ft at the St. Johns River I-295 bridge, 3.0 ft at Vilano Beach ICWW, and 3.2 ft at Fernandina Beach. Beach erosion exceeded 2 feet in St. Johns and Flagler counties (Florida) and caused significant erosion and damage at Tybee Island (Georgia), Edisto Beach and Isle of Palms (South Carolina); several feet of beach were lost and several homes were damaged on Edisto Beach. Rainfall totals were mostly 3–5 inches, with isolated amounts near 10 inches over parts of extreme southeastern Georgia; notable local totals include about 9.93 inches reported near Brunswick (Brunswick/Glynco Airport area) and 9.21 inches at Woodbine, Georgia. Flooding in McIntosh County, Georgia washed out 15–20 roads, caused two pond-dam failures, and damaged five homes; Glynn County also reported flood damage to several homes.

There were no large insured losses — insured damage was below the catastrophe threshold of $25 million. Tammy’s primary impacts were flooding, beach erosion, and some structural damage; an F0 tornado near Brunswick, Georgia damaged a hotel roof and snapped trees and power poles. The report does not list any storm-related deaths.

Noteworthy points: Tammy developed and reached tropical-storm strength very close to land, giving only about six hours of tropical-storm–force wind lead time in the warning area. Forecast track errors for Tammy were slightly below the 1995–2004 averages at short ranges, and official intensity errors were also smaller than the 10-year means, despite the storm’s brief life and limited reconnaissance data.