Hurricane Franklin was a long-lived, erratic, and powerful tropical cyclone that brought tropical-storm force winds to parts of the Greater Antilles and Bermuda. The sixth named storm,[1] second hurricane and first major hurricane of the 2023 Atlantic hurricane season, Franklin impacted Hispaniola as a tropical storm before strengthening into a high-end Category 4 hurricane several days later. Possessing a large wind field, the hurricane produced tropical storm force winds over Bermuda and soon became extratropical as it accelerated into the open northern Atlantic Ocean. The extratropical cyclone persisted for several more days before dissipating on September 10.
Franklin brought heavy rainfall and winds to the Dominican Republic, causing damage to buildings, homes, and light posts.[2] Two fatalities were reported in the country, with an additional person also missing.[2] At least 350 people were displaced, and more than 500 homes and 2,500 roads were affected or damaged.[3] Several communities were cut off from transportation, and nearly 350,000 homes were left without power, with an additional 1.6 million homes cut off from potable water.[3]
Meteorological history
Map plotting the storm's track and intensity, according to the Saffir–Simpson scale
On August 17, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) began monitoring an elongated trough of low pressure located well to the east-southeast of the Lesser Antilles for the possibility of slow development.[4] An area of low pressure formed on August 19 east of the Leeward Islands, and after entering the Caribbean Sea on August 20, the disturbance organized into Tropical Storm Franklin.[5][6] Over the next couple of days, Franklin drifted through weak steering currents, while battling moderate wind shear. This gave the cyclone a disheveled appearance with most of convection to the east of its center and the NHC noted multiple times that Franklin may have not had a well-defined center of circulation on August 22.[7] Early on August 23, the storm began moving northward, becoming somewhat better organized. Although Franklin appeared better organized, surface observations did not show tropical storm-force winds. The storm soon made landfall with maximum sustained winds of 45 mph (70 km/h) south of Barahona, Dominican Republic, shortly before 12:00 UTC on August 23.[8][9]
Weakening occurred after Franklin made landfall, and it emerged into the Atlantic Ocean at 21:00 UTC as a minimal tropical storm.[10] After drifting eastward and struggling with strong westerly shear and land interaction for several days, Franklin entered a more favorable environment for development on August 25 and promptly intensified into a Category 1 hurricane the next morning.[11] A further decrease in wind shear along with less dry air allowed Franklin to begin to rapidly intensify as it moved northwestward, becoming the season's first major hurricane at 09:00 UTC on August 28.[12] Franklin then began to intensify even more rapidly, becoming a category 4 hurricane just over 2+1⁄2 hours later.[13] Franklin then turned northward reached its peak intensity shortly afterwards with maximum sustained winds of 150 mph (240 km/h) and an estimated central pressure of 926 mbar (27.34 inHg) before initiating an eyewall replacement cycle, causing it to begin to slowly weaken as it turned northeastward. That trend continued after the cycle was completed as northerly wind shear from the outflow from Hurricane Idalia to the southwest increased over Franklin and by 09:00 UTC on August 30, it had weakened to Category 2 strength.[14] The following day, while passing north of Bermuda, the wind shear over Franklin increased even further, causing the storm's eye to disappear as it became increasingly asymmetric and its forward speed to accelerate.[15]
That same day, Franklin began losing its tropical characteristics, and by 21:00 UTC on September 1 it had become a hurricane-force extratropical cyclone.[16] Shortly thereafter, the strong cyclone absorbed the smaller and weaker Tropical Storm Jose, which was situated to its east, following a brief Fujiwhara interaction.[17][18] Afterward, the system accelerated towards the northeast. By September 4, it was located north of the Azores, then, it moved southeastward to near the northwestern coast of Spain three days later. As the system was moving over warmer waters at the time, the NHC began to monitor it again for possible redevelopment.[19] Some reorganization did take place,[20] but the system did not regenerate into a tropical or subtropical cyclone. The NHC stopped monitoring the post-tropical cyclone as it moved northward on September 7,[21] and the remnant cyclone dissipated two days later.
Preparations and impact
Dominican Republic
Rainfall map on Hispaniola.
Schools, governmental buildings, and airports were closed until August 24.[22][23] In the Dominican Republic, more than 200 people were in shelters, and 24 of the 31 provinces in the country were under a red alert.[23][24] Around 3,300 residents in low-lying areas were evacuated to higher grounds ahead of the storm.[25] An additional 352 people were in government shelters.[26]
Franklin brought heavy rainfall and wind, causing damage to buildings and homes,[27] leaving numerous communities isolated.[26] Nearly 350,000 homes were left without power and 1.6 million homes were cut off from potable water.[3] Around 830,000 aqueduct users were affected after close to 120 aqueducts were put out of service.[23][25] Santo Domingo recorded 330.7 mm (13.02 in) of rain from Franklin.[28] Two people, including a teenager, were killed. A 15-year-old boy died after falling into the Rio Nigua, while another man was killed in San Cristóbal as he attempted to cross a ravine. Another man remains missing after he fell into a ravine in Santo Domingo Oeste.[29] The government reported that storm damage amounted to RD$5,100 million ($90 million).[30]
Haiti
The Haitian Civil Protection Agency warned residents of strong winds and rains expected as the storm made landfall. Haitian prime minister Ariel Henry urged residents to stock up on essential items such as food, water, and medications.[31]
Bermuda
Several flights departing for Bermuda were cancelled. Franklin brought tropical-storm-force winds to the island's northern shores on August 30,[32] causing scattered power outages to 300 residences.[33] Several boat cruise routes that departed for Bermuda were affected due to Franklin.[34]
^Bucci, Lisa (September 1, 2023). Remnants Of Jose Discussion Number 15 (Report). Miami, Florida: National Hurricane Center. Retrieved September 3, 2023.
