The second tropical cyclone of the 2010 hurricane season was named Bonnie and made landfall south of Miami around Cutler Bay in [Florida]]. The name Tropical Storm Bonnie was assigned when the maximum sustained winds reached 39 mph. If the tropical storm strengthens so that the maximum sustained winds are 75 mph, it will be called Hurricane Bonnie. http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/aboutgloss.shtml

Tropical Storm Bonnie is expected to cross over the southern tip of Florida towards the Gulf of Mexico. No reports of damage have been reported, but concern has been raised due to the path of the storm heading toward the BP Oil Spill, where it is expected to strengthen.http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100723/ap_on_re_us/tropical_weather

Tropical storms and hurricanes are named for ease of reference. The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) designates names for tropical cyclones worldwide. http://www.wisegeek.com/how-are-hurricanes-named.htm For the Atlantic basin, the WMO uses six rotating lists of male and female names. Because Bonnie is on the 2010 list, the name will not be used again until 2016, unless the name is retired by the WMO in 2010. Names are retired for at least ten years when a hurricane is particularly deadly or damaging.

Bonnie was one of the original names used when the six rotating lists with male and female names were adopted in 1979. The first use of the name was for Hurricane Bonnie in 1980. The name was also used for hurricanes in 1986, 1992, and 1998, and for a tropical storm in 2004. Although all hurricane names from 1953 through 1978 were female, the name Bonnie was never used during that period.

Hurricane Bonnie 1980

Formed near the Cape Verde Islands, the Bonnie of the 1980 hurricane season became first a tropical depression and then a tropical storm on Aug. 14. http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/archive/storm_wallets/atlantic/atl1980-prelim/bonnie/prelim01.gif Bonnie was one of two centers of action when it originally formed. When Tropical Storm Bonnie formed, the "companion" was 400 miles to the northeast. Bonnie moved northward and the other system moved northwestward. The two systems were both following unusual paths, perhaps because of the interaction between them. The records of the National Hurricane Center state that there "were varying opinions as to how this unusual sequence of events would eventually unfold." The sentence was underlined and the comment "so what else is new!" was handwritten in the margin. Hurricane Bonnie continued to the north and reached its maximum intensity of 85 knots on Aug. 16. It maintained a northward pace toward the north Atlantic and became extratropical on Aug. 19. Bonnie remains somewhat of a mystery because its northward track was "not anticipated and is difficult to explain, even in retrospect." http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/archive/storm_wallets/atlantic/atl1980-prelim/bonnie/prelim02.gif Bonnie did not make landfall and caused no known casualties or property damages.

Hurricane Bonnie 1986

In the 1986 hurricane season, Hurricane Bonnie was the next tropical cyclone in the Atlantic after the devastating Hurricane Andrew. Bonnie formed early in the season from a mid/upper level vortex in the Gulf of Mexico. http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/archive/storm_wallets/atlantic/atl1986-prelim/bonnie/prelim01.gif The storm tracked just west of Sarasota, FL on June 22. Moving southwesterly, the system became a tropical depression on June 23 and a tropical storm later on the same day. Tropical Storm Bonnie headed to the west northwest and strengthened to a hurricane on June 25. http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/archive/storm_wallets/atlantic/atl1986-prelim/bonnie/prelim02.gif Its maximum sustained winds were 67 knots. http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/archive/storm_wallets/atlantic/atl1986-prelim/bonnie/prelim04.gif After passing over two offshore oil rigs and a ship in the Gulf of Mexico, Bonnie made landfall close to the Texas/Louisiana border as a Category 1 hurricane. After moving inland, Bonnie produced heavy rainfall and 11 tornadoes in Texas and Louisiana. http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/archive/storm_wallets/atlantic/atl1986-prelim/bonnie/prelim07.gif It quickly weakened as it passed through east Texas. Bonnie caused three deaths, two in traffic incidents. Damages were estimated at $1,430,000 in three Texas counties. http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/archive/storm_wallets/atlantic/atl1986-prelim/bonnie/prelim03.gif

Hurricane Bonnie 1992

In 1992, Bonnie emerged out of a non-tropical weather system off the U.S. east coast. http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/archive/storm_wallets/atlantic/atl1992/bonnie/prenhc/prelim01.gif A tropical depression formed on Sept. 17, becoming Tropical Storm Bonnie early on Sept. 18 and Hurricane Bonnie later on that day. A sharply defined eye formed very rapidly on Sept. 19. http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/archive/storm_wallets/atlantic/atl1992/bonnie/prenhc/prelim02.gif The hurricane's maximum intensity was 95 knots. Moving slowly and even stalling, Bonnie drifted west-southwest, weakening considerably. After degrading to a tropical storm, Bonnie further degraded briefly to a depression and then regained tropical storm strength. In the following days, various weather features, such as steering currents, a mid-tropospheric high, and a deep-layer trough, moved the tropical storm southwestward, eastward, and then southeastward as it strengthened and weakened. On Sept. 30, the storm moved over the Azores and became an extratropical low. There were no reports of casualties or property damages from the Azores, Bonnie's only place of landfall. http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/archive/storm_wallets/atlantic/atl1992/bonnie/prenhc/prelim03.gif

Hurricane Bonnie 1998

Hurricane Bonnie of the 1998 hurricane season originated with a large tropical waive on August 14. http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/1998bonnie.html As the system moved west-southwest from the cooler waters off Africa to the warmer waters, it formed several centers of rotation within a larger circulation. On August 19, the centers of rotation consolidated and formed a tropical depression. Tropical Storm Bonnie, declared on August 20, was upgraded to Hurricane Bonnie on Aug 22 about 200 nautical miles north of the eastern tip of Hispaniola. Hurricane Bonnie continued to the west-northwest and reached its maximum intensity of 100 knots and minimum pressure of 954 mb 150 nautical miles east of San Salvador. After stalling for 24 hours, Bonnie moved to the north and made landfall near Wilmington, NC as a borderline Category 2/3 hurricane on August 27. The hurricane degraded to a tropical storm as it moved over eastern North Carolina. After exiting the land, Bonnie regained hurricane force winds, moved northeasterly, and became extratropical on August 30. Hurricane Bonnie caused two deaths and damages of $720 million. In anticipation of the hurricane striking North Carolina, almost half a million residents and tourists were evacuated from 17 coastal counties. http://tech.mit.edu/V118/N32/cbonnie.32w.html

Tropical Storm Bonnie 2004

In 2004, Tropical Storm Bonnie developed from a tropical wave on July 29. http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/2004bonnie.shtml? After progressing westerly across the Atlantic for several days, Tropical Storm Bonnie formed near the tip of the Yucatan Peninsula. Its maximum intensity was 55 knots and its minimum pressure was 1001 mb on August 11. The storm ran into severe wind shear and began to weaken. Tropical Storm Bonnie came ashore in Florida near Saint Vincent and Saint George Islands south of Apalachicola. After making landfall, Bonnie weakened to a tropical depression and moved northeastward across the southeastern U.S. and offshore along the eastern seaboard, becoming a weak remnant near Cape Cod on August 14. http://www.wunderground.com/hurricane/at20042.asp A tornado spawned by Tropical Storm Bonnie resulted in three deaths in North Carolina. In 2004, Tropical Storm Bonnie was followed by Hurricane Charley, which made landfall on the southwestern coast of Florida as a Category 4 hurricane, causing loss of life and extensive property damage in Florida. http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/2004charley.shtml