Hurricane Madeline (1998)

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Hurricane Madeline
Category 1 hurricane ( SSHWS )
Hurricane Madeline on October 18th
Hurricane Madeline on October 18th
Emergence October 16, 1998
resolution October 20, 1998
Peak wind
speed
85  mph (140  km / h ) (sustained for 1 minute)
Lowest air pressure 979  mbar ( hPa ; 28.9  inHg )
dead 31 (from flooding in Texas)
Property damage Unknown
Affected
areas 		Mexico , Baja California , Texas
Season overview:
1998 Pacific hurricane season

Hurricane Madeline was the last tropical cyclone of the 1998 Pacific hurricane season . Madeline emerged from a tropical wave that broke off the coast of Africa on September 25, 1998 and crossed the Atlantic and Central America . After the system got into the Pacific Basin, it steadily strengthened. Madeline was classified as a tropical depression on October 16 and upgraded to a tropical storm after a few hours and a hurricane on October 17. The storm reached its peak with wind speeds of 140 km / h southwest of San Blasand began to weaken eighteen hours later. Although Madeline did not reach the mainland itself, numerous bands of rain from the hurricane streaked the Mexican coast without causing any known damage. The remaining depth migrated northwards and with its moisture contributed to severe flooding in central Texas , in which 31 people were killed and property damage was worth $ 750 million.

Storm course

Madeline Railway

On September 25, 1998, a tropical wave broke off the coast of Africa , creating discontinuous cells of convective activity. The wave crossed the Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea before sweeping across Central America on October 5 or 6. On October 9, the convection increased and Dvorak evaluations were taken. The satellite imagery revealed that the system disintegrated on October 11th, even though an area of ​​cloud off the coast of Mexico was persistent. Four days later, the system was able to regenerate and was classified as a tropical depression at 0:00 UTC on October 16 about 370 km west-southwest of Manzanillo , Mexico. The poor training of the system made it difficult to determine the direction of the pull , but a few hours later the National Hurricane Center announced that the system was pulling in a north-northwest direction. Due to the meanwhile more favorable conditions, the convection in the center of the depth was better concentrated, and twelve hours after its formation the system intensified to the Tropical Storm Madeline, about 275 km southwest of Cabo Corrientes .

Although the upper edge of the cloud warmed up slightly, the strength of the storm increased in the course of the afternoon. The thunderstorm activity was somewhat limited as Madeline was almost stationary at the time. An approaching trough pushed Madeline northeast. The structure of the cyclone improved continuously over the next few hours, and by the evening of October 17th Madeline reached hurricane strength. According to the satellite images, convective activity was limited to the western half of the storm, but Madeline began to form an eye . Early on October 18, during a reconnaissance flight into the center of the storm, a minimum air pressure of 985 mbar was determined. At that time, the storm hit about 7.5 km hourly to the northeast, along the western edge of an extensive east-west high pressure ridge. The visible eye soon filled with clouds and a slight increase in temperature was noted near the center of the storm. Because the discharge created favorable conditions, the meteorologists felt compelled to forecast a slight intensification.

Shortly afterwards Madeline reached its greatest strength with wind peaks around 140 km / h about 150 km southwest of San Blas. The hurricane maintained its peak strength for the next eighteen hours, during which time it turned northwest. The presence of southerly wind shear meant that there was only a small area of ​​heavy thunderstorm activity on October 19, and the system was starting to look poor on the satellite imagery. During the day, the hurricane weakened into a tropical storm. At 14:00 UTC the storm had completely lost its convection due to strong wind shear. On October 19, at 5:00 p.m. UTC, the storm was downgraded to a tropical depression that consisted of nothing but a vortex of low-lying clouds halfway between the southern tip of Lower California and mainland Mexico. On October 20 at around 6:00 a.m. UTC, Madeline had completely disintegrated.

Preparations and implications

→ Main article: Central Texas Flood of October 1998
Precipitation levels in Mexico (Meteorological Prediction Center estimates).

In anticipation of Madeline, the Mexican government issued storm warnings for the Baja California peninsula south of La Paz and a hurricane warning for the coast between San Patricio and El Dorado , including Islas Marías . The storm was originally believed to be overland near Mazatlán , which caused authorities to close the city's port. President Ernesto Zedillo urged the affected residents to stay in their homes or seek emergency shelters. The Mexican authorities stationed two thousand soldiers in remote regions along the coast to provide disaster relief. Several thousand residents and tourists in Puerto Vallarta and Mazatlan have been asked to be ready for evacuation.

Although Madeline did not cross the coast, numerous bands of rain had an impact on the Mexican coastal regions, dumping up to 250 mm of rain. However, no damage or casualties were reported in Mexico. After the storm cleared, the residual depth crossed the hill country and the moisture in the system contributed to severe flooding in Texas . In Texas, up to 560 mm of rain fell locally, the resulting flash floods and floods lost their lives 31 people, and property damage totaled 750 million US dollars (1998).

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e f g Max Mayfield: Hurricane Madeline Preliminary Report ( English ) National Hurricane Center. 1998. Archived from the original on January 2, 2014. Retrieved May 22, 2008.
  2. ^ Lixion Avila: Tropical Depression Fifteen-E Discussion Number 1 ( English ) National Hurricane Center. 1998. Retrieved May 22, 2008.
  3. ^ Rappaport: Tropical Storm Madeline Discussion Number 2 ( English ) National Hurricane Center. 1998. Retrieved November 27, 2008.
  4. ^ Rappaport: Tropical Storm Madeline Discussion Number 3 ( English ) 1998. Retrieved November 27, 2008.
  5. ^ Lixion Avila: Tropical Storm Madeline Discussion number 5 ( English ) National Hurricane Center. 1998. Retrieved November 27, 2008.
  6. ^ Rappaport: Tropical Storm Madeline Discussion Number 6 ( English ) National Hurricane Center. 1998. Retrieved November 27, 2008.
  7. ↑ Jarvinen: Hurricane Madeline Discussion Number 8 ( English ) National Hurricane Center. 1998. Retrieved November 27, 2008.
  8. ^ Pasch: Hurricane Madeline Discussion Number 9 ( English ) National Hurricane Center. 1998. Retrieved November 27, 2008.
  9. ^ Pasch: Hurricane Madeline Discussion Number 13 . National Hurricane Center. 1998. Retrieved November 27, 2008.
  10. ↑ Guiney: Tropical Storm Madeline Discussion Number 16 ( English ) National Hurricane Center. 1998. Retrieved November 27, 2008.
  11. ^ Reuters: Mexico braces for Hurricane Madeline (English) . October 19, 1998. 
  12. ↑ BBC News: World: Americas Hurricane Madeline threatening Mexico ( English ) 1998. Retrieved November 27, 2008.
  13. ↑ David Roth: Hurricane Madeline Rainfall Summary ( English ) Hydrometeorological Prediction Center. 1998. Archived from the original on October 20, 2008. 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 November 27, 2008. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.hpc.ncep.noaa.gov
  14. ↑ John J., Jr Kelly: South Texas Floods, October 17-22, 1998 ( English , PDF; 498 kB) National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration . February 1999. Retrieved November 27, 2008.

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