Margot — 2023

Margot developed from a tropical wave that had moved off the west coast of Africa on September 5, after bringing heavy rain to parts of the Cabo Verde Islands on September 6–7. It became a tropical depression on September 7 near 15.5°N, 26.0°W, about 115 miles southwest of Mindelo, Cabo Verde and a tropical storm six hours later. Margot strengthened into a hurricane on September 11 near 26.4°N, 39.9°W, about 1090 miles southwest of the Azores, then traced a clockwise loop over the east-central subtropical Atlantic. It weakened to a tropical storm on September 15 and became a low on September 17, before dissipating on September 19. Margot made no landfalls and did not affect land. No coastal watches or warnings were issued. Its peak intensity was 80 kt (about 92 mph), making it a Category 1 hurricane. It reached that strength from 0600 to 1200 UTC on September 13 near 33.0°N, 39.9°W, about 770 miles west-southwest of the Azores, with an estimated minimum pressure of 969 mb. The storm was unusually large for its intensity: tropical-storm-force winds extended about 200 nautical miles from its center. No storm-surge or rainfall totals were reported for Margot, and there were no reports of damage or casualties. The report records no direct fatalities; it also notes no casualties of any kind associated with the storm. NHC first mentioned the system in its Tropical Weather Outlook 96 hours before formation, and the timing and confidence of the formation forecast were poor. Official intensity forecasts were more accurate than the previous five-year average at every forecast period. Track forecasts were better than that average at 12–48 hours, but worse at 60–120 hours.