ANNUAL SUMMARIES Eastern North Pacific Hurricane Season of 2000
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3004 MONTHLY WEATHER REVIEW VOLUME 129 ANNUAL SUMMARIES Eastern North Paci®c Hurricane Season of 2000 MILES B. LAWRENCE,LIXION A. AVILA,JACK L. BEVEN,JAMES L. FRANKLIN,RICHARD J. PASCH, AND STACY R. STEWART National Hurricane Center, Tropical Prediction Center, NCEP, NOAA/NWS, Miami, Florida (Manuscript received 16 May 2001, in ®nal form 29 June 2001) ABSTRACT There were 11 tropical storms, 6 hurricanes, and 2 tropical depressions during the 2000 eastern North Paci®c hurricane season. Two tropical storms made landfall in Mexico. 1. Introduction teorological analyses. After each cyclone has ended, a There were 11 tropical storms and 6 hurricanes in the ``best track'' is determined using all available data. The eastern Paci®c basin in the year 2000, totaling 17 named best track is a table of 6-hourly estimates of the cy- tropical cyclones. This is two more than the 1966±99 clone's center position, maximum 1-min wind speed (10 m above the surface), and minimum sea level pressure.2 average of 15 named tropical cyclones.1 In contrast, the total of six hurricanes is three less than the long-term With the exception of a few aerial reconnaissance average of nine. There were also two tropical depres- ¯ights, all of this season's best track data were derived sions that did not reach tropical storm strength. The from satellite data and occasional land and ship reports. named tropical cyclones are listed in Table 1, along with The method for estimating the maximum 1-min wind their dates, maximum 1-min surface wind speed, min- speed from satellite imagery is the Dvorak technique imum sea level pressure, and directly attributable deaths. (Dvorak 1984), which uses subjective and objective Figure 1 is a map showing the best track positions of cloud pattern recognition applied to infrared and visible this year's named storms along with an indication of geostationary satellite imagery. Microwave imagery depression, storm, or hurricane stage. from polar-orbiting satellites (e.g., Tsai et al. 2000) is Tropical Storms Emilia, John, and Kristy originated a source of information about the structure of the surface from disturbances in the intertropical convergence zone wind ®eld in a tropical cyclone. (ITCZ). All of the other tropical cyclones were at least partly initiated by tropical waves that moved westward 2. Descriptions of individual tropical storms and from the Atlantic basin. hurricanes A crew of 18 died at sea when a freighter was lost in Hurricane Carlotta. No other deaths are attributed to a. Hurricane Aletta, 22±28 May this year's tropical cyclones. Tropical Storms Norman Aletta's precursor was a tropical wave that crossed and Rosa moved onshore along the coast of Mexico and Central America on 18±19 May and enhanced cloudi- spread rainfall inland. Tropical Storms Ileana and Mir- ness a few hundred nautical miles south of the Gulf of iam threatened Mexico and required the issuance of Tehuantepec on 20 May. By 22 May, convective clouds warnings, but neither affected land. became suf®ciently organized and concentrated near a The individual summaries in the next section are low cloud rotation to warrant the designation of tropical based on the National Hurricane Center's poststorm me- depression about 210 n mi south of Acapulco, Mexico. The depression moved west-northwest to westward from 1 The 1966±98 average is 15.6, which rounds up to 16; while the 22 to 25 May at a forward speed slowing from about 1966±99 average is 15.4, which rounds down to 15. 10 to 7 kt. By 23 May, a curved band of deep convection Corresponding author address: Dr. Miles Lawrence, National Hur- 2 Best track tables for individual storms, as well as complete trop- ricane Center, 11691 S.W. 17 St., Miami, FL 33165-2149. ical cyclone reports, are available from the Tropical Prediction Cen- E-mail: [email protected] ter's Internet site at http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/2000epac.html. Unauthenticated | Downloaded 09/29/21 01:34 PM UTC DECEMBER 2001 ANNUAL SUMMARY 3005 TABLE 1. Eastern North Paci®c basin hurricane season statistics for 2000. Minimum sea Maximum level 1-min wind pressure Direct No. Name Class* Dates** (kt) (mb) deaths 1 Aletta H 22±28 May 90 970 2 Bud T 13±17 Jun 45 994 3 Carlotta H 18±25 Jun 135 932 18 4 Daniel H 23 Jul±5 Aug 110 954 5 Emilia T 26±30 Jul 55 994 6 Fabio T 3±8 Aug 45 1000 7 Gilma H 5±11 Aug 70 984 8 Hector H 10±16 Aug 70 983 9 Ileana T 13±17 Aug 60 991 10 John T 28 Aug±1 Sep 60 994 11 Kristy T 31 Aug±3 Sep 35 1004 