Hurricane Fiona

Hurricane Fiona was a powerful Category 4 storm with 130 mile-per-hour (209 kilometer-per-hour) peak sustained winds that struck part of the Caribbean and Eastern Canada between September 14 and 28, 2022. The first major hurricane of the 2022 Atlantic hurricane season and the most intense and damaging tropical storm of its kind to hit Canada, Hurricane Fiona claimed a total of thirty-one lives. Fiona’s impact was deadliest in Puerto Rico, where an estimated twenty-five people were killed.

Two days after first developing as a tropical depression on September 14, Fiona passed over the French territory of Guadeloupe and entered the Caribbean Sea. Hours later, the storm intensified into a hurricane as it slowly approached and eventually made landfall in southwestern Puerto Rico. Subsequently moving through both the Dominican Republic and Turks and Caicos, Fiona strengthened into a Category 4 hurricane before traveling northward past Bermuda and heading toward Canada’s northeastern coast. Upon making landfall in Nova Scotia as an extratropical cyclone, Fiona passed through the Gulf of St. Lawrence and ultimately dissipated over the northwestern Atlantic. Fiona caused significantly more than $2 billion in damages.

Overview

The development of Hurricane Fiona began when a tropical wave was detected about 1,000 miles (1,609 kilometers) east of the Windward Islands on September 12, 2022. The National Hurricane Center reported that this wave, which featured a large, disorganized area of showers, had a reasonable chance of developing into a severe storm. Two days later, the wave escalated into what was initially known as Tropical Depression 7. Over the next twelve hours, the depression continued to intensify until it became a tropical storm dubbed Fiona.

As a tropical storm, Fiona first made landfall when it passed over Guadeloupe on September 16. While Fiona hovered over the region, Guadeloupe and nearby Dominica were inundated with flooding rains. Rainfall measurements taken at Dominica’s Melville Hall Airport showed that more than 14 inches (35.5 centimeters) of rain fell on the island. On September 18, after Fiona passed over Guadeloupe and Dominica and headed west toward Puerto Rico, Fiona was upgraded to a hurricane. It was officially the third hurricane of the 2022 Atlantic hurricane season and a few days from becoming the season’s first major hurricane.

Puerto Rico

By the time it became a hurricane, Fiona was poised to have a significant impact in Puerto Rico. Early in September, much of Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands had been starting to recover from a long-term drought. Some of that recovery came thanks to Hurricane Earl, a storm that brought moisture and heavy rains to most of Puerto Rico on September 5. As a result, soils across most of the island were already near their saturation point as Fiona approached. Further soil saturation occurred as more moisture and rainfall were pushed into the region by Fiona before the hurricane made landfall. In addition, many rivers were at near-normal to above-normal levels.

Fiona made landfall in Puerto Rico near Punta Tocon on September 18 as a Category 1 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 85 miles per hour (135 kilometers per hour). The storm also brought heavy precipitation, dropping more than 2 feet (0.6 meters) of rain on many parts of the island. This intense rainfall resulted in catastrophic flooding and landslides that caused widespread damage. Fiona eventually emerged from Puerto Rico over the Mona Passage and strengthened as it veered toward the Dominican Republic and Turks and Caicos.

Dominican Republic, Turks and Caicos, and Bermuda

Fiona made landfall in the Dominican Republic on September 19 as a Category 1 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 90 miles per hour (150 kilometers per hour). As was the case in Puerto Rico, Fiona also brought heavy rains and destructive flooding. Approximately 8 to 10 inches (20 to 25 centimeters) of rain fell over the island while Fiona made its pass. Turks and Caicos and Bermuda also endured high winds and heavy rains as Fiona moved through the region.

Canada

Over the Atlantic Ocean on September 19, Fiona strengthened into a Category 2 hurricane. Continuing to strengthen the following day, Fiona developed into a Category 3 hurricane and officially became the first major hurricane of the 2022 season. After briefly strengthening again into a Category 4 hurricane on September 21, Fiona began to weaken as it moved north.

As Fiona grew in strength and then gradually weakened, it moved on a northern trajectory that put it on course to reach Canada’s northeastern coast. Early on September 24, Fiona made landfall on Nova Scotia’s Canso Peninsula. For some time, Fiona battered Nova Scotia with hurricane-force winds, heavy rains, and strong storm surge. Eventually, the storm moved over Cape Breton Island and into the Gulf of St. Lawrence before finally dissipating in Baffin Bay off the coast of Greenland on September 28.

Aftermath

Hurricane Fiona left a trail of devastation in its wake. Of the various places struck by its wrath, Puerto Rico was the hardest hit. Although it was only a Category 1 storm when it made landfall, Fiona wreaked a significant level of havoc, delivering record rainfall, instigating heavy flooding and landslides, and causing widespread damage with its high winds. In the immediate aftermath of the storm, more than 230,000 homes and business across Puerto Rico were left without power, with that number eventually increasing to more than 800,000. Torrential rainfall stripped roads of pavement, high winds ripped roofs off structures, and at least one bridge was completely washed away. Total damages were estimated at more than $2 billion. Shortly after Puerto Rico was devastated by Fiona, US president Joe Biden approved a disaster declaration for the territory and authorized federal funding for recovery efforts including search and rescue, debris removal, power and water restoration, and food and shelter provisions.

Hurricane Fiona also led to some loss of life in Puerto Rico. Officials stated that approximately twenty-five people died as a result of the storm. At least eleven of these deaths were directly attributed to the storm itself, while others were indirectly related. Most of the deaths involved victims older than sixty-five years of age.

In the Dominican Republic, heavy rains and high winds forced thousands of people to flee from their homes. People there and in Turks and Caicos and Bermuda were also left without power for an extended period.

Despite no longer being a hurricane by the time it reached Canada, Fiona caused substantial damage in Nova Scotia as well. Heavy rains, high winds, and powerful storm surges lambasted coastal areas in the province and left many people without power. Financial damages were estimated to exceed $500 million – a loss made worse by the fact that the insurance policies held by many of those affected did not cover damage caused by storm surge. Tragically, an additional three people were killed in Nova Scotia during Fiona’s impact.

Climate Change

Research conducted by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) reveals that global warming played a key role in generating the elevated water temperature in the Gulf of Mexico that helped make Fiona a major hurricane. At the time Fiona developed, water off the coast was 2 to 3 degrees Fahrenheit warmer than normal for September, which is the peak of the annual hurricane season. Even this slight rise in temperature can significantly increase the intensity of a hurricane. This is because warmer water lends a developing storm added energy. Warmer water created by climate change typically makes hurricanes more powerful and longer lasting because the added warmth helps sustain storms. Scientists have subsequently noted that the number of Category 4 and 5 hurricanes seen since 1980 has significantly increased.

In addition to aiding Fiona’s formation and intensification over a matter of days, climate change also played a key role in another storm that followed directly on its tail: Hurricane Ian. Active from September 23 to October 2, Ian was a large and incredibly destructive Category 4 hurricane that primarily struck Florida’s Gulf coast and caused extensive damage. It also caused severe damage in Cuba and other parts of the Southeast United States and was officially classified as the second major hurricane of the 2022 hurricane season. Total losses from Ian’s catastrophic fury in Florida and elsewhere were estimated to be more than $50 billion. According to scientists, high-powered hurricanes like Fiona and Ian are likely to be a continued and perhaps even increasing threat as climate change worsens over time.

Bibliography

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