Hurricane Lidia
Lidia at peak intensity on October 10
Meteorological history
FormedOctober 3, 2023
DissipatedOctober 11, 2023
Category 4 hurricane
1-minute sustained (SSHWS/NWS)
Highest winds140 mph (220 km/h)
Lowest pressure942 mbar (hPa); 27.82 inHg
Overall effects
Fatalities2
Damage$77.6 million (2023 USD)
Areas affectedWestern Mexico, Islas Marías, Southwestern Mexico
IBTrACS / [1]
Part of the 2023 Pacific hurricane season

Hurricane Lidia was a powerful Category 4 Pacific hurricane that was one of four tropical cyclones to make landfall on the Pacific Coast of Mexico in October 2023. The fifteenth tropical depression, twelfth named storm, eighth hurricane and sixth major hurricane[lower-alpha 1] of the 2023 Pacific hurricane season, Lidia originated from a disturbance that developed to the south of Mexico in late September 2023. The disturbance developed into a tropical storm on October 3, and was given the name Lidia. Lidia initially meandered off the coast of Mexico for several days as a moderate tropical storm, while moving gradually northward. Lidia first turned northwestward before embarking on a northeastward course on October 9, at which time the storm began a phase of rapid intensification. Early on October 10, Lidia became a hurricane, and the storm continued to quickly intensify, reaching its peak intensity as a Category 4 hurricane late that day; Lidia simultaneously made landfall in the state of Jalisco with sustained winds of 140 mph (220 km/h), making it the third-strongest landfalling Pacific hurricane on record at the time. Lidia rapidly weakened over the mountainous terrain of Mexico and dissipated the following morning over the inland state of Zacatecas.

Lidia caused extensive damage across southwestern Mexico, impacting the area less than 48 hours after it was struck by Tropical Storm Max. Lidia resulted in significant flooding, torrential rainfall and very powerful winds that severely damaged many structures, and the storm forced airport and school closings, along with the opening of 23 temporary shelters. One fatality occurred when a tree fell onto a van, and another from drowning in a river swollen by Lidia's rains. Enrique Alfaro, the governor of Jalisco, estimated that losses from Lidia in the state totaled MXN$1.4 billion (USD$77.6 million).[lower-alpha 2]

Meteorological history

Map plotting the storm's track and intensity, according to the Saffir–Simpson scale
Map key
Saffir–Simpson scale
  Tropical depression (≤38 mph, ≤62 km/h)
  Tropical storm (39–73 mph, 63–118 km/h)
  Category 1 (74–95 mph, 119–153 km/h)
  Category 2 (96–110 mph, 154–177 km/h)
  Category 3 (111–129 mph, 178–208 km/h)
  Category 4 (130–156 mph, 209–251 km/h)
  Category 5 (≥157 mph, ≥252 km/h)
  Unknown
Storm type
triangle Extratropical cyclone, remnant low, tropical disturbance, or monsoon depression

As early as September 28, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) anticipated that a low pressure area would form south of Mexico, assessing a 20% chance of tropical cyclogenesis within seven days.[2] Two days later, the NHC increased the potential for development to 70% – this was related to a tropical wave south of Mexico producing an area of thunderstorms, known as convection.[3] On October 2, the convection became more concentrated, supported by favorable environmental conditions, and a low pressure area developed.[4][5] At 09:00 UTC on October 3, the NHC initiated advisories on Tropical Storm Lidia, due to sufficient organization of the weather system. By that time, the thunderstorms had organized into curved rainbands, and the low pressure area had evolved into a well-defined circulation producing sustained winds of at least 40 mph (65 km/h).[6]

Lidia (left) strengthening, with Tropical Storm Max (right) nearing landfall, on October 9

