PART II: METEOROLOGICAL DISCUSSION 



3. Hurricane Kate was first identified as a weak tropical wave located 

 northeast of the Virgin Islands on 13 and 14 November 1985.* The system 

 strengthened rapidly and already had attained tropical storm intensity when 

 first investigated by reconnaissance aircraft on 15 November 1985. Atmo- 

 spheric conditions in the area favored further development, and Kate reached 

 hurricane intensity by the afternoon of 16 November while located just north 

 of the Virgin Islands. During the next 48 hr, Kate moved on a track just 

 north of due west and continued to intensify. By late afternoon on 



19 November, the eye of Kate had moved onshore the north-central coast of 

 Cuba. The eye of Kate remained overland during the next 12 hr emerging just 

 east of Havana at about 0000 hr Greenwich mean time (Gmt) . During the passage 

 over Cuba, the central pressure of Kate had risen from 967 to 976 mb.** 



4. After crossing Cuba, the eye of Kate passed within about 90 miles of 

 Key West. Maximum sustained winds recorded at Key West were about 47 mph. 

 Coincident with entering the Gulf of Mexico, Kate intensified very rapidly 

 during the following 24 hr with the central pressure dropping nearly 1 mb per 

 hour from 972 mb, reaching the lowest recorded pressure of 953 mb at 2000 Gmt 

 on 20 November. During this period, the center of Kate passed very close to 

 the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration data buoy located near 

 latitude 26.0 deg N, longitude, 85.9 deg W which reported a peak wind gust of 

 135 mph. 



5. Shortly after entering the Gulf of Mexico, Kate began to turn toward 

 the north where it encountered the late season, cooler surface waters of the 

 Gulf which, combined with unfavorable atmospheric conditions, caused Kate to 

 weaken as it passed latitude 27° N. Upon landfall near Mexico Beach, Fla., 

 early on the evening of 21 November, the central pressure of Kate had risen to 

 967 mb, and maximum winds had decreased from 121 to 98 mph. Kate moved inland 

 in the vicinity of Tallahassee, Fla., and was downgraded to a tropical storm 



* The meteorological discussion and information contained in Table 1 are 

 taken from the preliminary report on Hurricane Kate provided by the 

 National Hurricane Center. 

 ** A table of factors for converting non-SI units of measurement to metric 

 (SI) units is presented on page 3. 



