Hurricane Bud was a rare May
major hurricane
Major most commonly refers to:
* Major (rank), a military rank
* Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits
* People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames
* Major and minor in musi ...
that skirted areas of the western Mexican coast. The second
tropical cyclone
A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system with a low-pressure area, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depending on its locat ...
and named storm of the
2012 Pacific hurricane season
The 2012 Pacific hurricane season was a moderately active Pacific hurricane season that saw an unusually high number of tropical cyclones pass west of the Baja California Peninsula. The season officially began on May 15 in the eastern Pacific ...
, Bud developed slowly into a tropical depression from a
low-pressure area
In meteorology, a low-pressure area (LPA), low area or low is a region where the atmospheric pressure is lower than that of surrounding locations. It is the opposite of a high-pressure area. Low-pressure areas are commonly associated with incle ...
, centered well south of Mexico on May 20. It moved generally west-northwestward and by the following day, strengthened into Tropical Storm Bud. Thereafter, further intensification was slow. By late on May 23, Bud reached winds of . On the following day, however,
rapid deepening
Rapid intensification (RI) is any process wherein a tropical cyclone strengthens very dramatically in a short period of time. Tropical cyclone forecasting agencies utilize differing thresholds for designating rapid intensification events, th ...
commenced, with the storm becoming a hurricane on that day. Bud peaked as a
Category 3 hurricane on May 25. Several hours after reaching that intensity, the storm began to quickly weaken as it moved near Western Mexico. Bud continued to weaken, eventually dissipating the next day.
Due to Hurricane Bud's rapid weakening offshore of Mexico, effects were mostly minimal. However, the hurricane still produced heavy rainfall and waves of up to in
Melaque
San Patricio, also known as Melaque, is an urban locality in Cihuatlán, Jalisco, Mexico. As of the year 2020, it has a total population of 6,958.
Geography
San Patricio is located on the southern coast of Jalisco, about 4 kilometers northw ...
. Beach damage resulted from the rough seas. Strong gusts also uprooted trees across the coast, and rainfall washed out some roads. No deaths were associated with the hurricane's impacts.
Meteorological history
The precursor to Hurricane Bud exited the
West Africa
West Africa, also known as Western Africa, is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations geoscheme for Africa#Western Africa, United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Gha ...
coast on May 5 as a
tropical wave
A tropical wave (also called easterly wave, tropical easterly wave, and African easterly wave), in and around the Atlantic Ocean, is a type of atmospheric trough, an elongated area of relatively low air pressure, oriented north to south, which ...
. The wave slowly intensified as it moved towards the west as an area of
thunderstorm
A thunderstorm, also known as an electrical storm or a lightning storm, is a storm characterized by the presence of lightning and its acoustics, acoustic effect on the Earth's atmosphere, known as thunder. Relatively weak thunderstorm ...
s, producing showers of the
Windward Islands
The Windward Islands are the southern, generally larger islands of the Lesser Antilles of the Caribbean islands or the West Indies. Located approximately between latitudes 10° and 16° N and longitudes 60° and 62° W, they extend from D ...
.
On May 12, a
low pressure system
In meteorology, a low-pressure area (LPA), low area or low is a region where the atmospheric pressure is lower than that of surrounding locations. It is the opposite of a high-pressure area. Low-pressure areas are commonly associated with inclem ...
formed from the tropical wave just south of eastern
Panama
Panama, officially the Republic of Panama, is a country in Latin America at the southern end of Central America, bordering South America. It is bordered by Costa Rica to the west, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north, and ...
. Under favorable conditions, it slowly began to organize while east of Tropical Storm Aletta, and after a burst in convection on May 15, the
National Hurricane Center
The National Hurricane Center (NHC) is the division of the United States' NOAA/National Weather Service responsible for tracking and predicting tropical weather systems between the IERS Reference Meridian, Prime Meridian and the 140th meridian ...
began monitoring the system. By early on May 18, the system became nearly stationary while just offshore of Mexico. After wind shear caused it to become less organized later that day, the system began showing signs of development starting on May 19. Although it was re-organizing, the system initially lacked a well-defined surface circulation. On May 20, the system started to rapidly organize while tracking slowly west-northwestward. Later that day, the National Hurricane Center noted that "conditions appear favorable for a tropical depression to form tonight or Monday." It is estimated that Tropical Depression Two-E developed at 1800 UTC on May 20, while located about south of
Acapulco
Acapulco de Juárez (), commonly called Acapulco ( , ; ), is a city and Port of Acapulco, major seaport in the Political divisions of Mexico, state of Guerrero on the Pacific Coast of Mexico, south of Mexico City. Located on a deep, semicirc ...
,
Guerrero
Guerrero, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Guerrero, is one of the 32 states that compose the administrative divisions of Mexico, 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into Municipalities of Guerrero, 85 municipalities. The stat ...
