Tropical Storm Karen (2013)
Tropical Storm Karen peaked at 55 kt in the North Atlantic between October 3, 2013 and October 6, 2013, with a lowest pressure of 998 mb.
Track and intensity
The whole track of Tropical Storm Karen, colored by strength, with the other storms of the 2013 season in the same basin behind it, and its wind and pressure hour by hour. Every fix is in the track table below.
The storm
- Basin
- North Atlantic
- Dates
- October 3, 2013 to October 6, 2013
- Peak strength
- Tropical Storm, 55 kt (63 mph)
- Lowest pressure
- 998 mb (29.47 inHg)
- Landfall
- No; closest approach 15 km (9 mi)
- Accumulated cyclone energy
- 2.3
- Tropical-storm-force wind reached
- 120 nmi (222 km, 138 mi) from the center at its widest
- Eyewall radius at its peak
- 30 nmi (56 km, 35 mi)
- Overall size
- 150 nmi (278 km, 173 mi) to the outermost closed isobar
- Peak gust in the best track
- 65 kt (75 mph)
- Fastest the center moved
- 14 kt (16 mph)
- Identifier
- AL122013
Deaths and damage
The sources count different things and are not added together.
NOAA Storm Events
0 deaths (0 direct, 0 indirect)$3,000
What National Weather Service offices recorded county by county in 3 states and marine areas, in the United States only. Property and crop damage as each office estimated it, which is not a national loss total.
In the United States
NOAA’s Storm Events database, the record National Weather Service offices compile months after a storm, as compiled March 2026.
- Deaths
- 0 (0 direct, 0 indirect)
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- $3,000
- Crop damage
- none recorded
- Events recorded
- 3 in 3 reports from 3 states and marine areas
State by state
| State or marine area | Deaths | Injuries | Damage | Events |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Georgia | 0 | 0 | $3,000 | 1 |
| Gulf of Mexico | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| Texas | 0 | 0 | 1 |
What was recorded
1 marine thunderstorm wind, 1 coastal flood, 1 flash flood.
Rainfall
The Weather Prediction Center attributes 3,885 rain gauge totals over the contiguous United States to this storm. The wettest reached 11.27 inches (286 mm).
| Station | Total | Position |
|---|---|---|
| HARRISBURG PA | 11.27 in (286 mm) | 40.22N 76.85W |
| Blue Ridge Summit 1.6 NNE | 10.70 in (272 mm) | 39.75N 77.45W |
| HARRISBURG PA | 10.49 in (266 mm) | 40.19N 76.76W |
| New Salem 0.3 WSW | 10.45 in (265 mm) | 39.90N 76.80W |
| York 4.2 NE | 10.19 in (259 mm) | 40.01N 76.68W |
| Abbottstown 1.1 SSE | 10.00 in (254 mm) | 39.87N 76.98W |
| YORK PA | 10.00 in (254 mm) | 39.92N 76.87W |
| Valley Green 0.8 ENE | 9.93 in (252 mm) | 40.16N 76.78W |
| Abbottstown 2.4 N | 9.72 in (247 mm) | 39.92N 76.99W |
| Salunga-Landisville 1.1 SSE | 9.55 in (243 mm) | 40.08N 76.41W |
| York 2.5 NNW | 9.55 in (243 mm) | 40.00N 76.75W |
| Palmyra 2.9 SSE | 9.49 in (241 mm) | 40.27N 76.57W |
WPC’s storm rainfall file, 1900 to 2020, compiled by David Roth.
Wind reports
The strongest winds National Weather Service offices recorded with this storm. An estimated figure is a forecaster’s judgment from the damage, not an instrument reading.
| Wind | How | Where | State | Time (UTC) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 39 kt (45 mph) | Measured | 8.65 NE of SAND KEY LIGHT | Gulf of Mexico | Oct 3, 13:06 |
What forecast offices wrote
From the Storm Events narratives, unedited.
Tropical Storm Karen produced minor coastal flooding. There was wave run up on Beach Drive in Surfside Beach. Bryan Beach in Quintana was closed due to wave run up onto the dunes.
Brazoria, Texas · Coastal Flood · Oct 5, 11:30 UTC
The stage height at a USGS stream gage on the Big Creek at Atlanta Highway 6 miles southwest of Cumming reached flood stage. The creek crest around 6 feet. Minor flooding occurred on large portions of the sidewalks and boardwalks of the Big Creek Greenway.
Forsyth, Georgia · Flash Flood · Oct 7, 06:05 UTC
Track
| Time (UTC) | Position | Wind | Pressure | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 3, 06:00 | 21.5N 86.8W | 45 kt | 1006 mb | Tropical storm |
| Oct 3, 12:00 | 22.1N 87.4W | 55 kt | 1004 mb | Tropical storm |
| Oct 3, 18:00 | 22.8N 88.1W | 55 kt | 1001 mb | Tropical storm |
| Oct 4, 00:00 | 23.9N 89.0W | 50 kt | 999 mb | Tropical storm |
| Oct 4, 06:00 | 24.5N 89.5W | 45 kt | 1002 mb | Tropical storm |
| Oct 4, 12:00 | 25.2N 89.9W | 45 kt | 1002 mb | Tropical storm |
| Oct 4, 18:00 | 25.8N 90.2W | 45 kt | 1002 mb | Tropical storm |
| Oct 5, 00:00 | 26.1N 90.5W | 40 kt | 1004 mb | Tropical storm |
| Oct 5, 06:00 | 26.7N 91.0W | 40 kt | 1007 mb | Tropical storm |
| Oct 5, 12:00 | 27.6N 91.6W | 40 kt | 1008 mb | Tropical storm |
| Oct 5, 18:00 | 27.9N 91.8W | 35 kt | 1008 mb | Tropical storm |
| Oct 6, 00:00 | 28.1N 91.9W | 30 kt | 1008 mb | Tropical depression |
| Oct 6, 06:00 | 28.1N 91.9W | 25 kt | 1009 mb | Tropical depression |
Other North Atlantic storms of 2013
- Tropical Storm AndreaNorth Atlantic · 2013 · 4 deaths
- Tropical Storm BarryNorth Atlantic · 2013 · 5 deaths
- Tropical Storm ChantalNorth Atlantic · 2013
- Tropical Storm DorianNorth Atlantic · 2013
- Tropical Storm ErinNorth Atlantic · 2013
- Tropical Storm FernandNorth Atlantic · 2013
- Tropical Storm GabrielleNorth Atlantic · 2013
- Unnamed tropical depressionNorth Atlantic · 2013
- Hurricane HumbertoNorth Atlantic · 2013
- Hurricane IngridNorth Atlantic · 2013
- Tropical Storm JerryNorth Atlantic · 2013
- Tropical Storm LorenzoNorth Atlantic · 2013
- Tropical Storm MelissaNorth Atlantic · 2013
- Unnamed tropical stormNorth Atlantic · 2013
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.