Hurricane Noel was a deadly tropical cyclone that carved a path of destruction across the Atlantic Ocean from the Caribbean Sea to Newfoundland in late October 2007.

Noel's remnants subsequently merged with Cyclone Tilo, a powerful European windstorm, which later struck Western Europe and contributed to the North Sea flood of 2007 on the night of November 8–9.

After further organization, the system developed into Tropical Depression Sixteen at 0000 UTC on October 28, about 215 mi (346 km) south-southeast of Port-au-Prince, Haiti.

[1] Initially, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) forecast the depression to track west-northwestward, brushing southwestern Haiti before moving ashore along south-central Cuba.

[6] After the center re-developed beneath the thunderstorms, the storm quickly strengthened to winds of 60 mph (97 km/h),[7] and for several hours, the cyclone was drifting to the south of Hispaniola.

Noel began to lose organization as a nearby upper-level low increased wind shear,[8] with the circulation becoming ill-defined, as it further interacted with the mountainous terrain of Haiti.

[12][13] The center of Noel remained well-organized as it tracked through eastern Cuba, though its sustained winds quickly diminished to minimal tropical storm force.

[14] Early on October 31, Noel began drifting to the north-northwest, in response to the approach of a short-wave trough from the west and the eastward shift of the mid-level ridge.

[16] Shortly after 1200 UTC, on October 31, Noel emerged off the north coast of Cuba,[17] and subsequently, the cyclone became better organized as storm's the circulation became better associated with the convection.

[24] The cyclone maintained a large, round area of deep convection with well-defined outflow, and an eye feature became evident on satellite imagery.

[25] Noel's convection began to wane as it moved through progressively cooler waters, and as the storm lost tropical characteristics, its wind field expanded.

[30] At 6 PM AST (2200 UTC) on November 4, as the storm was over Labrador, the Canadian Hurricane Center declared that Noel had lost all tropical characteristics and changed its designation from post-tropical to extratropical.

[31] The extratropical low continued to the northeast and made landfall over southwest Greenland on the afternoon of November 5, bringing tropical storm force winds to the area.

[32] Noel's remnants subsequently turned east and crossed the Atlantic Ocean, before merging into the powerful European windstorm Cyclone Tilo, over the Norwegian Sea, on November 7.

[39] The National Emergency Commission authorized the opening of a number of shelters, and the Dominican Red Cross activated search and rescue teams.

[13][44] The Cuban Institute of Meteorology advised caution to residents, due to previous heavy rainfall leaving grounds saturated.

[46] In Camagüey, thousands of cattle were moved to higher ground, and roughly 3,000 students working to harvest coffee crops were forced to return home.

A United States Naval base in Guantanamo Bay stacked sandbags to protect structures in areas vulnerable to flooding, namely those in low-lying terrain.

Stores on Cape Cod were closed; some of them boarded up windows,[51] and the U.S. Coast Guard completed preparations and warned sailors of the storm.

[55] The precursor disturbance also dropped heavy rainfall across Puerto Rico for several days, leaving grounds saturated and causing surface runoff.

[79] The cities that were the worst affected by the flooding were Cayes, Cantaloupe, Camp Perrin, Chantal, Maniche, Holy louis of the South and Torbeck.

[1] Tropical Storm Noel dropped heavy rainfall across portions of the Bahamas,[76] reaching a record total of 15 inches (380 mm) at one station.

[97] One fatality occurred when a man on the island of Exuma abandoned a stalled truck, and was subsequently swept away by flood waters into a nearby pond.

[99] The interaction of Noel and a ridge to its north produced strong, gusty winds and high waves along the east coast of the state.

[110] On November 3, the western side of the storm hit eastern New England, particularly coastal Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Maine, with hurricane-force wind gusts.

Newfoundland was relatively unaffected, although ferries between it and Nova Scotia were canceled for the entire weekend and winds peaked at 180 km/h (110 mph) in Wreckhouse.

[122] A major transmission line in the Minganie region was damaged by the heavy wet snow and locally freezing rain, causing blackouts and school closures.

The government of the Dominican Republic distributed emergency supplies to 145,000 families following the storm, including food, blankets, mattresses, and mosquito nets.

[62] Storm flooding led to an outbreak of leptospirosis in the Dominican Republic in the weeks following the passage of Noel, causing 25 deaths and infecting 193 others.

[45] Due to the extensive damage and number of deaths caused by the storm, the name Noel was retired by the World Meteorological Organization in May 2008, and it will not be used again for an Atlantic tropical cyclone.