Tropical Depression One-E was the earliest

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 ...

in the calendar year to impact the

Mexican state A Mexican State (), officially the Free and Sovereign State (), is a constituent federative entity of Mexico according to the Constitution of Mexico. Currently there are 31 states, each with its own constitution, government, state governor, a ...

Sinaloa Sinaloa (), officially the (), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, compose the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 18 municipalities, and its capital city is Culiacán Rosales. It is located in northwest Mexic ...

ever recorded. The first system of the

2009 Pacific hurricane season The 2009 Pacific hurricane season was the most active Pacific hurricane season since 1997 Pacific hurricane season, 1997. The season officially started on May 15 in the East Pacific Ocean, and on June 1 in the Central Pacific; they both ended on ...

, One-E formed out of an area of disturbed weather on June 18, 2009, and initially tracked slowly northwards. Throughout the day,

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 ...

developed around the center of circulation and the system was anticipated to become a tropical storm. Late on June 18, the National Hurricane Center noted that the system was on the verge of becoming a tropical storm; it would have been named ''Andres'' had this occurred. However, the following day, strong

wind shear Wind shear (; also written windshear), sometimes referred to as wind gradient, is a difference in wind speed and/or direction over a relatively short distance in the atmosphere. Atmospheric wind shear is normally described as either vertical ...

caused the depression to rapidly degenerate into a

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 ...

of low pressure before dissipating off the coast of Sinaloa. Although no longer a tropical cyclone, the remnants of the depression brought moderate rainfall to parts of

Nayarit Nayarit, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Nayarit, is one of the 31 states that, along with Mexico City, comprise the Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in Municipalities of Nayarit, 20 municipalit ...

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 ...

. High winds accompanied the rainfall and left about 50,000 residences without power. Several trees were downed and some structures sustained damage from fresh water flooding. Landslides occurred along major highways and significant structural damage was reported around Mazatlán. However, there was no loss of life or reports of injuries.

Meteorological history

Tropical Depression One-E originated from 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 ...

that exited the coast of Africa on May 29. Little convective activity was associated with the system as it traveled across the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the ...

and

Caribbean Sea The Caribbean Sea is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean in the tropics of the Western Hemisphere, located south of the Gulf of Mexico and southwest of the Sargasso Sea. It is bounded by the Greater Antilles to the north from Cuba ...

. On June 10, the wave crossed

Central America Central America is a subregion of North America. Its political boundaries are defined as bordering Mexico to the north, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest. Central America is usually ...

and entered the northeastern Pacific basin. Over the following few days, the system gradually became better organized and on June 15, an

area of low pressure 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 ...

developed from the wave. The system continued to organize, and on June 17 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) noted the likelihood for

tropical cyclogenesis Tropical cyclogenesis is the development and strengthening of a tropical cyclone in the atmosphere. The mechanisms through which tropics, tropical cyclogenesis occur are distinctly different from those through which temperate cyclogenesis occu ...

; although, at the time, the circulation was not well-defined. It organized further, and on June 18, the NHC initiated advisories on the first tropical depression of the 2009 season about 350 miles (565 km) south-southwest of

Mazatlán Mazatlán () is a city in the Mexican list of states of Mexico, state of Sinaloa. The city serves as the municipal seat for the surrounding , known as the Mazatlán Municipality. It is located on the Pacific Ocean, Pacific coast across from th ...

. Deep

persisted near the southern portion of the depression; however, the northern portion of the depression was partially devoid of convective activity. The depression traveled northward along the periphery of a mid-level

ridge A ridge is a long, narrow, elevated geomorphologic landform, structural feature, or a combination of both separated from the surrounding terrain by steep sides. The sides of a ridge slope away from a narrow top, the crest or ridgecrest, wi ...

over Mexico and an unusually strong mid to upper-level

situated over the Baja California Peninsula. Later on June 18, forecast models indicated that the system might rapidly degenerate prior to landfall. However, the NHC continued to forecast that the depression would attain tropical storm-status before landfall. Shortly after, the depression became increasingly disorganized as convection separated from the center of circulation due to increasing

. Stable air ahead of the system inhibited the possibility of rapid development as warm waters supported intensification. By the morning of June 19, the center of circulation was situated along the southern edge of deep convection, indicating that the depression was beginning to degenerate. Despite this, the NHC continued to anticipate intensification prior to landfall. Embedded within an easterly flow ahead of a mid-level trough, the storm turned towards the north-northeast and accelerated slightly. At 11:00 am PDT (1800 UTC), the depression reached its peak intensity with winds of 35 mph (55 km/h) and a

barometric pressure Atmospheric pressure, also known as air pressure or barometric pressure (after the barometer), is the pressure within the atmosphere of Earth. The standard atmosphere (symbol: atm) is a unit of pressure defined as , which is equivalent to 1,013.2 ...

