Cyclone of 1996 on Lake Huron

The Cyclone of 1996 on Lake Huron (also known as the Hurricane of Lake Huron ) was a intense depression which developed on the Lake Huron in September 1996. It had certain characteristics of a tropical Cyclone.

Unfolding

An intense depression remained stationary on the Big lakes (North America) on September 11th, 1996 whereas the latter were at their higher temperature after the estival warming. Into this system, whose heart was cold, the central Pression fell more quickly close to surface than in altitude because of the Convection during the subsequent development. The morning of the September 14th, the system had reached its maximum intensity with a pressure of 993 hPa and winds of hurricane S prevailed on the area.

It then had certain characteristics of a tropical system: a weak shearing of the winds with altitude, a eye released of clouds and a wall of the eye with bands of rain spiralant towards outside as in a hurricane. The buoy which brought back this pressure on Lake Huron was by a fortunate coincidence in the eye. At 2 p.m., the eye measured approximately 30 Kilomètre S of diameter with a wall of intense clouds convectifs surrounding it and the downpours extended until more than 500 km of the center.

The movement of the depression towards south-west made pass the winds reported by the buoy of the west to 50 km/h then to south-east to 16 km/h and finally to the North-East to more than 80 km/h as one would expect passage of the eye of a hurricane. The temperature of surface was of 13°C in the bands of rain but reached 18°C, the same temperature as the lake, in the eye what showed its hot character.

The temperature of surface of the lake decreased by 5°C during the night because of the mixing of water by the winds and the depression decreased largely by intensity with this loss of source of heat. It was thus dissipated gradually starting from the September 15th.

Impacts

More 100 Millimètre S of rain fell on banks from the Big lakes causing from the floods.

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