The 1983 Atlantic hurricane season was an event in the annual tropical cyclone season in the north Atlantic Ocean. It was the least active Atlantic hurricane season in 53 years. The season officially began on June 1, 1983 and ended November 30, 1983. These dates, adopted by convention, historically describe the period in each year when most systems form. The first named storm, Hurricane Alicia, formed on August 15. The last storm of the season, Tropical Storm Dean, dissipated on September 30.
This season produced seven tropical depressions, of which four became named storms; three attained hurricane status, of which one became a major hurricane, a storm that ranks as a Category 3 or higher on the Saffir–Simpson scale. In all, three systems made landfall this season: Hurricane Alicia (in Southeast Texas), Hurricane Barry (in Florida and near the Mexico–Texas border), and Tropical Storm Dean (on the Delmarva Peninsula.
This timeline documents tropical cyclone formations, strengthening, weakening, landfalls, extratropical transitions, and dissipations during the season. It includes information that was not released throughout the season, meaning that data from post-storm reviews by the National Hurricane Center, such as a storm that was not initially warned upon, has been included.
The time stamp for each event is stated using Coordinated Universal Time (UTC), the 24-hour clock where 00:00 = midnight UTC. and the time zone where the center of the tropical cyclone is currently located. The time zones utilized (east to west) prior to 2020 were: Atlantic, Eastern, and Central. In this timeline, the respective area time is included in parentheses. Additionally, figures for maximum sustained winds and position estimates are rounded to the nearest 5 units (miles, or kilometers), following National Hurricane Center practice. Direct wind observations are rounded to the nearest whole number. Atmospheric pressures are listed to the nearest millibar and nearest hundredth of an inch of mercury. __TOC__
Timeline
June No tropical cyclones formed during the month of June.
June 1 The Atlantic hurricane season officially begins.
July July 23 12:00 UTC (8:00 a.m. AST) at Tropical Depression One forms 955 miles (1,540 km) southwest of Brava, Cape Verde.
July 24 06:00 UTC (2:00 a.m. AST) at Tropical Depression One attains its peak intensity, with maximum sustained winds of and an unknown minimum central pressure.
July 27
12:00 UTC (8:00 a.m. AST) at Tropical Depression One passes over the island of Saint Lucia with maximum sustained winds of . 12:00 UTC (8:00 a.m. AST) at Tropical Depression Two forms 245 miles (395 km) southwest of Brava, Cape Verde.
July 28 12:00 UTC (8:00 a.m. AST) at Tropical Depression Two attains its peak intensity, with maximum sustained winds of and an unknown minimum central pressure. 18:00 UTC (2:00 p.m. EDT) at Tropical Depression One is last noted as a tropical cyclone over the open waters of the Caribbean, dissipating shortly thereafter.
August August 2 12:00 UTC (8:00 a.m. AST) at Tropical Depression Two is last noted as a tropical cyclone over the eastern Caribbean, dissipating shortly thereafter.
August 15 12:00 UTC (7:00 a.m. CDT) at Tropical Depression Three forms from a mesoscale convective system about south of New Orleans, Louisiana. 18:00 UTC (1:00 p.m. CDT) at Tropical Depression Three strengthens into Tropical Storm Alicia about south-southwest of New Orleans.
August 17 00:00 UTC (7:00 p.m. CDT, August 16) at Tropical Storm Alicia strengthens into a Category 1 hurricane on the Saffir–Simpson scale about southwest of New Orleans, or about southeast of Galveston, Texas. 18:00 UTC (1:00 p.m. CDT) at Hurricane Alicia strengthens to Category 2 intensity about south of Galveston.
August 18
06:00 UTC (1:00 a.m. CDT) at Hurricane Alicia strengthens to Category 3 intensity about south-southwest of Galveston. 07:00 UTC (2:00 a.m. CDT) at Hurricane Alicia attains its peak intensity while making landfall about southwest of Galveston, with maximum sustained winds of and a minimum central pressure of , making it the strongest storm of the season. 12:00 UTC (7:00 a.m. CDT) at Hurricane Alicia rapidly weakens to Category 1 intensity over land about northwest of Galveston, or very near Houston. 18:00 UTC (1:00 p.m. CDT) at Hurricane Alicia weakens into a tropical storm over land about northwest of Houston.
August 19 06:00 UTC (1:00 a.m. CDT) at Tropical Storm Alicia weakens into a tropical depression over land about northwest of Houston.
