Tropical Cyclone Report
Tropical Depression Fourteen
14 - 16 October 2002
Jack Beven
National Hurricane Center 20 November 2002
A weak tropical wave moved through the Lesser Antilles on 9
October. Convection increased in association with the wave on the
12th as it reached the southwestern Caribbean Sea, and a
broad low pressure area formed later that day. The low moved
northward near the east coast of Nicaragua on the 13th
and it became better organized. The system developed sufficient
organized convection to be considered a tropical depression by 1200
UTC 14 October while centered about 120 n mi north-northeast of
Cape Gracias a Dios (Table 1 and Figure 1)
on the border of Honduras and Nicaragua.
The cyclone moved erratically for the next 12 h before beginning
a slow north-northeastward motion early on 15 October. This
increased in forward speed during the remainder of the cyclone's
life. Southwesterly vertical shear associated with a deep-layer
trough over the southeastern United States prevented further
development and may have contributed to a persistent elongation of
the circulation. The center made landfall on the south coast of
central Cuba on the 16th and was absorbed by a cold
front late that day.
An Air Force Reserve Hurricane Hunter aircraft reported a
minimum pressure of 1002 mb on multiple occasions on 15 October.
The maximum flight-level winds observed were 37 kt. The ships
Explorer of the Seas (call sign ELWX5) and
ZCBU5 (name unknown) reported 29 kt winds
respectively at 0800 and 0500 UTC 15 October. There were no
significant observations of winds from land stations.
Although the depression caused locally heavy rains over portions
of Jamaica, Cuba, and the Cayman Islands, there are no reports of
damages or casualties.
Table 1: Best track, Tropical Depression Fourteen,
14 - 16 October 2002
Date/Time (UTC) | Position | Pressure (mb) | Wind Speed (kt) | Stage |
Lat. (°N) | Lon. (°W) |
14 / 1200 | 16.9 | 82.6 | 1008 | 30 | tropical depression |
14 / 1800 | 17.2 | 83.1 | 1005 | 30 | " |
15 / 0000 | 17.1 | 83.2 | 1004 | 30 | " |
15 / 0600 | 17.5 | 83.0 | 1004 | 30 | " |
15 / 1200 | 17.9 | 82.8 | 1004 | 30 | " |
15 / 1800 | 18.6 | 82.5 | 1002 | 30 | " |
16 / 0000 | 19.7 | 82.2 | 1003 | 30 | " |
16 / 0600 | 20.5 | 81.6 | 1003 | 30 | " |
16 / 1200 | 21.5 | 81.0 | 1005 | 30 | " |
16 / 1800 | 22.4 | 80.5 | 1006 | 25 | " |
17 / 0000 | | | | | absorbed by cold front |
15 / 1800 | 18.6 | 82.5 | 1002 | 30 | minimum pressure |
16 / 1600 | 22.0 | 80.7 | 1006 | 25 | landfall near Cienfuegos, Cuba |
Figure 1:
Best track of Tropical Depression Fourteen, 14 - 16 October
2002.
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