Hurricane Winifred
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Hurricane Winifred was the last
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 ...
to make
landfall Landfall is the event of a storm moving over land after being over water. More broadly, and in relation to human travel, it refers to 'the first land that is reached or seen at the end of a journey across the sea or through the air, or the fact ...
in the record-breaking
1992 Pacific hurricane season The 1992 Pacific hurricane season was the most active Pacific Hurricane Season, Pacific hurricane season on record, featuring 27 named storms. The season also produced the second-highest Accumulated cyclone energy, ACE value on record in the b ...
. Impacting western Mexico, especially
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
Michoacán Michoacán, formally Michoacán de Ocampo, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Michoacán de Ocampo, is one of the 31 states which, together with Mexico City, compose the Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. The stat ...
, Hurricane Winifred brought heavy rain and destruction to the area. Rains flooded farms and roads, and caused more than $5 million (1992 USD, $  USD) in damage and a total of three people were killed. The last major hurricane, and
hurricane 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 ...
of its season, Winifred existed in October 1992. It formed southeast of Acapulco on October 6 as the twenty-fourth east Pacific tropical cyclone of its season, and recurved as it strengthened. It peaked as a Category 3 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale. It made landfall southeast of Manzanillo, Colima and dissipated inland.


Meteorological history

On October 1, a disorganized area of thunderstorms existed south of
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 ...
. It gradually headed west-northwestward, slowly organized, and developed deep and concentrated
convection Convection is single or Multiphase flow, multiphase fluid flow that occurs Spontaneous process, spontaneously through the combined effects of material property heterogeneity and body forces on a fluid, most commonly density and gravity (see buoy ...
. The disturbed area had become organized enough to be considered a tropical depression. Numbered Twenty-Four-E, the cyclone was located about 460 mi (740 km) south-southeast 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 ...
. It moved towards the west-northwest at a speed of about 12 mph (19 km/h), and by the time it was located about south of
Zihuatanejo Zihuatanejo (), and/or Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo, is the fourth largest city in the Mexican state of Guerrero. It was known by 18th-century English mariners as Chequetan and/or Seguataneo. Politically the city belongs to the municipalities of Mexico, m ...
, it had intensified into Tropical Storm Winifred. Winifred steadily became more organized, and late on October 7, 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 ...
(NHC) was anticipating Winifred to reach hurricane intensity within the next 36 hours. A large cyclone, Winifred continued to intensify. Its forward speed decreased as it started to turn to the northwest. By October 8, Winifred become a hurricane while located approximately south-southeast of Manzanillo. A small
eye An eye is a sensory organ that allows an organism to perceive visual information. It detects light and converts it into electro-chemical impulses in neurons (neurones). It is part of an organism's visual system. In higher organisms, the ey ...
became evident on
satellite imagery Satellite images (also Earth observation imagery, spaceborne photography, or simply satellite photo) are images of Earth collected by imaging satellites operated by governments and businesses around the world. Satellite imaging companies sell im ...
, and thus the winds increased to 85 mph (140 km/h). Winifred then intensified into a moderate Category 2 hurricane on October 9. Although the eye briefly disappeared, slight intensification was anticipated. The hurricane was curved north by an upper-level
trough Trough may refer to: In science * Trough (geology), a long depression less steep than a trench * Trough (meteorology), an elongated region of low atmospheric pressure * Trough (physics), the lowest point on a wave * Trough level (medicine), the l ...
. Winifred peaked in intensity as a major hurricane (Category 3 or higher on the Saffir-Simpson Scale). At this time, Winifred, had central
pressure Pressure (symbol: ''p'' or ''P'') is the force applied perpendicular to the surface of an object per unit area over which that force is distributed. Gauge pressure (also spelled ''gage'' pressure)The preferred spelling varies by country and eve ...
of and winds of 115 mph (185 km/h). This made Winifred the final hurricane– major or otherwise– of the 1992 Pacific hurricane season. However, it was operationally believed to have peaked as a Category 2 hurricane; the NHC did not issue any advisories with winds any higher than 110 mph (175 km/h). Hurricane Winifred re-curved to the north-northeast, increased in forward speed, and slightly weakened as it approached land, with the storm's eye becoming less apparent in satellite imagery. On October 9, it made landfall 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 ...
about east-southeast of Manzanillo. At the time it was a Category 2 hurricane with winds of 110 mph (175 km/h) and a central pressure of . Hurricane Winifred quickly weakened after landfall, and weakened to a tropical storm less than three hours later, which was early on October 10. Later on October 10, Winifred weakened to a tropical depression, before dissipating over the mountains of central Mexico.


Preparations and impact

Five thousand people were evacuated to
emergency shelter An emergency shelter is a place for people to live temporarily when they cannot live in their previous residence, similar to homeless shelters. The main difference is that an emergency shelter typically specializes in people fleeing a specific ...
s as Winifred neared. With the approach of the hurricane, watches and warnings were issued. On October 9 a tropical storm warning was issued from
Zihuatanejo Zihuatanejo (), and/or Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo, is the fourth largest city in the Mexican state of Guerrero. It was known by 18th-century English mariners as Chequetan and/or Seguataneo. Politically the city belongs to the municipalities of Mexico, m ...
to Cabo Corrientes. At the same time, a hurricane watch went into effect in the same area. The watch was later replaced with a hurricane warning 12 hours later. On October 10, all watches and warnings were dropped. Starting on October 8, Hurricane Winifred caused rainfall over an extensive area of Mexico. The highest point maximum reported was of at
Lázaro Cárdenas Lázaro Cárdenas del Río (; 21 May 1895 – 19 October 1970) was a Mexican army officer and politician who served as president of Mexico from 1934 to 1940. Previously, he served as a general in the Constitutional Army during the Mexican Revo ...
, a point to the right of its track. That rain caused
flood A flood is an overflow of water (list of non-water floods, or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are of significant con ...
ing, which was blamed for three deaths. Damage was heaviest in the states of
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
Michoacán Michoacán, formally Michoacán de Ocampo, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Michoacán de Ocampo, is one of the 31 states which, together with Mexico City, compose the Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. The stat ...
. In areas of the former,
utilities A public utility company (usually just utility) is an organization that maintains the infrastructure for a public service (often also providing a service using that infrastructure). Public utilities are subject to forms of public control and r ...
were knocked out. Waves flooded portions of Highway 200 between Zihuatenajo,
Ixtapa Ixtapa (, ) is a resort city in Mexico, adjacent to the Pacific Ocean in the municipality of Zihuatanejo de Azueta in the state of Guerrero. It is located northwest of the municipal seat, Zihuatanejo, and northwest of Acapulco. In the 2020 I ...
, and Lázaro Cárdenas. Other roads were also flooded. Waves of forced the closure of Playa de Oro International Airport and port facilities in Manzanillo. Throughout the affected area, trees were blown down on cars, roughly 1,500 houses were damaged, as were hotels and restaurants. About of farmland were damaged, especially those of plantains and
corn Maize (; ''Zea mays''), also known as corn in North American English, is a tall stout Poaceae, grass that produces cereal grain. It was domesticated by indigenous peoples of Mexico, indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 9,000 years ago ...
. Carlos de la Madrid Virgen, the Governor of Colima, estimated that the total damage in his state was 16 billion pesos (1992 MXP) or $5 million (1992 USD, $  USD). Elsewhere, Winifred forced a temporary closure of the port of Acapulco.


See also

* Other storms of the same name * List of Pacific hurricanes


References


External links


Preliminary Report
{{good article Winifred Winifred (1992) Hurricanes in Colima Hurricanes in Michoacán