HURRICANE SEASON OF 1998 IN THE NORTH ATLANTIC

«MITCH»

October 21^st-November 5^th

It originated within a tropical wave on the evening of the 21^st over the Southwest of the Caribbean Sea. Almost stationary over this area it reached the category of tropical storm the next day in the afternoon. In the morning of the 23^rd an upper low quickly structures to the west of the storm and its western winds interrupted the outgoing flux disorganizing the cloud pattern. Almost immediately an anticyclone structured, which organized the outgoing on the upper levels and in the early hours of the 24^th Mitch reached the rank of hurricane showing a very well defined eye pattern. From that moment on it began moving slowly on a course close to the North-northwest until the evening when it bent its trajectory to the Northwest and then to the West in the afternoon of the 25^th, direction that it kept until the early hours of the next day.

It must be pointed out that during this period of time it underwent a fast process of intensification with a drop in the central pressure of 53 hPa in 24 hours from the 24^th at 21:00 UTC until the 25^th at the same time. In the early hours of the 26^th it turned its motion to the West-northwest to cross over the island of Swan in the first hours of the evening reaching its maximum intensity with sustained winds of 287 km/h and a central pressure of 905 hPa. After crossing this island it made a turn to the Southwest starting to diminish its winds speed and to rise its central pressure. Since the evening of that day it stationed close to the island Guanaja and continued loosing intensity, due in part to having a portion of its circulation over land (Honduras, El Salvador and Nicaragua). With an erratic motion it enters through the coasts of Honduras at some point close to Puerto Limón.

The 29^th in the afternoon it is classified as a tropical storm and in the afternoon the next day it shows a slow movement to the South-southwest and later to the South. In the early hours of the 31^st it reassumes its course between the West and the West-northwest turning into a tropical depression in the morning. As a depression Mitch abandons Honduras in the afternoon and moves into Guatemala dissipating in the morning of November the 1^st. For Central America Mitch constituted an immense disaster. The deaths figure is estimated in over 11,000 and the damages over 3,500 millions of dollars.

In a general sense, the trajectory of this intense hurricane was determined in first instance by a continental anticyclone, that blocked its motion to the North and then by an equilibrium of forces between an anticyclone placed over the Gulf of Mexico and another over the eastern Caribbean in the middle levels, finally predominating the first, that forced it to enter and displace over Honduras and Guatemala.

The remains of Mitch were trapped by a wave from the West and taken to the Gulf of Campeche. Here they reorganized in the afternoon of the 3^rd, classifying again as a tropical storm, very close to the Northwest coast of the peninsula of Yucatán. As it ran through the extreme Northwest of this peninsula with a course close to the Northeast it lost some organization and intensity, so it was degraded to depression, but again over sea it regained the category of tropical storm in the morning. Its speed increased crossing the Southeast of the Gulf of Mexico in the 4^th and already in the first hours of the 5^th it entered the South of Florida going out to sea in the morning and becoming extratropical in the afternoon close to the northern Bahamas.

After reorganizing Mitch didn’t show the typical characteristics of a tropical storm nor in its cloud pattern neither in its winds system. The storm presented an extensive circulation that produced strong winds from the South over the western part of Cuba on November the 4^th, with a maximum gust of 104 km/h at Casablanca station. It also produced coastal floods on low zones of the South coast of the western part of the island. A cloud band associated to this system influenced over Cuba causing severe weather. Tornadoes were reported on a zone close to San Antonio de los Baños, province of Havana with trees torn out and strong damages to power towers. Another tornado at Entronque de Herradura, province of Pinar del Río caused five injured people. At Pinar del Río intense rainfall was reported up to 160 mm with totals between 100 and 135 mm at other locations in the province.

Hurricane Mitch. October 26, 1998 (18:45 UTC)

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