12 Lane H 5±14 Sep 85 967 13 Miriam T 15±17 Sep 35 1004 14 Norman T 20±22 Sep 45 998 15 Olivia T 2±10 Oct 55 994 16 Paul T 25±29 Oct 40 1003 17 Rosa T 3±8 Nov 55 993 *T5 tropical storm, wind speed 34±63 kt; H 5 hurricane, wind speed 64 kt or higher. ** Dates begin at 0000 UTC and include tropical depression stage (wind speed less than 34 kt). developed around the center and the system became 13 June about 370 n mi south-southwest of Manzanillo, Tropical Storm Aletta about 190 n mi south of Zihua- Mexico, when one center became dominant. Moving tanejo. northwestward, the depression became Tropical Storm Aletta slowly intensi®ed on 23 May, in an environ- Bud 6 h later. ment of modest easterly vertical wind shear. However, Bud reached a peak intensity of 45 kt early on 14 early on 24 May, the shear diminished and the rate of June while turning north-northwestward. This peak in- intensi®cation increased. Aletta reached hurricane tensity was maintained for 12 h, followed by slow weak- strength by 1200 UTC and 6 h later reached its peak ening. Bud passed just northeast of Socorro Island on intensity of 90 kt, coincident with the appearance of a 15 June as a tropical storm. It then weakened to a de- well-de®ned closed eyewall on microwave imagery. By pression on 16 June while slowing to an erratic drift the next day, easterly shear returned and the hurricane about 70 n mi north of Socorro Island. Bud lost all deep weakened. At this time, a broad midtropospheric trough convection on 17 June about 90 n mi north-northeast approached Baja California and eroded the ridge located of Socorro Island and a remnant broad low persisted north of Aletta, creating very weak steering currents until 19 June. and resulting in a slow meandering motion for the re- The National Aeronautics and Space Administration's mainder of the storm's existence. The combination of Quick Scatterometer satellite (QuikSCAT) made an vertical shear and cooling ocean waters from upwelling overpass near midday on 13 June, and microwave data under the quasi-stationary cyclone promoted continued indicated that the circulation had become well de®ned weakening. Aletta dissipated on 28 May, about 400 n mi and that winds were near or at tropical storm strength. south-southeast of the southern tip of Baja California. Another overpass about 24 hours later showed that A remnant swirl of low clouds and intermittent showers winds had decreased to less than 25 kt. The ship Roger lingered in the area for several days thereafter. Revelle reported 40-kt winds and a pressure of 1001.0 Aletta's 90-kt intensity makes it the second-strongest mb at 0000 UTC 14 June. Socorro Island reported a May hurricane on record in the eastern Paci®c basin pressure of 997.3 mb at 1500 UTC 15 June, but did not (after Hurricane Adolph of 1992, 95 kt). report tropical storm force winds. b. Tropical Storm Bud, 13±17 June c. Hurricane Carlotta, 18±25 June A poorly organized tropical wave moved into the east- Carlotta was a category 4 hurricane on the Saf®r± ern Paci®c Ocean on 6 June. On 11 June, a broad low Simpson scale (Simpson 1974) and had a long offshore pressure area formed in the vicinity of the wave a few track parallel to the coast of Mexico. Its maximum winds hundred nautical miles southwest of Acapulco, Mexico. of 135 kt make Carlotta the second-strongest June hur- Further development was slow and the overall circu- ricane (to Ava in 1973) in the east Paci®c basin since lation contained multiple centers for most of 11±12 1966. Although the hurricane did not make landfall, it June. The system became a tropical depression early on was responsible for 18 deaths when the Lithuanian Unauthenticated | Downloaded 09/29/21 01:34 PM UTC 3006 MONTHLY WEATHER REVIEW VOLUME 129 . 1. Eastern North Paci®c basin track chart for 2000: (a) storm numbers 1±8, (b) storm numbers 9±17. IG F Unauthenticated | Downloaded 09/29/21 01:34 PM UTC DECEMBER 2001 ANNUAL SUMMARY 3007 ) Continued .1.( IG F Unauthenticated | Downloaded 09/29/21 01:34 PM UTC 3008 MONTHLY WEATHER REVIEW VOLUME 129 FIG.2.GOES-10 visible image of Hurricane Carlotta at 1500 UTC 21 Jun 2000, near the time of 135-kt maximum intensity. (Courtesy of National Climatic Data Center, Asheville, NC.) freighter MV Linkuva was caught in the hurricane and Carlotta near the time of its peak intensity. Although lost at sea. there was impressive upper-level out¯ow over Carlotta's A tropical wave that emerged from the coast of Africa southern semicircle, out¯ow was limited to the north on 3 June appears to be the precursor disturbance of during most of the intensi®cation period.