NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information
Atlantic Basin
Two named storms formed in October, with Hurricane Lisa continuing into October and dissipating over the North Atlantic early in the month.
Lisa, which developed in September, was a tropical storm at the beginning of October and strengthened on October 2nd, briefly becoming a hurricane before weakening again later that afternoon due to increased wind shear and cooler waters. Lisa became an extratropical storm on October 3rd and was then absorbed by a larger extratropical low pressure system about 300 miles north-northwest of the northern Azores.
Tropical Storm Matthew formed from a tropical wave in the southwestern Gulf of Mexico on October 6th. Over the next couple of days Matthew maintained tropical storm strength while moving north-northeast and then northeast and finally north to come ashore across central Louisiana on October 10th. As much as 10 inches of rain fell as a result of the storm over parts of Louisiana, before the storm dissipated over Arkansas on the 11th.
Sub-Tropical Storm Nicole formed on the 10th near Bermuda from an extratropical low pressure system. Nicole moved northward, then northeastward and encountered a strong upper level trough that steered the storm rapidly to the northeast. Late on the 11th, Nicole was absorbed by a large extratropical low pressure system about 345 miles south-southwest of Halifax, Nova Scotia.
A table containing the Accumulated Cyclone Energy (ACE) index for global tropical cyclones, occurring during the month of October 2004 is available