Upon its formation, Lidia was expected to intensify to hurricane status within five days, due to sea surface temperatures of around 86 °F (30 °C) and ample moisture.[6] However, the presence of easterly wind shear was an early deterring factor, which displaced the convection from the center.[7] The thunderstorms continued to pulse over the center as Lidia moved north-northwestward, a path steered by a ridge over Mexico. Despite the wind shear, Lidia was able to continue to intensify.[8] By October 6, the storm turned toward the west, as the circulation become more closely aligned with the deepest convection, a sign of a maturing tropical cyclone.[9] Later that day, the wind shear nearly exposed the center from the thunderstorms, although the intensity had increased to just below hurricane-force, or winds of 74 mph (118 km/h). By that time, hurricane models had conflicting simulations for the future of Lidia. In the storm's immediate future, there was a consensus that a mid-latitude trough would steer the storm northward. Some computer models anticipated that the wind shear would remain strong enough to weaken the storm, while others predicted that it would intensify while moving toward the western coast of Mexico.[10]

Satellite imagery of Lidia making landfall in western Mexico on October 11

On October 7, Lidia began its anticipated turn to the north. With the wind shear continuing to affect, there was still uncertainty in the storm's future. That day, the NHC forecast included a hurricane landfall in the Mexican state of Nayarit.[11] By October 8, Lidia's structure had become more organized, with the center under the deepest convection, and a mid-level eye forming.[12] The lower- and mid-level circulations were displaced, while the intrusion of drier air prevented more immediate intensification.[13][14] On October 9, Lidia began its turn to the northeast, influenced by the approaching mid-level trough, which provided more favorable upper-level support. Concurrently, the convection increased over the center, signaling the start of an intensifying trend, which the NHC expected would continue up to the coast.[15]

Late on October 9, the Hurricane Hunters flew into Lidia, observing a developing inner core of the cyclone, with a central barometric pressure of 985 mbar (29.1 inHg).[16] Early on October 10, the storm intensified into a hurricane while located about 365 mi (590 km) southwest of Puerto Vallarta.[17] As Lidia approached the Mexican coast, it developed an eyewall as it intensified into a Category 2 on the Saffir-Simpson scale.[18] It rapidly intensified to a Category 4 hurricane by 21:30 UTC on October 10,[19] making landfall two hours later near Las Peñitas in the Mexican state of Jalisco, just south of Puerto Vallarta, with winds of 140 mph (220 km/h). By that time, the eyewall was clearing out on satellite imagery. Once over land, Lidia rapidly weakened over the mountainous terrain of western Mexico. The eye quickly degraded and the convection diminished.[20] By 09:00 UTC on October 11, the storm lost its well-defined center, less than ten hours after landfall. Lidia's remnants continued northeastward across northern Mexico, producing a large area of rainfall.[21]

Preparations and impact

Pacific hurricanes with a wind speed of 140 mph (220 km/h) or higher at landfall
Hurricane Season Wind speed Ref.
Otis 2023 165 mph (270 km/h) [22]
Patricia 2015 150 mph (240 km/h) [23]
Madeline 1976 145 mph (230 km/h) [24]
Iniki 1992 [25]
Twelve 1957 140 mph (220 km/h) [26]
"Mexico" 1959 [26]
Kenna 2002 [27]
Lidia 2023 [28]

Lidia prompted the issuance of hurricane and tropical storm watches and warnings for western Mexico.[29] Schools were closed across 23 municipalities in Mexico ahead of Lidia's anticipated landfall in the states of Sinaloa, Nayarit, and Jalisco, particularly in the latter state due to the combined threat of Lidia and the more southerly-tracking Tropical Storm Max, which made landfall in Guerrero less than two days prior.[30][31] 23 storm shelters were opened in Jalisco alone.[32] Several businesses in the resort town of Puerto Vallarta shut down and boarded up windows and doors and used sandbags as flood barriers.[33] Licenciado Gustavo Díaz Ordaz International Airport was also closed on October 11 as Lidia approached the area, and 12 flights were cancelled.[34] 6,000 Mexican armed forces members were deployed to Nayarit and Jalisco by Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador to assist residents in vulnerable areas.[31][35]