of 1003 mbar (hPa; 29.62 inHg). Operationally, the depression was considered to be slightly stronger, having a minimum pressure of 1001 mbar (hPa; 29.56 inHg). Later that day, the depression began to degenerate into an open trough as it was situated underneath

cirrus cloud Cirrus ( cloud classification symbol: Ci) is a genus of high cloud made of ice crystals. Cirrus clouds typically appear delicate and wispy with white strands. In the Earth's atmosphere, cirrus are usually formed when warm, dry air rises, causing ...

s instead of

cumulonimbus cloud Cumulonimbus () is a dense, towering, vertical cloud, typically forming from water vapor condensing in the lower troposphere that builds upward carried by powerful buoyant air currents. Above the lower portions of the cumulonimbus the water ...

s. Visible satellite imagery showed that the depression became increasingly ill-defined and the NHC estimated that the depression degenerated into a trough of low pressure near the

Islas Marías The Islas Marías ("Mary Islands") make up an archipelago in Mexico, consisting of four islands. They are located in the Pacific Ocean, some off the coast of the state of Nayarit and about southeast of the tip of Baja California. They are part ...

during the afternoon of June 19. The remnants of the depression were monitored by the

United States Naval Research Laboratory The United States Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) is the corporate research laboratory for the United States Navy and the United States Marine Corps. Located in Washington, DC, it was founded in 1923 and conducts basic scientific research, appl ...

for several more hours until the system moved inland over

Preparations and impact

When the storm was declared a depression on June 18, a

tropical storm watch Tropical cyclone warnings and watches are alerts issued by national weather forecasting bodies to coastal areas threatened by the imminent approach of a tropical cyclone of tropical storm or hurricane intensity. They are notices to the local pop ...

was declared by the

Mexican Government The Federal government of Mexico (alternately known as the Government of the Republic or ' or ') is the national government of the United Mexican States, the central government established by its constitution to share sovereignty over the republ ...

for the

, as well as for areas between

Topolobampo Topolobampo () is a port on the Gulf of California in northwestern Sinaloa, Mexico. It is the fourth-largest town in the municipality of Ahome (after Los Mochis, Ahome, and Higuera de Zaragoza), reporting a 2010 census population of 6,361 inhab ...

and El Roblito in

. The captain of the Mazatlán port advised ships to remain at port due to rough seas. A blue alert was declared for Sinaloa due to the possibility of deadly mudslides. Crews throughout the state quickly cleared debris from streams and streets to allow for better drainage. Shelters were prepped for possible evacuees but never opened. Late on June 18, a tropical storm warning was declared for the Islas Marías and the watch along Sinaloa was extended southward to

Cabo Corrientes, Jalisco Cabo Corrientes is a cape on the Pacific coast of the Mexican state of Jalisco. It marks the southernmost point of the Bahía de Banderas (Bay of Flags), upon which the port and resort city of Puerto Vallarta stands. The municipality in which th ...

. The following day, the Government of Mexico discontinued the warning for the Islas Marías and the watch for areas south of El Roblito was also discontinued. Upon the storm's sudden dissipation later that day, the remaining watch areas were discontinued. On June 19, of rain fell in

, near where the remnants of the depression moved ashore. Rainfall rates in the region exceeded 1 in/h (25 mm/h) at times. High winds in Mazatlán knocked down several trees, cutting power to local residents. Heavy rains also triggered street flooding throughout the city. Several hours after the storm, electric companies reported than an estimated 50,000 residences were without power. Following an assessment of damage to the power grid, 20 power poles were found to have been damaged, 15 circuit breakers were damaged and 15 sections of power lines were downed. Numerous villages were flooded, some requiring the evacuation of residents. Around 11:00 am PDT (1800 UTC) six people were stranded offshore Sinaloa. High winds caused significant structural damage throughout Mazatlán. Traffic lights were downed by high winds, causing numerous traffic delays. Landslides along major roadways caused several accidents, one involving a bus that was damaged by rocks. One business was significantly damaged, with at least one main wall collapsing. To speed up the removal of debris, members of the Mexican army were deployed throughout Sinaloa. According to officials in Mexico, Tropical Depression One-E was the first known tropical cyclone to impact the state of Sinaloa during the month of June on record. With the system impacting land on June 19, it marked the earliest date that a tropical cyclone had impacted the state, with the average date of first impact being August 15.

References

External links

The National Hurricane Center's Advisory Archive for Tropical Depression One-E
* {{DEFAULTSORT:1-E (2009) * 01E 01E 1-E Hurricanes in Sinaloa Hurricanes in Nayarit Hurricanes in Jalisco

Meteorological history

Preparations and impact

See also

References

External links