August 20 06:00 UTC (1:00 a.m. CDT) at Tropical Depression Alicia transitions into an extratropical cyclone while located over Nebraska, and later dissipates.
August 23 18:00 UTC (2:00 p.m. EDT) at Tropical Depression Four forms from a tropical wave about northeast of Nassau, Bahamas.
August 24 06:00 UTC (2:00 a.m. EDT) at Tropical Depression Four strengthens into Tropical Storm Barry about north-northeast of Nassau, or about east of Melbourne, Florida.
August 25 11:00 UTC (7:00 a.m. EDT) at Tropical Storm Barry weakens into a tropical depression as it makes its first landfall near Melbourne with maximum sustained winds of and a central pressure of , and later emerges over the Gulf of Mexico.
August 27 12:00 UTC (7:00 a.m. CDT) at Tropical Depression Barry restrengthens into a tropical storm about east of Brownsville, Texas.
August 28
12:00 UTC (7:00 a.m. CDT) at Tropical Storm Barry strengthens into a Category 1 hurricane about east-southeast of Brownsville. 17:25 UTC (12:25 p.m. CDT) at Hurricane Barry attains its peak intensity as it makes its second and final landfall in the Mexican state of Tamaulipas about south of Brownsville, with maximum sustained winds of and a minimum central pressure of .
August 29 00:00 UTC (7:00 p.m. CDT, August 28) at Hurricane Barry weakens into a tropical storm over land about west-southwest of Brownsville. 06:00 UTC (1:00 a.m. CDT) at Tropical Storm Barry weakens into a tropical depression over land about west-southwest of Brownsville. 12:00 UTC (7:00 a.m. CDT) at Tropical Depression Barry is last noted as a tropical cyclone over land about west of Brownsville, dissipating over the mountainous terrain of northern Mexico shortly thereafter.
September September 10 12:00 UTC (8:00 a.m. AST) at Tropical Depression Five forms from an area of disturbed weather within a large low-pressure area about south of Bermuda.
September 11 00:00 UTC (8:00 p.m. AST, September 10) at Tropical Depression Five strengthens into Tropical Storm Chantal about east-southeast of Bermuda. 18:00 UTC (2:00 p.m. AST) at Tropical Storm Chantal strengthens into a Category 1 hurricane about east of Bermuda. It simultaneously attains its peak intensity, with maximum sustained winds of and a minimum central pressure of .
September 13
00:00 UTC (8:00 p.m. AST, September 12) at Hurricane Chantal weakens into a tropical storm about east-northeast of Bermuda, or about south of Cape Race, Newfoundland.
September 15 00:00 UTC (8:00 p.m. AST, September 14) at Tropical Storm Chantal weakens into a tropical depression about south-southeast of Cape Race. 06:00 UTC (2:00 a.m. AST) at Tropical Depression Chantal is last noted as a tropical cyclone about southeast of Cape Race, dissipating shortly thereafter when it is absorbed by a weather front.
September 19 exact time and location unknown – Tropical Depression Six forms near the Lesser Antilles.
September 21 exact time and location unknown – Tropical Depression Six degenerates into a tropical wave over the Dominican Republic.
September 26 18:00 UTC (2:00 p.m. EDT) at Subtropical Storm One forms from a weather front about east of the Atlantic coast of central Florida, or about west-southwest of Bermuda.<
September 27 18:00 UTC (2:00 p.m. EDT) at Subtropical Storm One transitions into a tropical cyclone about west-southwest of Bermuda, and is given the name Dean.
September 28 00:00 UTC (8:00 p.m. EDT, September 27) at Tropical Storm Dean attains a minimum central pressure of about west of Bermuda.
September 29
00:00 UTC (8:00 p.m. EDT, September 28) at Tropical Storm Dean attains peak maximum sustained winds of about west-northwest of Bermuda.
September 30 12:00 UTC (8:00 a.m. EDT) at Tropical Storm Dean makes landfall on the Delmarva Peninsula with maximum sustained winds of and a central pressure of . 18:00 UTC (2:00 p.m. EDT) at Tropical Storm Dean weakens into a tropical depression over land, dissipating shortly thereafter.
October No tropical cyclones formed during the month of October.
November No tropical cyclones formed during the month of November.
November 30 The Atlantic hurricane season officially ends.
See also
Lists of Atlantic hurricanes
Notes
References
External links nhc.noaa.gov, National Hurricane Center homepage