Thread: Patricia, strongest hurricane ever recorded, menaces Mexico

Patricia, strongest hurricane ever recorded, menaces Mexico

By Greg Botelho, CNN
Updated 11:21 AM ET, Fri October 23, 2015 | Video Source:CNN

(CNN)Patricia -- the strongest hurricane ever recorded -- barreled closer and closer Friday morning to Mexico's Pacific coast, where residents have been told to brace for its 200-mph sustained winds and torrential rains.

The Miami-based meteorological center, in its 10 a.m. CT (11 a.m. ET) advisory, warned of a "potentially catastrophic landfall ... in southwestern Mexico" late that afternoon or early evening. While its strength could fluctuate, "Patricia is expected to remain an extremely dangerous Category 5 hurricane through landfall."

Patricia has potential to cause massive death and destruction over a large swath of the Mexican Pacific coast, including the tourist hot spots of Puerto Vallarta and Acapulco.

Citing observations by hurricane hunters, Patricia is "the strongest hurricane on record in the National Hurricane Center's area of responsibility (AOR) which includes the Atlantic and the eastern North Pacific basins," according to a Friday morning forecast discussion.

The closest contender, at this point, might be Hurricane Camille when it battered the U.S. Gulf Coast in 1969. Regardless, Patricia looks to be more powerful than that storm, Hurricane Andrew in 1992, Katrina in 2005 and many others.

It's already surpassed them in one way: Its central pressure reading -- the weight of the air above a system -- which is a key measure of any storm's strength.

The early Friday central pressure recording of 880 millibars (the barometric pressure equivalent is 25.98 inches) "is the lowest for any tropical cyclone globally for over 30 years," according to the Met Office, Britain's weather service.

Patricia's intensity is comparable to Typhoon Haiyan, which hit the Philippines in 2013, the World Meteorological Organization tweeted.More than 6,000 people died in Haiyan, due largely to enormous storm surges that rushed through coastal areas. Haiyan had 195-mph sustained winds when it made landfall, while Typhoon Tip was at 190 mph (and had a slightly lower pressure reading of 870 millibars) in 1979.

Whether or not Patricia measures up to those Asian typhoons when it slams Mexico, CNN meteorologist Chad Myers said, "This is the only hurricane that's ever been this powerful."
What it's like to fly into a hurricane

Mexico's Pacific coast on high alert

Late Friday morning, the storm was centered 125 miles (75 kilometers) southwest of Manzanillo, Mexico, and 195 miles south of Cabo Corrientes.

Moving at a 10-mph clip, it's forecast to pivot north-northeast later Friday and pick up speed -- especially after it makes landfall, when Patricia should both accelerate and "rapidly weaken over the mountains of Mexico."


A satellite image shows Hurricane Patricia in the Pacific at 5:30 a.m. ET Friday.

A hurricane warning, which means hurricane conditions were expected within 24 hours, extends from San Blas to Punta San Telmo. A larger area, from east of Punta San Telmo to Lazaro Cardenas, is under a hurricane watch.

Mexican authorities worked to get ready for, and get the word out, about the onslaught.

In a meeting that started Thursday night and extended into Friday morning, President Enrique Pena Nieto directed members of his cabinet to take immediate action in the face of what was then predicted to be the strongest hurricane in the eastern Pacific in the past 50 years, according to the official Notimex news agency.

Officials were urged to alert those on the coast, especially in the states of Jalisco, Colima and Nayarit. Classes were canceled Friday at schools in many of these locales ahead of the storm.

The preparations included piling up sand bags along beaches in places such as Manzanillo in hopes of blunting what's expected to be a significant storm surge.

And all flights to and from Puerto Vallarta's airport were suspended Friday morning ahead of the storm, Mexico's federal police tweeted.

The National Hurricane Center also warned about swells that "are likely to cause life-threatening surf and rip current conditions."

In addition to these surges, rough surf and powerful winds, Patricia is expected to dump 8 to 12 inches of rain -- and possibly 20 inches in some spots -- along the Mexican coast.

"These rains could produce life-threatening flash floods and mudslides," the U.S. weather agency said.

Are you preparing for Patricia?

El Nino contributes to storm's strength

One other thing alarming about Patricia is its rapid rise in intensity. It rated as a tropical storm early Thursday, but 24 hours later it had become a Category 5 hurricane.

The storm is expected to roll over Mexico's Sierra Madre, likely significantly dulling its intense winds in the process. But much of the system's precipitation should roll on -- potentially up to Arkansas, Louisiana and Texas, a state that's now facing 3 to 6 inches in many areas from another system.

Still, while the Patricia-related rainfall could be significant in the United States, it pales to what people in Mexico will experience.

Those on that Latin American country's west coast are no stranger to tropical storms, of course. But Patricia is special, in part because of the global, regular weather phenomenon known as El Niño.

Among other effects, El Niño has contributed to ocean waters off Mexico being 2 to 3 degrees warmer than usual.

"That warm water from El Niño probably just pushed this slightly over the edge to be the strongest storm on record," CNN's Myers said.

About the only good news about Patricia, as of Friday morning, was that its center was fairly compact, with hurricane-force winds only extending 30 miles out from its eye.

That's a plus for anyone who gets brushed by the hurricane, but no consolation for those -- perhaps in Manzanillo, about 170 miles south of Puerto Vallarta -- who get hit directly.

