&sq=Qlik&lang=&file=File:Gamma_2005-11-19_1515Z.jpg) Gamma at peak intensity near Honduras on November 19 | |
| Meteorological history | |
|---|---|
| Formed | November 14, 2005 |
| Dissipated | November 22, 2005 |
| Tropical storm | |
| 1-minute sustained (SSHWS/NWS) | |
| Highest winds | 50 mph (85 km/h) |
| Lowest pressure | 1002 mbar (hPa); 29.59 inHg |
| Overall effects | |
| Fatalities | 39 total |
| Damage | $18 million (2005 USD) |
| Areas affected | Lesser Antilles, Honduras, Belize |
| IBTrACS | |
Part of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season | |
Tropical Storm Gamma caused severe flooding in Honduras in November 2005. The twenty-fifth namable storm of the season, Gamma first developed as a tropical depression on November 14 just west of the Windward Islands from a tropical wave that left the west coast of Africa on November 3. Although tropical storm-force winds did not impact the islands, the storm brought damagingly heavy rainfall to Trinidad and to St. Vincent and the Grenadines, causing two deaths on Bequia due to a mudslide. The depression intensified into a tropical storm on November 15 over the Caribbean Sea while moving away from the Windward Islands. However, unfavorable wind shear weakened the storm to a tropical depression later that day and caused it to degenerate into a tropical wave on November 16 about halfway between Colombia and Jamaica.
Continuing westward across the Caribbean, the remnants of Gamma interacted with a low-pressure area on November 18. This likely aided the system into re-developing into Tropical Storm Gamma along the north coast of Honduras that day. The cyclone strengthened and peaked with winds of 50 mph (85 km/h). Despite predictions of the storm striking Cuba and potentially Florida, Gamma instead drifted over the Gulf of Honduras and weakened due to wind shear, degenerating into a remnant low on November 21 which struck Honduras before dissipating the next day. Intense flooding and landslides occurred in Honduras, especially along the north coast. The storm destroyed about 2,000 homes and displaced thousands of people, including approximately 50,000 people who became isolated after dozens of bridges were swept away. Banana crops alone suffered $13–18 million in damage, while 34 fatalities occurred in the country. Three others died in Belize after a plane crash, blamed on severe weather from the outer rainbands of Gamma.