At the time of its landfall, Hurricane Lidia was the third-most intense Pacific hurricane to make landfall on Mexico ever recorded.[36] The cyclone produced intense rainfall and flash flooding as it moved onshore and inland over Jalisco. One person was killed in Punta Mita after strong winds from Lidia downed a tree on a van while another drowned in a swollen river.[37] Numerous trees were uprooted, some of which blocked Federal Highway 200, and 136 people were placed in temporary storm shelters due to the hurricane.[38] Several rivers and streams overflowed, which inundated houses and forced the closure of a hospital in Autlán de Navarro.[39] Downed trees and power lines were reported across coastal Jalisco.[40] Lidia significantly disrupted tourism along the coast, with several hotels, beaches and airports shutting down in response to the cyclone.[41] Lidia's powerful winds uprooted nearly 960 trees across Puerto Vallarta; in response, a reforestation drive was initiated by the municipal government in November 2023.[42] Several homes in the city had their rooves blown completely off by Lidia's powerful winds, and two people were seriously injured during the storm.[32] Preliminary rainfall totals reached 5.3 in (130 mm) in the neighboring state of Colima, with 5.1 in (130 mm) falling in the city of Manzanillo.[43]

Jalisco's governor, Enrique Alfaro, estimated that Lidia caused losses worth MXN$1.4 billion (USD$77.6 million) in the state. Alfaro appealed to the Mexican federal government for financial support in recovery efforts from the cyclone.[1] The combined remnant moisture of Lidia and Max combined with a frontal boundary over the Gulf of Mexico and contributed to beneficial rainfall along the Gulf Coast of the United States, which was suffering from drought conditions.[44] Moisture from Lidia's remnants also sent moderate rainfall into southern Texas.[43]

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ A major hurricane is a hurricane that reaches Category 3 status or higher on the Saffir–Simpson scale
  2. ↑ Converted using exchangerates.org, based on exchange rates for October 30, 2023

