Hurricane Howard (2004)

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Hurricane Howard
Category 4 hurricane ( SSHWS )
Hurricane Howard at the time of greatest intensity
Hurricane Howard at the time of greatest intensity
Emergence August 30, 2004
resolution September 5, 2004
Peak wind
speed
140  mph (220  km / h ) (sustained for 1 minute)
Lowest air pressure 943  mbar ( hPa ; 27.9  inHg )
dead None reported
Property damage Unknown
Affected
areas 		Baja California , California and Arizona
Season overview:
2004 Pacific hurricane season

Hurricane Howard was a powerful Category 4 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale that caused heavy swell on the Lower California coast and southern California . The eighth named tropical cyclone of the 2004 Pacific hurricane season emerged from a tropical wave on August 30 off the coast of Mexico . The storm became steadily stronger and reached its greatest intensity on September 2nd with continuous one-minute winds of 220 km / h. Shortly thereafter, lower water surface temperatures caused the hurricane to weaken, which was graded into a tropical storm on September 4 and regressed the next day to a residual low with no convection that lasted for another five days until it dissolved over the open waters of the Pacific.

Though the storm did not move across land, Hurricane Howard caused significant flooding on the Baja California Peninsula, damaging dozens of homes and farmland. Howard generated waves about five and a half meters high on the Lower California coast; in California the waves reached heights of up to three meters. More than 1,000 lifesaver missions can be traced back to this swell in the US state. The humidity associated with the hurricane resulted in prolonged rainfall with local flooding in parts of Arizona .

Storm course

Hurricane Howard railway track

Hurricane Howard originated in a tropical wave that broke off the coast of West Africa on August 18. The wave traveled across the Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea without binding significant convection. Bad convection then developed in the western Caribbean. before the wave crossed Central America and reached the eastern Pacific. As the system moved along the southern coast of Mexico, the wave became more and more organized. The wave was determined to create a tropical depression on August 30th at 12:00 PM UTC , approximately 405 miles south-southwest of Acapulco , Mexico. The tropical low pressure area Elf-E migrated through a subtropical ridge west-northwest due to the controlling influences . In the first hours after the formation of the tropical low pressure area, there was a lack of deep convection in the center, but the conditions were ultimately favorable for the development of the tropical cyclone, including a warm water surface and only low wind shear .

Due to the improved organization of the system and the formation of band structures, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) classified the low pressure area as Tropical Storm Howard on August 31 at 00:00 UTC. A subtropical high pressure area over southern California steered the storm in a northwesterly direction. Early the following day, the NHC found an eighty percent chance of rapid intensification due to the favorable conditions in the area . Due to the formation of an eye , the NHC upgraded Howard to a hurricane on September 1, 675 km southwest of Manzanillo , Colima . During the day, Howard's eye became visible on satellite images, a small eye surrounded by a symmetrical ring with deep convection. On September 2 at 6:00 a.m. UTC, the NHC upgraded Howard to Category 2, as the sustained wind speeds above Howard reached their greatest intensity at the lower end of Category 4 on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale, whose wind speed was 220 km / h was. At that time, the center of the hurricane was about 660 km south-southwest of the southern tip of Lower California.

Hurricane Howard in the slowdown on September 3rd

Not very long after reaching the peak intensity, the storm reached cooler water, so that the eye wall began to disintegrate and the cloud cover warmed up. The next day, the eye was no longer visible on the satellite images and the Howard was downgraded to a Category 2 hurricane. The storm also continued to weaken rapidly and on September 4 at 12:00 UTC only reached the strength of a tropical storm. During the day, the convection associated with the storm was separated from the circulation center. In the early hours of September 5, Howard had weakened to a tropical low pressure area that some time later turned to a convection-free residual low, about 425 km west-southwest of Punta Eugenia. This residual low initially moved northeast, before turning in a southwestern direction the next day. Until its dissolution on September 10, the low pressure area continued in this direction approximately 1,850 km west of Cabo San Lucas .

Effects

Because Howard stayed far from land, no storm warnings were issued for the coasts. One ship, the Strong Virginian , reported sustained winds of 68 km / h at 6:00 a.m. UTC on September 4. Wave heights of 4.8–5.4 m have been observed along the Lower California coast. Due to the waves, the vessels were advised to remain in the harbors. In the mountainous areas of Lower California, torrential rain caused flash floods, which washed away several streets in San José del Cabo . The rain, on the other hand, was also useful in replenishing drinking water reservoirs on the peninsula. The effects of the storm damaged around 2,000 hectares of agricultural land and a total of 48 houses in four communities. The government provided temporary housing. In total, the Mexican civil defense made funds available for 393 families affected by Howard.

