Hurricane Adrian (2005)

**Hurricane Adrian (2005)**
Category 1 hurricane ( SSHWS )
	Hurricane Adrian on May 19, 2005 at 17:15 UTC.
Emergence	May 17, 2005
resolution	May 21, 2005
	80 mph (130 km / h ) (sustained for 1 minute)
Lowest air pressure	982 mbar ( hPa ; 29 inHg )
dead	7 total
Property damage	US $ 12 million (2005)
Affected ; areas	El Salvador , Honduras , Guatemala , Nicaragua
	Season overview: ; 2005 Pacific hurricane season

Hurricane Adrian was a tropical cyclone that formed on May 17, 2005. It was the first storm of the 2005 Pacific hurricane season , which formed just two days after the season officially began. The storm had an unusual trajectory and reached the mainland in Honduras on the coast of the Gulf of Fonseca in the strength of a tropical depression, which then quickly weakened and dissolved over the mainland of Honduras on May 20th.

Storm course

Track of Hurricane Adrian

A weak tropical disturbance migrated westward across South America from May 11-13 and crossed Central America on May 15. The system did not begin to organize its structure until it reached the area in which it developed into a tropical depression. On May 17, the classification as Tropical Depression One-E took place, when the center was about 710 km west-southwest of El Salvador . It began to move northeast, towards the capital, San Salvador . The next day, the low reached the strength of a tropical storm and was given the first name on the list for that season, Adrian.

Adrian continued with the intensification until, on the morning of May 19, he briefly reached the strength of a hurricane with a wind speed of 130 km / h and a minimum air pressure of 982 mbar. Operationally, Adrian maintained hurricane strength and hit El Salvador as a light hurricane. The follow-up analyzes showed, however, that the system had weakened rapidly before reaching the country and had already fallen to a tropical low pressure area with wind speeds of 50 km / h off the coastline. The disintegration continued quickly over land.

According to data from El Salvador's National Agency for Territorial Studies, Adrian met the coast at Acajutla, about 55 km west of the capital, San Salvador. In their forecast, the US meteorologists saw reaching the mainland closer to Puerto la Libertad, the monthly tropical weather summary of the National Hurricane Center for May 2005 indicates the official place at which Adrian reached the mainland, in Honduras . Accordingly, the ill-defined center of the storm, which weakened significantly before reaching the country and made a turn to the east, did not cross the El Salvador coastline.

Unusual train path

The north-eastward trajectory of this storm was extremely unusual. Since 1966, only four tropical systems that hit the west coast of Guatemala or El Salvador have been recorded and none on the short Pacific coastline of the state of Honduras. The only named tropical system of these was Tropical Storm Andres on June 7, 1997 near San Salvador . Taking the train path into account, it would have been possible that the storm could have reached the basin of the Caribbean Sea across the land area of Central America and would have been named Arlene as the first named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season . A statement from the NHC discussed this problem and stated that the system would have kept the name Adrian if it had not forfeited the minimum strength of a tropical storm when it crossed from the Pacific to the Atlantic basin. However, this would have been a reversal of the precedent set in 1988, when Hurricane Joan reached the Pacific basin from the Atlantic and was given the new name Miriam. Also unusual was the formation of a hurricane in May, which on average only happens once every four years.

Preparations

Authorities in El Salvador began evacuations and closed public facilities in preparation for the storm. Between 14,000 and 20,000 people were asked to leave their homes and go to higher areas. The government and local residents were aware of the damage other hurricanes had caused in the area, particularly the 9,000 deaths caused by Hurricane Mitch in 1998 .

The president of El Salvador Antonio Saca addressed a spoke on May 19, on radio and television to the public and noted that it is for the El Salvadorer most importantly, to remain calm and to be conscientious.

Effects

A single victim was reported in El Salvador. A military pilot had an accident with his plane during the storm. It was not known whether this accident was a direct or indirect consequence of the storm. Only minor damage was reported, limited to fallen trees and power outages. However, slight damage to buildings was also reported in the media. In about two thirds of El Salvador rain fell, the amount of which averaged about 100 mm, with up to 400 mm of precipitation in the mountainous region. These rains triggered floods that caused landslides and washed away roads.

According to media reports, minor damage to buildings occurred in Honduras. Extensive rains with flooding undermined numerous roads and caused landslides.

At least two people were killed in the town of Caxaque in the Guatemalan department of San Marcos after the heavy rains that caused Adrian's foothills triggered a mudslide. Floods occurred in various parts of the country, while only light rain fell in the capital, Guatemala City .

Adrian caused a direct victim in Nicaragua by flooding. Local flash floods occurred in various parts of the country.

Due to the minimal damage, the Adrian name was not removed from the list of tropical cyclone names and was used again in the 2011 Pacific hurricane season .