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'Dangerous' Hurricane Rick threatens Mexico coast
Miami (AFP) Oct 18, 2009 Hurricane Rick, the strongest storm to hit the eastern north Pacific in more than a decade, lost some wind speed Sunday but none of its menace as it barreled toward the southwest coast of Mexico. The US National Hurricane Center called Rick "extremely dangerous" and urged anyone in the storm's path to take precautions. The storm should crash ashore in the upscale resort town of Los Cabos on the Baja California peninsula by Wednesday, but most likely as a weakened Category Two system, Jesus Carachure with Mexico's National Weather Service told AFP. At 2100 GMT Sunday, Rick was around 450 miles (725 kilometers) south of the resort town of Cabo San Lucas as it headed west-northwest at 14 miles (22 kilometers) per hour, parallel to Mexico's southern coast, the NHC said. The US forecasters warned about "potentially dangerous surf conditions" caused by large ocean swells. "Interests in southern Baja California and the southwest coast of Mexico should monitor the progress of this extremely dangerous hurricane storm," the Miami-based center said. Rick is on track to turn northward on Tuesday and is expected to gradually weaken over the next 24 to 48 hours, the NHC said. However, it added, "Rick remains a dangerous Category five hurricane... (and) is expected to remain a dangerous hurricane for the next couple of days." Rick reached Category Five status on Saturday, as it churned towards Mexico's Pacific coast with winds of more than 180 miles (285 kilometers) per hour, US forecasters said. The storm reached the top of the Saffir-Simpson scale after warm waters prompted its dramatic rise from a category one to a category five system in less than 36 hours. "With 180 mph winds, Rick becomes the second-strongest eastern north Pacific hurricane on record after Linda of 1997," the US National Hurricane Center (NHC) said at the time. On Sunday, wind speeds diminished to near 160 miles (260 kilometers) per hour, still within a Category Five storm, NHC said. The seventh hurricane of the eastern north Pacific 2009 season, Rick comes on the heels of Tropical Storm Patricia, which last week placed Los Cabos on Baja's southern tip under a state of emergency, before petering out. The peninsula was battered in early September by Hurricane Jimena, which ripped roofs off houses and caused floods that killed at least one person. Meanwhile, there have only been two hurricanes in the Atlantic Ocean in the 2009 season, which runs from June 1 to late November 30, but normally peaks in September and October. Hurricane Bill reached powerful Category Four intensity on the five-point Saffir-Simpson scale in mid-August. It bypassed most of the Caribbean and the US east coast, making landfall in southeastern Canada and causing modest damage. Hurricane Fred formed in the Atlantic in early September, but lost power over the ocean before making landfall.
earlier related report There have only been two hurricanes in the 2009 Atlantic season, which runs from June 1 to late November 30, but normally peaks in September and October. Hurricane Bill reached powerful Category Four intensity on the five-point Saffir-Simpson scale in mid-August. It bypassed most of the Caribbean and the US east coast, making landfall in southeastern Canada and causing modest damage. Hurricane Fred formed in the Atlantic in early September, but petered out over the ocean before making landfall. "We were expecting very little activity this season," said Lixion Avila, a weather expert at the Miami-based National Hurricane Center. "This happens when the El Nino phenomenon is present in the Pacific, the water warms up there, and that leads to hurricanes forming there and not in the Atlantic." Every three to six years, water currents shift along the equator in the Pacific and the ocean warms a few degrees, a phenomenon dubbed El Nino -- Spanish for "the boy," a reference to Christ the infant because the warming is usually noticed around Christmas. The El Nino effect was powerfully demonstrated on Saturday after warm waters prompted Hurricane Rick to roar to top Category Five status as it barreled up Mexico's Pacific coast. This hurricane season "could end with no impact against the US nor the Caribbean," noted William Gray, a hurricane expert at Colorado State University who has been forecasting hurricanes for 25 years. El Nino conditions in the Pacific "result in a higher vertical wind shear over the Atlantic region, which is considered to be unfavorable to hurricane formation and intensification," said Shuyi Chen, a meteorology and oceanography professor at the University of Miami. Less Atlantic hurricanes however do not necessarily mean weaker hurricanes that stay in the ocean, Chen warned. "In 1992, we had a strong El Nino condition," said Chen. "Although there were less hurricanes overall, Andrew was a Cat-5 major hurricane that made landfall in Florida and near New Orleans," she said. Hurricane Andrew, which ripped across southern Florida in 1992 before slamming into Louisiana, was blamed for 65 deaths and caused more than 30 billion dollars in damage, including massive wreckage to Homestead Air Force Base. The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) forecast in May said there could be between four and seven hurricanes, and between nine and 14 tropical storms in the 2009 season. There have been eight tropical storms and two hurricanes so far. The calm weather is a godsend for Cuba and Haiti, two countries that suffered mightily from the effects of the 2008 storms. Three hurricanes and a tropical storm tore through Cuba last year, killing people, flooding buildings and destroying crops. Two hurricanes and two tropical storms struck Haiti, already the poorest country in the Americas. Landslides and flooding killed some 1,000 Haitians, and widespread flooding caused millions of dollars in damage. In the United States last year, Tropical Storm Fay ravaged Florida, while hurricanes Gustav and Ike slammed the coasts of Louisiana and Texas, killing 60 people and causing some 20 billion dollars in damage. Share This Article With Planet Earth
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Tropical Storm Patricia churns toward Baja CaliforniaMiami (AFP) Oct 13, 2009 Tropical Storm Patricia advanced toward Mexico's Baja California Peninsula with landfall possible late Tuesday or early Wednesday, weather forecasters said. The Miami-based National Hurricane Center said a tropical storm warning was in effect along the southern area of Baja California from the town of Buena Vista to Agua Blanca, an area that includes the popular Cabo San Lucas tourist resort ... read more |
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