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Sarasota News Leader December 14, 2012 LABOR DAY DEMARCATION It is a tradition that somewhere on Labor Day weekend, a hurricane is blowing. For 2012, the tradition was maintained by Leslie in the mid-Atlantic. But it did not last long. By Saturday evening, it was downgraded to a tropical storm. Leslie maintained that status for more than a week before passing north of Newfoundland. Both Leslie and Michael formed in the mid-Atlantic and veered northeast. Michael eventually became a Category 3 storm (the only ���major hurricane��� of the season). Neither was a threat to land, except for Leslie���s flirt with Newfoundland. Page 46 cyclone. That record belongs to an unnamed storm in 1899. Tropical storms Oscar and Patty rose up in mid-October, but both were pushed away from the U.S. mainland into the Atlantic by high pressure. Ditto for Hurricane Rafael, which thrashed Bermuda but stayed away from the United States. THE BIG ONE OF THE SEASON With five weeks to go in the 2012 hurricane season, ���Invest 99L��� formed south of Jamaica. The models seemed to push it in the same direction as Rafael, trending east toward the Bahamas. On Oct. 22 it received its name ��� Sandy. The storm was expected to cross JaTropical Storm Nadine formed Sept. 13 in the maica and Cuba, with the mountainous terrisame area of the mid-Atlantic and suffered tory predicted to steal its strength. the same influence, pushed away from North America. Nadine, however, proved a boomer- A tropical storm watch was posted for the ang storm, turning east then south and head- Florida Keys at noon Oct. 24. The Washinging back to the Cape Verde Islands, which are ton Post scored the weather scoop of the year the birthplace of tropical waves that become about 10 p.m. that day when it posted models and maps gastorms and hurrilore indicating the canes. storm was headed Nadine endured for landfall north of Chesapeake until Oct. 4, fallBay and expected ing a week short to raise huge misof setting an allchief. The newspatime record for cyper noted landfall clone longevity. It could be at high did tie for second tide, exacerbating place, however, the storm surge. with 1971���s Ginger at 21 days. The re- By Oct. 29, Sandy was fully formed and already And the Post said merging with a strong, early-season cold front. The cord-holder is an combined weather systems are immense in size. that as the storm impressive 28 days Image courtesy National Oceanic and Atmospheric moved inland, a tremendous Octo��� a month-long Administration