References

  1. 1 2 Josefina Ruiz (October 30, 2023). "Necesita Jalisco mil 400 millones de pesos para recuperarse de daños por 'Lidia'" [Jalisco needs 1,400 million pesos to recover from damage caused by 'Lidia']. Milenio (in Mexican Spanish). Retrieved December 8, 2023.
  2. ↑ Zelinsky (September 28, 2023). "Tropical Weather Outlook" (TXT). National Hurricane Center. Archived from the original on October 14, 2023. Retrieved October 10, 2023.
  3. ↑ Reinhart/Mahoney (September 30, 2023). "Tropical Weather Outlook" (TXT). National Hurricane Center. Archived from the original on October 14, 2023. Retrieved October 10, 2023.
  4. ↑ Papin (October 2, 2023). "Tropical Weather Outlook" (TXT). National Hurricane Center. Archived from the original on October 14, 2023. Retrieved October 10, 2023.
  5. ↑ Zelinsky (October 2, 2023). "Tropical Weather Outlook" (TXT). National Hurricane Center. Archived from the original on October 14, 2023. Retrieved October 10, 2023.
  6. 1 2 Papin (October 3, 2023). Tropical Storm Lidia Discussion Number 1 (Report). National Hurricane Center. Archived from the original on October 4, 2023. Retrieved October 10, 2023.
  7. ↑ Kelly/Stevenson (October 3, 2023). Tropical Storm Lidia Discussion Number 3 (Report). National Hurricane Center. Archived from the original on October 14, 2023. Retrieved October 10, 2023.
  8. ↑ Kelly/Konarik (October 4, 2023). Tropical Storm Lidia Discussion Number 7 (Report). National Hurricane Center. Archived from the original on October 14, 2023. Retrieved October 10, 2023.
  9. ↑ Bucci (October 6, 2023). Tropical Storm Lidia Discussion Number 12 (Report). National Hurricane Center. Archived from the original on October 14, 2023. Retrieved October 10, 2023.
  10. ↑ Zelinsky/Delgado (October 6, 2023). Tropical Storm Lidia Discussion Number 15 (Report). National Hurricane Center. Archived from the original on October 14, 2023. Retrieved October 10, 2023.
  11. ↑ Hogsett/Berg (October 7, 2023). Tropical Storm Lidia Discussion Number 18 (Report). National Hurricane Center. Archived from the original on October 8, 2023. Retrieved October 10, 2023.
  12. ↑ Reinhart (October 8, 2023). Tropical Storm Lidia Discussion Number 20 (Report). National Hurricane Center. Archived from the original on October 9, 2023. Retrieved October 10, 2023.
  13. ↑ Cangialosi (October 9, 2023). Tropical Storm Lidia Discussion Number 23 (Report). National Hurricane Center. Archived from the original on October 9, 2023. Retrieved October 10, 2023.
  14. ↑ Brown (October 9, 2023). Tropical Storm Lidia Discussion Number 24 (Report). National Hurricane Center. Archived from the original on October 14, 2023. Retrieved October 10, 2023.
  15. ↑ John Cangialosi (October 9, 2023). Tropical Storm Lidia Discussion Number 26 (Report). National Hurricane Center. Archived from the original on October 10, 2023. Retrieved October 10, 2023.
  16. ↑ John Cangialosi (October 9, 2023). Tropical Storm Lidia Discussion Number 27 (Report). National Hurricane Center. Archived from the original on October 14, 2023. Retrieved October 10, 2023.
  17. ↑ Brown (October 10, 2023). Hurricane Lidia Discussion Number 28 (Report). National Hurricane Center. Archived from the original on October 14, 2023. Retrieved October 10, 2023.
  18. ↑ John Cangialosi (October 10, 2023). Hurricane Lidia Discussion Number 30 (Report). National Hurricane Center. Archived from the original on October 13, 2023. Retrieved October 10, 2023.
  19. ↑ Bucci/Brown (October 10, 2023). Hurricane Lidia Tropical Cyclone Update (Report). Archived from the original on October 13, 2023. Retrieved October 10, 2023.
  20. ↑ Bucci (October 11, 2023). Hurricane Lidia Discussion Number 32 (Report). National Hurricane Center. Archived from the original on October 12, 2023. Retrieved October 11, 2023.
  21. ↑ Reinhart (October 11, 2023). Remnants of Lidia Discussion Number 33 (Report). National Hurricane Center. Archived from the original on October 12, 2023. Retrieved October 11, 2023.
  22. ↑ Brown, Daniel; Kelly, Larry (October 25, 2023). Hurricane Otis Tropical Cyclone Update (Report). Miami, Florida. Retrieved October 24, 2023.
  23. ↑ Kimberlain, Todd B.; Blake, Eric S.; Cangialosi, John P. (February 1, 2016). Hurricane Patricia (PDF) (Report). Tropical Cyclone Report. Miami, Florida: National Hurricane Center. Retrieved February 4, 2016.