The high waves in Orange County required over a thousand lifeguards. Due to the high temperatures in southern California, some of which reached over 38 ° C, more than half a million people visited the state's beaches during the Labor Day weekend . In one incident, 25 people had to be rescued who were surprised by waves 2.4-3 m high. Authorities in San Bernardino County urged residents to take precautionary measures against flash floods and flooding as the dampness of the hurricane's foothills led to heavy rainfall and the lack of vegetation prevented the soil from holding back rainwater after the 2003 forest fires. The residents were advised to prepare sandbags, check the level of their emergency supplies and take measures to make any necessary escape. The weather forecast also assumed heavier rainfall in parts of the state of Arizona. Ultimately, however, only local rainfall was recorded there.

In the absence of any significant land impact, the Howard name has not been removed from the list of tropical cyclone names and is back as the name for the eighth named tropical storm for the 2010 Pacific hurricane season .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e f g h Jack Beven: Tropical Cyclone Report: Hurricane Howard ( English , PDF ; 169 kB) National Hurricane Center. December 2004. Retrieved March 7, 2009.
  2. ^ Berg and Pasch: Tropical Depression Eleven-E Discussion One ( English ) National Hurricane Center. August 30, 2004. Retrieved March 7, 2009.
  3. ^ Sisko, Stewart, and Jarvinen: Tropical Depression Eleven-E Discussion Two ( English ) National Hurricane Center. August 31, 2004. Retrieved March 7, 2009.
  4. ^ Roberts and Beven: Tropical Storm Howard Discussion Three ( English ) National Hurricane Center. August 31, 2004. Retrieved March 7, 2009.
  5. ↑ Manielli and Pasch: Tropical Storm Howard Discussion Five ( English ) National Hurricane Center. August 31, 2004. Retrieved March 7, 2009.
  6. ↑ Jarvinen: Tropical Storm Howard Discussion Six ( English ) National Hurricane Center. September 1, 2004. Retrieved March 7, 2009.
  7. ↑ Jarvinen: Hurricane Howard Discussion Seven ( English ) National Hurricane Center. September 1, 2004. Retrieved March 7, 2009.
  8. ^ Pasch: Hurricane Howard Discussion Nine ( English ) National Hurricane Center. September 1, 2004. Retrieved March 7, 2009.
  9. ↑ Jarvinen: Hurricane Howard Discussion Eleven ( English ) National Hurricane Center. September 2, 2004. Retrieved March 7, 2009.
  10. ^ Roberts and Pasch: Hurricane Howard Discussion Thirteen ( English ) National Hurricane Center. September 2, 2004. Retrieved March 7, 2009.
  11. ^ Pasch and Holweg: Hurricane Howard Discussion Seventeen ( English ) National Hurricane Center. September 3, 2004. Retrieved March 7, 2009.
  12. ↑ Jarvinen: Hurricane Howard Discussion Nineteen ( English ) National Hurricane Center. September 4, 2004. Retrieved March 7, 2009.
  13. ^ Roberts and Pasch: Hurricane Howard Discussion Twenty ( English ) National Hurricane Center. September 4, 2004. Retrieved March 7, 2009.
  14. ↑ Yi-Wyn Yen: The Perfect Storms ( English ) Sports Illustrated. September 13, 2004. Archived from the original on July 18, 2012. Retrieved on March 7, 2009.
  15. ↑ Jim Tolbert: Rainy Weather Knocks Out Sport fishing for La Playita Pangas ( English ) The Baja Catch . September 5, 2004. Retrieved March 1, 2004.
  16. ↑ Javier Gonzáles Primitivo: Aumentan los niveles de agua en presas ( Spanish ) El Siglo de Torreón. September 4, 2004. Retrieved March 7, 2009.
  17. ↑ Luciano Garcia Valenzuela: Decretan alerta por “Howard” ( Spanish ) El Siglo de Durango . September 4, 2004. Retrieved on March 7, 2009.  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / dev.elsiglodedurango.com.mx  
  18. ↑ Staff Writer: Apoyaran Para Rehabilitar Viviendas ( English ) Navajoa. September 9, 2004. Archived from the original on July 5, 2007. Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved March 7, 2009. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.navojoa.gob.mx
  19. ^ A b NCDC: Event Report ( English ) National Climatic Data Center. 2004. Accessed on March 7, 2009.  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / www4.ncdc.noaa.gov  
  20. ^ NCDC: Event Report ( English ) National Climatic Data Center. 2004. Accessed on March 7, 2009.  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / www4.ncdc.noaa.gov  
  21. ↑ Imran Ghori: Holiday Brings Flood Warnings ( English ) The Press-Enterprise. September 3, 2004. Retrieved March 7, 2009.
  22. ↑ Chuck George: Rainy Start To Tucson's Labor Day Weekend ( English ) KOLD. September 3, 2004. Archived from the original on January 3, 2013. Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved March 7, 2009. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.kold.com
  23. ↑ Associated Press: Meteorologists: Monsoon season weakest in years ( English ) KVOA. September 4, 2004. Retrieved on March 7, 2009.  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / www.kvoa.com  
  24. ↑ Worldwide Tropical Cyclone Names ( English ) National Hurricane Center. 2007. Retrieved March 7, 2009.

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