Tropical Storm Marco was the smallest

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 ...

on record by radius of winds from its center. The thirteenth

named storm Tropical cyclones and subtropical cyclones are named by various warning centers to simplify communication between forecasters and the general public regarding forecasts, watches and warnings. The names are intended to reduce confusion in the ...

of the

2008 Atlantic hurricane season The 2008 Atlantic hurricane season was the most destructive Atlantic hurricane season since 2005, causing over 1,000 deaths and nearly $50 billion (2008 USD) in damage. It was an above-average season, featuring sixteen named storms, ...

, Marco developed out of a broad

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 ...

over the northwestern Caribbean during late September 2008. Influenced by 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 ...

on October 4, a small low-level circulation center developed over

Belize Belize is a country on the north-eastern coast of Central America. It is bordered by Mexico to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and Guatemala to the west and south. It also shares a maritime boundary with Honduras to the southeast. P ...

. After crossing the southern end of the

Yucatán Peninsula The Yucatán Peninsula ( , ; ) is a large peninsula in southeast Mexico and adjacent portions of Belize and Guatemala. The peninsula extends towards the northeast, separating the Gulf of Mexico to the north and west of the peninsula from the C ...

and emerging into the Bay of Campeche, the low was declared Tropical Depression Thirteen early on October 6. The depression quickly intensified into a tropical storm and was given the name ''Marco'' later that day. Marco reached its peak intensity with winds of 65 mph (100 km/h) early on October 7. Around this time, tropical storm force winds extended from the center of the storm, making Marco the smallest tropical cyclone on record. Around 1200 UTC, Marco made

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 ...

near Misantla, Veracruz. The storm rapidly weakened after landfall, dissipating later that day. Due to its small size, Marco caused minimal damage; however, the storm's heavy rains led to floods up to deep that covered highways and damaged homes.

Meteorological history

Tropical Storm Marco originated in a broad

that persisted over the northwestern Caribbean in early October, 2008. On October 4, a

reached the same area, and the system spawned a circulation center over

Development Development or developing may refer to: Arts *Development (music), the process by which thematic material is reshaped * Photographic development *Filmmaking, development phase, including finance and budgeting * Development hell, when a proje ...

of the low was initially inhibited by its proximity to land. As the system neared the

Bay of Campeche The Bay of Campeche (), or Campeche Sound, is a bight in the southern area of the Gulf of Mexico, forming the north side of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec. It is surrounded on three sides by the Mexican states of Campeche, Tabasco and Veracruz. The ...

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 ...

quickly developed around the low. At 00:00

UTC Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) is the primary time standard globally used to regulate clocks and time. It establishes a reference for the current time, forming the basis for civil time and time zones. UTC facilitates international communica ...

on October 6, the low was designated as Tropical Depression Thirteen while located over

Laguna de Términos Laguna de Términos is the largest tidal lagoon by volume located entirely on the Gulf of Mexico, as well as one of the most biodiverse. Exchanging water with several rivers and lagoons, the Laguna is part of the most important hydrographic rive ...

. 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 ...

located to the north of the depression led to movement in a general west-northwest direction. Forecasters anticipated intensification up until landfall because of the storm's well-developed

outflow Outflow may refer to: *Capital outflow, the capital leaving a particular economy *Bipolar outflow, in astronomy, two continuous flows of gas from the poles of a star * Outflow (hydrology), the discharge of a lake or other reservoir system *Outflow ...

and the low

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 ...

and high

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s in its path. By 12:00 UTC, the small cyclone, with a cloud shield no more than across, was upgraded to Tropical Storm Marco. Favorable conditions for development allowed Marco to quickly intensify throughout the day on October 6. Early on October 7, Marco reached its peak intensity with winds of and a minimum pressure of 998 millibar (

hPa The pascal (symbol: Pa) is the unit of pressure in the International System of Units (SI). It is also used to quantify internal pressure, stress, Young's modulus, and ultimate tensile strength. The unit, named after Blaise Pascal, is an S ...

; 29.47

inHg Inch of mercury (inHg, ″Hg, or in) is a non- SI unit of measurement for pressure. It is used for barometric pressure in weather reports, refrigeration and aviation in the United States. It is the pressure exerted by a column of mercury in h ...

). This was based on a

reconnaissance mission In military operations, military reconnaissance () or scouting is the exploration of an area by military forces to obtain information about enemy forces, the terrain, and civil activities in the area of operations. In military jargon, reconnai ...

into Marco which recorded flight-level winds of , corresponding to a surface wind speed of . Following the quick increase in intensity, forecasters noted the possibility of Marco intensifying into a

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 ...

before making

. The storm maintained a small area of deep convection, averaging in diameter, as it continued moving towards the west-northwest. Shortly after reaching peak intensity, tropical storm force winds extended from the center of Marco. At 12:00 UTC, the center of Marco made landfall near Misantla, Veracruz, with winds of . Once inland, Marco rapidly weakened, being downgraded to a tropical depression six hours after landfall. The small depression dissipated later that day over the mountains of Mexico.