. Although geostationary and microwave satellite imagery indicated moderate easterly wind shear, the National Hurricane Center predicted quick intensification into a hurricane.
As the depression slightly accelerated to the west, the storm continued to organize, eventually intensifying into Tropical Storm Bud on May 22, with sustained winds. Bud remained at this intensity for one day before strengthening, starting early on May 23, and reached winds of during the afternoon. By the morning of May 24, Bud continued its
rapid intensification
Rapid intensification (RI) is any process wherein a tropical cyclone strengthens very dramatically in a short period of time. Tropical cyclone forecasting agencies utilize differing thresholds for designating rapid intensification events, th ...
, reaching sustained winds of , and then by the afternoon, as the system turned northward. Later on the same day, Bud turned to the northeast, and began to approach the coast of Western Mexico. Late on May 24, Bud intensified further into a Category 3 Major Hurricane, and obtained a peak intensity of 115 mph winds (185 km/h), with a minimum central low pressure of 960 mbars. Hurricane Bud was able to maintain Category 3 intensity for the next several hours, even when its outer rainbands began moving onshore in Western Mexico. Very early on May 25, Hurricane Bud weakened into a strong Category 2 hurricane.
Hurricane Bud rapidly began to weaken, as it slowly moved onshore. Bud quickly lost most of its convection, which was sheared mainly to the north. During the mid-afternoon of May 25, Bud weakened down to a strong tropical storm, as it began making landfall on Western Mexico. Further weakening ensued over the next 24 hours, and Bud degenerated into a remnant low early on May 26. Late on May 26, the remnant low of Hurricane Bud dissipated completely.
Preparations and impact

By early on May 24, the
Government of Mexico
The Federal government of Mexico (alternately known as the Government of the Republic or ' or ') is the national government of the Mexico, United Mexican States, the central government established by its constitution to share sovereignty over the ...
issued a tropical storm watch from Punta San Telmo to La Fortuna. Later that day, the watch was replaced by a warning and extended to
Cabo Corrientes, while a hurricane watch was issued for the same area. By 2100 UTC on May 24, the existing portions of the warnings between Cabo Corrientes and
Manzanillo were upgraded to a hurricane warning, and another tropical storm watch was issued northward to
San Blas. In the event of evacuations, 11 schools in
Colima
Colima, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Colima, is among the 31 states that make up the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It shares its name with its capital and main city, Colima.
Colima is a small state of western Mexico on the cen ...
and
Jalisco
Jalisco, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Jalisco, is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. It is located in western Mexico and is bordered by s ...
were closed.
The port of Manzanillo closed due to the threat of rains. Officials in
Puerto Vallarta
Puerto Vallarta ( or simply Vallarta) is a Mexican resort city near the Bahía de Banderas on the Pacific coast of the Mexico, Mexican state of Jalisco. Puerto Vallarta is the second largest urban agglomeration in the state after the Guadalajara ...
temporarily banned swimming in the ocean. Hundreds of heavy vehicles were prepared in Jalisco to move debris.
Authorities opened a total of 898 shelters in
Guerrero
Guerrero, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Guerrero, is one of the 32 states that compose the administrative divisions of Mexico, 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into Municipalities of Guerrero, 85 municipalities. The stat ...
and around 200 shelters in Colima.
Prior to Bud's rapid dissipation offshore, the storm produced heavy rainfall and waves of in Melaque, a town in western Jalisco. To prevent overflowing, government officials opened a full lagoon in Melague.
Wind gusts reached in Manzanillo,
strong enough to knock down trees. The storm washed out roads in Mazanillo, but no rivers overflowed.
Further north, there was moderate beach damage. Overall. damage from Bud was minimal.
References
External links
Hurricane Bud Advisory Archive
{{2012 Pacific hurricane season buttons
Bud
In botany, a bud is an undeveloped or Plant embryogenesis, embryonic Shoot (botany), shoot and normally occurs in the axil of a leaf or at the tip of a Plant stem, stem. Once formed, a bud may remain for some time in a dormancy, dormant conditi ...
Bud
In botany, a bud is an undeveloped or Plant embryogenesis, embryonic Shoot (botany), shoot and normally occurs in the axil of a leaf or at the tip of a Plant stem, stem. Once formed, a bud may remain for some time in a dormancy, dormant conditi ...
Bud
In botany, a bud is an undeveloped or Plant embryogenesis, embryonic Shoot (botany), shoot and normally occurs in the axil of a leaf or at the tip of a Plant stem, stem. Once formed, a bud may remain for some time in a dormancy, dormant conditi ...
Bud
In botany, a bud is an undeveloped or Plant embryogenesis, embryonic Shoot (botany), shoot and normally occurs in the axil of a leaf or at the tip of a Plant stem, stem. Once formed, a bud may remain for some time in a dormancy, dormant conditi ...