The 1983 season

Tropical Storm Dean (1983)

Tropical Storm Dean peaked at 55 kt in the North Atlantic between September 26, 1983 and September 30, 1983, with a lowest pressure of 999 mb, and made landfall.

Track and intensity

The whole track of Tropical Storm Dean, colored by strength, with the other storms of the 1983 season in the same basin behind it, and its wind and pressure hour by hour. Every fix is in the track table below.

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The storm

Basin
North Atlantic
Dates
September 26, 1983 to September 30, 1983
Peak strength
Tropical Storm, 55 kt (63 mph)
Lowest pressure
999 mb (29.50 inHg)
Landfall
Yes
Accumulated cyclone energy
3.0
Fastest the center moved
14 kt (16 mph)
Identifier
AL061983

Deaths and damage

No source this site reads publishes a machine-readable casualty or damage figure for a storm of this era. The National Hurricane Center’s season tables begin in 1995 and carry deaths and damage only from 2005 in the Atlantic and 2020 in both basins; the US Storm Events record begins in 1996.

Rainfall

The Weather Prediction Center attributes 886 rain gauge totals over the contiguous United States to this storm. The wettest reached 4.62 inches (117 mm).

StationTotalPosition
COCKAPONSET RANGER STA4.62 in (117 mm)41.47N 72.52W
MIDDLETOWN 4 W3.86 in (98 mm)41.55N 72.72W
GREENPORT POWER HOUSE3.70 in (94 mm)41.10N 72.37W
NY WESTERLEIGH STAT IS3.67 in (93 mm)40.63N 74.12W
MANSFIELD HOLLOW LAKE3.51 in (89 mm)41.75N 72.18W
STORRS3.50 in (89 mm)41.80N 72.25W
WANTAGH CEDAR CREEK3.45 in (88 mm)40.65N 73.50W
DANVILLE3.38 in (86 mm)36.58N 79.38W
WESTBURY3.23 in (82 mm)40.73N 73.60W
NEW YORK LAUREL HILL3.20 in (81 mm)40.73N 73.93W
MOUNT CARMEL3.20 in (81 mm)41.40N 72.90W
COVENTRY3.09 in (78 mm)41.80N 72.35W

WPC’s storm rainfall file, 1900 to 2020, compiled by David Roth.

Track

Time (UTC)PositionWindPressureStatus
Sep 26, 18:0028.0N 73.0W35 kt1010 mbSubtropical storm
Sep 27, 00:0028.5N 72.9W35 kt1009 mbSubtropical storm
Sep 27, 06:0029.0N 72.8W40 kt1006 mbSubtropical storm
Sep 27, 12:0029.5N 72.6W40 kt1003 mbSubtropical storm
Sep 27, 18:0030.3N 72.1W40 kt1000 mbTropical storm
Sep 28, 00:0031.2N 71.7W45 kt999 mbTropical storm
Sep 28, 06:0032.2N 71.1W45 kt999 mbTropical storm
Sep 28, 12:0033.1N 70.7W50 kt1000 mbTropical storm
Sep 28, 18:0034.0N 70.7W50 kt1001 mbTropical storm
Sep 29, 00:0034.5N 70.8W55 kt1003 mbTropical storm
Sep 29, 06:0034.8N 71.0W55 kt1005 mbTropical storm
Sep 29, 12:0035.1N 71.5W55 kt1006 mbTropical storm
Sep 29, 18:0035.8N 73.0W55 kt1007 mbTropical storm
Sep 30, 00:0036.4N 74.0W55 kt1008 mbTropical storm
Sep 30, 06:0037.0N 74.9W55 kt1009 mbTropical storm
Sep 30, 12:0037.5N 75.8W40 kt1010 mbTropical storm
Sep 30, 18:0037.9N 76.9W30 kt1015 mbTropical depression

Other North Atlantic storms of 1983

What this means

A best track is the record a warning agency settles on after the storm, not what it said at the time: position, maximum sustained wind and central pressure every six hours, revised against every observation that came in later. Category is the Saffir-Simpson scale, which runs from Category 1 at 64 kt to Category 5 at 137 kt and reads wind only, so it says nothing about surge or rain. Accumulated cyclone energy adds up the square of the wind through the storm's life, so it counts strength and duration together.

Sources

Storm history from NOAA NCEI’s International Best Track Archive for Climate Stewardship (IBTrACS), which merges the official best track of every warning agency. Live storms, cones, watches and warnings from the National Hurricane Center and the Central Pacific Hurricane Center. Archived radar from NOAA’s Level II archive.

The National Hurricane Center has published no tropical cyclone report for this storm.