  24. ↑ Gunther, Emil B. (April 1977). "Eastern North Pacific Tropical Cyclones of 1976". Monthly Weather Review. Eastern Pacific Hurricane Center. 105 (4): 508–522. Bibcode:1977MWRv..105..508G. doi:10.1175/1520-0493(1977)105<0508:EPTCO>2.0.CO;2. Retrieved October 11, 2011.
  25. ↑ The 1992 Central Pacific Tropical Cyclone Season (PDF) (Report). Honolulu, Hawaii: Central Pacific Hurricane Center. 1993. Retrieved November 24, 2003.
  26. 1 2 Blake, Eric S; Gibney, Ethan J; Brown, Daniel P; Mainelli, Michelle; Franklin, James L; Kimberlain, Todd B; Hammer, Gregory R (2009). Tropical Cyclones of the Eastern North Pacific Basin, 1949-2006 (PDF). Archived from the original on July 28, 2013. Retrieved June 14, 2013.
  27. ↑ Franklin, James L. (December 26, 2002). Hurricane Kenna (PDF) (Report). Tropical Cyclone Report. Miami, Florida: National Hurricane Center. Retrieved October 11, 2011.
  28. ↑ Bucci, Lisa; Brown, Daniel (October 10, 2023). Hurricane Lidia Intermediate Advisory Number 31A (Report). Miami, Florida: National Hurricane Center. Retrieved October 11, 2023.
  29. ↑ Cangialosi, John. Tropical Storm Lidia Advisory Number 23 (Report). National Hurricane Center. Archived from the original on 29 October 2023. Retrieved 8 October 2023.
  30. ↑ "Hurricane Lidia makes landfall as a Category 4 near Mexico's Puerto Vallarta resort". The Associated Press. October 10, 2023. Archived from the original on October 27, 2023. Retrieved October 27, 2023.
  31. 1 2 Ortega, Alejandra Valenciano; Cancino, Karina; Mega, Emiliano Rodríguez; Cantú, Elda (October 8, 2023). "Tropical Storm Lidia Moves Inland in Mexico, Killing 1". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on October 11, 2023. Retrieved October 11, 2023.
  32. 1 2 "Hurricane Lidia takes aim at Mexico's Puerto Vallarta resort with strengthening winds". The Associated Press. ABC News. October 10, 2023. Retrieved November 15, 2023.
  33. ↑ "'Extremely dangerous' Hurricane Lidia crashes into Mexico's Pacific coast". Al Jazeera. October 11, 2023. Retrieved November 15, 2023.
  34. ↑ "Puerto Vallarta Airport Canceled 12 Flights Due to Hurricane Lidia, Airport Expected to Close in Coming Hours". Puerto Vallarta News. 2023-10-10. Archived from the original on 2023-10-14. Retrieved 2023-10-11.
  35. ↑ Gregory, James (October 11, 2023). "'Extremely dangerous' Hurricane Lidia hits Mexico's Pacific coast". BBC News. Archived from the original on October 26, 2023. Retrieved October 27, 2023.
  36. ↑ Jeff Masters; Bob Henson (October 11, 2023). "Cat 4 Lidia is Mexico's 3rd-strongest landfalling Pacific hurricane on record". Yale Climate Connections. New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Retrieved November 15, 2023.
  37. ↑ Ruano, Christian (2023-10-11). "Hurricane Lidia barrels inland after slamming Mexico coast; one dead". Reuters. Archived from the original on 2023-10-10. Retrieved 2023-10-11.
  38. ↑ "Hurricane Lidia slams Mexico's coast leaving widespread damage". Reuters. October 11, 2023. Archived from the original on October 11, 2023. Retrieved October 11, 2023.
  39. ↑ Sandoval, Por Anayeli Tapia; Morales, Olivia Vázquez Herreray; Tinoco, Omar (October 9, 2023). "Remanentes de Lidia y una onda tropical causarán fuertes lluvias, alerta el SMN | EN VIVO". infobae (in European Spanish). Archived from the original on October 10, 2023. Retrieved October 12, 2023.
  40. ↑ Emily Mae Czachor (October 11, 2023). "Lidia makes landfall as Category 4 hurricane on Mexico's Pacific coast before weakening". CBS News. Retrieved November 15, 2023.
  41. ↑ Alejandra Valenciano Ortega; Karina Cancino; Emiliano Rodríguez Mega; Elda Cantú (October 11, 2023). "Tropical Storm Lidia Moves Inland in Mexico, Killing 1". New York Times. Retrieved November 15, 2023.
  42. ↑ "Reforestation Campaign to Revitalize Puerto Vallarta After Hurricane Lidia's Devastation". Vallarta Daily News. Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, Mexico. November 14, 2023. Retrieved November 15, 2023.
  43. 1 2 Mary Gilbert; Nouran Salahieh; Robert Shackelford (October 11, 2023). "Lidia's leftover rain raises flood concerns in western Mexico". CNN Weather. Retrieved November 15, 2023.
  44. ↑ Speck, Emilee; Wulfeck, Andrew (October 10, 2023). "Moisture from Pacific tropical cyclones, frontal boundary to soak drought-stricken Gulf Coast". Fox Weather. Archived from the original on October 27, 2023. Retrieved October 27, 2023.

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