Hurricane Michael (2000) was noteworthy for a double transformation. Storm development was initiated well east of Florida in a sheared environment as a potential vorticity (PV) maximum crossed the Atlantic coast and began to interact with a remnant baroclinic zone from an earlier frontal passage. Subsequent storm intensification resembled ordinary baroclinic development. The first transformation to a warm-core system occurred as the vertical wind shear lessened and deep convection formed near the low-level circulation center. Michael intensified to hurricane strength as it accelerated northeastward. A second transformation occurred as Michael extratropical transition as it reached Newfoundland where widespread heavy rains and high winds were reported.

The life cycle of Hurricane Michael will be examined from a PV perspective over a 10-day period to help illustrate the multiple tropical and middle latitude interactions that characterized this event. The life cycle of Michael will be compared to a null event that occurred one week later in almost the same location. In the latter case, a storm formed by ordinary baroclinic development but failed to transition into a tropical storm. Time permitting, further comparison will be made to selected storms from 2001 as several of these storms exhibited "anomalous" behavior like Michael (2000).