Tropical storm (SSHWS) | |
Duration | July 4 – July 6 |
---|---|
Peak intensity | 45 mph (75 km/h) (1-min) 1007 mbar (hPa) |
On July 1, a cluster of thunderstorms known as a mesoscale convective vortex formed over the northern Tennessee Valley in association with a stalled front pattern and slowly moved southeastwards.[79] By July 2, the remnant mesolow emerged off the coast of Georgia.[80] As the system gradually drifted over warm sea surface temperatures near the coast, some organized thunderstorm activity blossomed near the center of the system throughout July 3 and helped the system develop a more defined low level circulation,[81] and the NHC began monitoring the low around 0:00 UTC on July 4.[82] Just four hours later, the circulation of the low subsequently became better defined and closed as evidenced by satellite-derived surface wind data.[83] The disturbance rapidly developed over the next couple of hours, and at 15:00 UTC on July 4 the NHC issued its first advisory on the system as Tropical Depression Five.[84]
The system gradually drifted north-northeast towards Bermuda while the system's central thunderstorm activity began to decrease as a result of the diurnal minimum.[85] Little change in intensity occurred as the storm passed just 70 miles (110 km) north of Bermuda around 09:00 UTC on July 5.[86][87] Shortly after, the storm began to accelerate northeast continuing to lack in strength, having been forecast to become a tropical storm for at least 24 hours but failing to reach the intensity,[88] until a large burst of convection as a result of baroclinic forces allowed the system to tighten its circulation further and strengthen, allowing the National Hurricane Center to upgrade the system to Tropical Storm Edouard at 03:00 UTC on July 6.[89] This made Edouard the earliest fifth named storm on record in the North Atlantic Ocean, surpassing Hurricane Emily, which became a tropical storm on July 11, 2005.[89] Edouard intensified further to a peak intensity of 1007 mb (29.74 inHg) and with maximum sustained winds of 45 mph (75 km/h) at 18:00 UTC that same day as a frontal boundary approached Edouard from the northwest, effectively triggering extratropical transition[90], which it completed 3 hours later while located about 450 miles southeast of Cape Race, Newfoundland.[91][92] The extratropical remnants of the storm would continue to travel eastward for several days before finally dissipating over the Baltic Sea.
The Bermuda Weather Service issued a gale warning for the entirety of the island chain in advance of the system on July 4.[93] Unsettled weather with thunderstorms later ensued, and the depression caused tropical storm-force wind gusts and moderate rainfall on the island early on July 5, but impacts were relatively minor.[93][94]