Hurricane Tomas 2010 Atlantic hurricane season

the final tropical cyclone of 2010 season developed tropical wave moved off africa on october 24. wave pushed west, organizing tropical depression 06:00 utc on october 29 , tropical storm tomas 6 hours later while located few hundred miles east of barbados. cyclone turned northwest after formation while continuing intensify, moving on barbados 09:00 utc on october 30 winds of 70 mph (110 km/h); such, tomas became latest storm in calendar year strike windward islands. system reached hurricane intensity 3 hours later, , 20:00 utc, attained peak winds of 100 mph (160 km/h) while moving across st. lucia. after moving caribbean, sharp increase in wind shear , dry air entrainment caused tomas dramatically weaken, , storm fell tropical depression 00:00 utc on november 3. fluctuating atmospheric conditions allowed tomas strengthen , oscillate between tropical storm , hurricane curved through windward passage , atlantic. 00:00 utc on november 8, cyclone succumbed increasingly unfavorable regime , became extratropical cyclone. storm rotated around broader low in western atlantic before being absorbed larger extratropical low south of newfoundland on november 11.

impacts throughout windward islands substantial, heavily concentrated in st. lucia. there, gusts reached 69 mph (110 km/h), toppling trees , power lines. torrential rainfall 26.3 in (668 mm) created mudslides , landslides damaged or destroyed numerous structures, bridges, , vehicles. of island s plantain , banana crops destroyed. 14 people killed. farther west in curaçao, tomas led prolific rain event in 4 decades. elderly man killed after suffering heart attack , drowning in flooded vehicle, while rescue worker died after hospital wall collapsed. in haiti, ravaged catastrophic 7.0 mw earthquake less year prior, heavy rainfall flooded refugee camp , triggered mudslides destroyed homes , roads. 35 people killed there, though feared many more die tomas exacerbated already-deadly cholera outbreak.