"That's almost like an F4 or F5 tornado that can be 5 or 6 miles wide, just tearing up the coast as it makes landfall," said Myers. "... Can you imagine being the center of this eye, ... and then get hit by the eye wall doing 200 mph?

"It will be a devastating blow."

Track Hurricane Patricia

http://www.cnn.com/2015/10/23/americ...cane-patricia/

MONSTER AT THE BACK DOOR
Giant Hurricane Patricia set to slam Mexico — will it hit US Southwest?

MONSTER HURRICANE PATRICIA — the strongest storm ever recorded in this hemisphere, with sustained winds topping 200 mph — bears down on Mexico's Pacific coast as resorts are evacuated, and US forecasters keep a wary eye to see whether it turns toward West Texas.

• INTENSE WEATHER: Heavy rain in West Texas floats some travel trailers away | OX NEWS WEATHER CENTER

10/20/15

El Niño fueling most extreme tropical cyclone season on record in Northern Hemisphere

'EXTREMELY DANGEROUS'
Landslides reported after Category 5 Hurricane Patricia makes landfall


HURRICANE PATRICIA, the strongest-recorded hurricane in the Western hemisphere and packing 165 mile per hour winds, makes landfall on Mexico's Pacific coast, according to the National Weather Service — as people assemble in shelters like the one in the resort city of Puerto Vallarta, left.

• VIDEO: Stranded American tourist braces for Hurricane Patricia
• TEXAS ON WATCH: Officials warn rain from Hurricane Patricia storms could cause more flooding
• VIDEO: Mexico braces for monster storm
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• FOX NEWS WEATHER CENTER

Hurricane Patricia makes landfall on Mexico's Pacific coast as Category 5 storm

Published October 23, 2015 FoxNews.com

Patricia-- packing 165 mile per hour winds and the strongest hurricane ever recorded in the Western hemisphere-- made landfall early Friday evening on Mexico’s Pacific coast.

The storm made landfall around 6:30 p.m. local time along the coast of southwestern Mexico near Cuixmala, 55 miles west-northwest of port city of Manzanillo, according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami.

Mexican authorities received reports Friday evening of some flooding and landslides after the powerful storm came ashore in a relatively unpopulated stretch of Pacific coast.

Mexican Transportation Secretary Gerardo Ruiz Esparza told the Associated Press that officials have been bracing for the worst and are "not declaring victory" just yet.

Patricia's center made landfall in an area with few population centers. The nearest big city, Manzanillo, was outside the extent of the storm's hurricane-force winds.

TV news reports from the coast show some toppled trees, lampposts as well as flooded streets.

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2015/10.../?intcmp=hpbt1

• 
  
  TEXAS FLOODING
  Remnants of Patricia submerge southern Texas
  
  
  
  • Freight train derails in Texas where tracks washed away
  • Hurricane Patricia fades to tropical depression over northern Mexico
  • VIDEO: Patricia makes landfall with 165 mph winds
  • FOX NEWS WEATHER CENTER

Storms flood roads, cause train derailment in Texas

Published October 24, 2015 Associated Press



DALLAS – A powerful storm system rumbled through Texas on Saturday, flooding roads and causing a freight train to derail as parts of the state braced for the remnants of Hurricane Patricia to arrive.

Many parts of Texas, including its biggest cities, were under flash flood watches through Sunday or Monday. The remnants of Patricia, which was downgraded to tropical storm status and was expected to reach northern Mexico by Saturday night, were expected add to the rain falling in South and Central Texas, said Jesse Moore, a National Weather Service forecaster in Fort Worth.

The storm system already moving through Texas dumped more than a foot of rain on parts of the state on Friday, causing flooding that blocked several major roadways.

A Union Pacific freight train derailed before dawn on Saturday near Corsicana, about 50 miles south of Dallas, because a creek overflowed and washed away the tracks, said Jeff DeGraff, a railroad spokesman. The two crew members swam to safety and nobody was hurt, he said.

"They escaped the train after it stopped and swam to high ground," DeGraff said. "A Navarro County rescue team was able to get in and pull them to safety, they are back safe on dry ground."

One locomotive and several rail cars loaded with gravel went into the water and were partly submerged, DeGraff said. He had no specifics on how many cars derailed because crews couldn't reach the site due to flooding.

Authorities on Saturday morning reopened a section of Interstate 45 near Corsicana that was closed overnight due to flooding, backing up traffic for 12 miles. Moore said that since Friday morning, Corsicana has received 18 inches of rain and Powell has received 20 inches.

Flight tracker flightaware.com reported that about 100 Saturday flights had been canceled at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport.

A flash flood watch was in effect for the Dallas, Fort Worth, Waco, Austin and San Antonio areas through Sunday morning, according to the National Weather Service. Corpus Christi, Laredo and Brownsville are under a flash flood watch through Sunday night.

Forecasters say Houston and Galveston remain under a flash flood watch through Monday morning, with possible coastal flooding concerns.

Patricia was the most powerful hurricane on record in the Western Hemisphere and made landfall Friday along Mexico's Pacific Coast as a Category 5 storm. It quickly lost power as it moved inland and appeared to have caused remarkably little damage.

http://www.foxnews.com/weather/2015/.../?intcmp=hpbt3