Preparations, impact, and records

Upon the storm's formation, the Government of Mexico issued a

tropical storm warning 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 ...

for the

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico () is an oceanic basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, mostly surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north, and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States; on the southw ...

from

Tuxpan Tuxpan (or Túxpam, fully Túxpam de Rodríguez Cano, for Enrique Rodríguez Cano) is both a municipality and city located in the Mexican state of Veracruz. The population of the city was 89,557 and of the municipality was 154,600 inhabitants, ...

to Punta El Lagarto. That afternoon the government issued a

hurricane 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 ...

between Cabo Rojo and

Veracruz Veracruz, formally Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave, is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entit ...

, and extended the tropical storm warning northward to Cabo Rojo. Officials closed schools ahead of the storm and opened 200 shelters. An estimated 3,000 people were evacuated from low-lying areas along the coast. Soldiers used school buses to transport evacuees to the shelters. Marco formed in the area of Mexico's main oil-facilities, leading to the evacuation of 33 workers from four platforms. Six oil wells and a natural gas processing plant were also shut down in Veracruz. The Mexican

Secretariat of Communications and Transportation The Secretariat of Infrastructure, Communications and Transportation (''Secretaría de Infraestructura, Comunicaciones y Transportes'', SICT) of Mexico is the national federal entity that regulates commercial road traffic and broadcasting. Its h ...

also closed the ports of Nautla and Alvarado to small vessels as a precautionary measure. Tropical Storm Marco on October 6 2008

Upon landfall, heavy rains peaking at in El Pujal,

San Luis Potosí San Luis Potosí, officially the Free and Sovereign State of San Luis Potosí, is one of the 32 states which compose the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 59 municipalities and is named after its capital city, San Luis Potosí. It ...

and falling at rates up to 1 inch per hour (25.4 mm/h), caused some flooding in coastal towns near

as people evacuated to higher ground. The rains from Marco worsened flood situations in areas of Mexico already suffering from severe flooding. Officials in Veracruz, in their post-storm damage survey, reported that two rivers, the Quilate and Tenoch, overflowed their banks due to rains produced by Marco. One of these rivers left the towns of Minatitlan and Hidalgotitlan under 10 ft (3 m) of water. Highways along the coast of Veracruz were also flooded. Another 250 homes were flooded when a lake and a river overflowed their banks. Thirteen municipalities within Veracruz were affected by Marco. In Vega de Alatorre, 77 people were evacuated to nearby shelters after their homes were inundated with water. Three landslides were also reported in Misantla Colipa; none of them caused damage. In all, Marco's impact was light; minimal damage was recorded, and none of the estimated 400,000 people affected by the storm sustained injury. In the wake of Marco, the General Coordination of Civil Protection of the Ministry of the Interior declared a

state of emergency A state of emergency is a situation in which a government is empowered to put through policies that it would normally not be permitted to do, for the safety and protection of its citizens. A government can declare such a state before, during, o ...

for 48 municipalities in

. Relief goods were distributed to the affected areas by October 9. The Government of Mexico reported that 4,700 blankets, 2,900 mattresses, 5,555 bottles of water (each containing 500 milliliters), 260,000 boxes of milk, 250,000 packages of biscuits, and 12,400 boxes of school supplies had been distributed. At 0052 UTC on October 7, tropical storm force winds extended from the center of Marco. This made Marco the smallest tropical cyclone ever recorded, surpassing the previous record set on December 24, 1974 by

Cyclone Tracy Severe Tropical Cyclone Tracy was a small but destructive tropical cyclone that devastated the city of Darwin, Northern Territory, Darwin, in the Northern Territory of Australia, in December 1974. The small but developing easterly storm was or ...

, whose tropical storm-force winds extended .

References

External links

*
The National Hurricane Center's Advisory Archive for Tropical Storm Marco
{{DEFAULTSORT:Marco (2008) 2008 Atlantic hurricane season 2008 disasters in Mexico October 2008 in Mexico Hurricanes in Campeche Hurricanes in Veracruz Atlantic tropical storms

Marco Marco may refer to: People Given name * Marco (actor) (born 1977), South Korean model and actor Surname * Georg Marco (1863–1923), Romanian chess player of German origin * Jindřich Marco (1921–2000), Czechoslovak photographer and numismat ...

Meteorological history

Preparations, impact, and records

See also

References

External links