Hurricane Fred (2015) was the easternmost Atlantic hurricane ever to form in the tropics, and the first to move through Cape Verde since 1892. The second hurricane and sixth named storm of the 2015 Atlantic hurricane season, Fred became a Category 1 hurricane on August 31 with peak winds of 85 mph (140 km/h) as it approached Cape Verde. That same day, Cape Verde was placed under a hurricane warning for the first time ever. The Barlavento Islands endured a day of gale-force winds and flooding rains, as the eye of the hurricane paralleled their shorelines. Structural damage across Boa Vista and Sal presented in the form of leveled roofs, damaged homes and toppled utility poles. Farmers on São Nicolau suffered substantial crop and livestock losses when they saw their lands flood. Though proven destructive, Fred's rains alleviated an ongoing drought across the Sotavento Islands of Cape Verde. Elsewhere, violent seas along the West African shoreline destroyed fishing villages and submerged homes in Senegal. Between the coasts of West Africa and Cape Verde, nine people died in maritime incidents. (Full article...)
