Hurricane Gonzalo was the second tropical cyclone, after Hurricane Fay, to directly strike the island of Bermuda in a one-week time frame in October 2014, and was the first Category 4 Atlantic hurricane since Hurricane Ophelia in 2011. At the time, it was the strongest hurricane in the Atlantic since Igor in 2010. Gonzalo struck Bermuda less than a week after the surprisingly fierce Hurricane Fay; 2014 was the first season in recorded history to feature two hurricane landfalls in Bermuda. A powerful Atlantic tropical cyclone that wrought destruction in the Leeward Islands and Bermuda, Gonzalo was the seventh named storm, sixth and final hurricane and only the second major hurricane of the below-average 2014 Atlantic hurricane season. The storm formed from a tropical wave on October 12, while located east of the Lesser Antilles. It made landfall on Antigua, Saint Martin, and Anguilla as a Category 1 hurricane, causing damage on those and nearby islands. Antigua and Barbuda sustained US$40 million in losses, and boats were abundantly damaged or destroyed throughout the northern Leeward Islands. The storm killed three people on Saint Martin and Saint Barthélemy. Gonzalo tracked northwestward as it intensified into a major hurricane. Eyewall replacement cycles led to fluctuations in the hurricane's structure and intensity, but on October 16, Gonzalo peaked with maximum sustained winds of 145 mph (235 km/h). After Hurricane Fay caused extensive power outages on the island just days before, residents of Bermuda were forced to complete preparations for Gonzalo in haste. Banks, businesses, schools, and government offices closed in advance of the storm, while the Royal Navy ship HMS Argyll left its post in the Caribbean to provide Bermuda with emergency assistance. The cyclone gradually weakened before crossing directly over central Bermuda at Category 2 strength around 00:30 UTC on October 18. Gonzalo battered the island with wind gusts as high as 144 mph (232 km/h), downing hundreds of trees and creating widespread roof damage. At the height of the storm, about 31,000 out of 36,000 total electricity customers were without power; service was not fully restored until early November. Many roads were impassable immediately following the hurricane, and in many cases, the damage done by Gonzalo was indistinguishable from that of Fay. Bermuda Regiment soldiers and sailors from the Argyll took part in initial cleanup and repairs on the territory, and preliminary assessments revealed that the storm did not compare to the devastation of Hurricane Fabian in 2003. Catastrophe modelling firms estimated that Bermuda suffered at least $200 million in insured losses, and despite the heavy disruptions, no deaths or serious injuries were reported there. Departing Bermuda, Gonzalo accelerated toward the waters of the North Atlantic, passing close to southeastern Newfoundland before becoming extratropical on October 19. Gusty winds and bands of heavy rain in the southeastern Avalon Peninsula engendered minor flooding and power outages. A large storm system involving the remnants of Gonzalo battered the British Isles and central Europe on October 21, killing three people in the United Kingdom and severely hindering transportation. The system later played a role in triggering torrential rains over the Balkans, which resulted in severe flooding in Greece and Bulgaria.
Meteorological history
Hurricane Gonzalo originated from a tropical wave that emerged from the western coast of Africa on October 4 and trekked across the Atlantic. Despite an attendant expanse of clouds and thunderstorms, hostile winds from an upper-level trough hindered cyclogenesis. On October 10, after encountering an eastward-propagating Kelvin wave, the system developed more concentrated convection. With conditions increasingly favorable for further development, the disturbance gradually became better organized, forming a small low-pressure area by October 11. In turn, a tropical depression formed at 00:00 UTC on October 12, located approximately 390 mi (630 km) east of the Leeward Islands. Continued maturation amid warm waters and low wind shear yielded Tropical Storm Gonzalo 12 hours later. Operationally, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) did not begin issuing advisories on the cyclone until midday on October 12, after a Hurricane Hunter flight into the system reported surface winds of 40 mph (65 km/h). A powerful ridge over the central Atlantic steered the nascent storm westward toward the Lesser Antilles. Thunderstorm activity was strong near the center was initially somewhat disorganized and asymmetric. However, a tight inner core soon took shape, and Gonzalo began to quickly intensify throughout the day on October 12. Following the appearance of an eye feature early the next day, the storm was upgraded to a Category 1 hurricane while located near Antigua in the eastern Caribbean. Shortly thereafter, the storm passed directly over the island. The hurricane later struck Saint Martin and Anguilla, and skirted just north of the British Virgin Islands while continuing to intensify. By that time, it was headed toward the northwest around the periphery of the aforementioned ridge.
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