Hurricane Patricia, the strongest hurricane ever recorded in history, made landfall in Western Mexico on October 23. The most powerful globally in terms of maximum wind speed and the most intense tropical storm in the Western hemisphere with respect to barometric pressure, it developed from tropical storm to Category 5 hurricane in less than 24 hours, a remarkably short period of time.
At its peak, wind speeds had reached 325 kilometres per hour and an extremely low central pressure of 0.879 kPa had developed, rousing again the debate for whether or not a Category 6 should be introduced in the hurricane classification system. For context, Typhoon Haiyan, which struck the Philippines in 2013, killing more than 6,300 people and doing $2.86 billion USD worth of damage, reached speeds of 315 km/h. A particularly windy day here in Ontario – in which walking against the wind is a bit of a struggle – might show winds of about 70 km/h; 300+ winds are therefore insanely powerful.
By the time it reached South America, it had weakened substantially with winds of 270 km/h. Despite this, it became the first hurricane since 1959 to make landfall on Mexico’s Pacific Coast whilst still being considered a Category 5. While it caused massive flooding and building damage for a total cost greater than $283.2 million USD, its general impact was less catastrophic than it had the potential to be. It managed to avoid more densely populated areas, including many tourist destinations, although rural areas, agricultural activities, and small towns sustained major damage.
Very few deaths were reported as a result of the storm, with 8 direct fatalities and 5 indirect. The Government of Mexico, who has been facing criticism under President Pena Nieto, has since been praised for their effective communication of the situation, and organizing the evacuation on citizens and tourists into shelters. Two aircraft and 600 buses were employed, ultimately evacuating roughly 8,500 people, with 25,000 members of the Mexican armed forces and police overseeing activities.
Initially hitting the state of Jalisco, it lost much strength over the course of the day on October 24, before moving into the mountains. Overall, the hurricane lasted from its formation on October 20 to its dissipation on October 24. It continued on as a storm, where it reached Southern Ontario on October 28, bringing in rainfall of up to 50 mm in some areas.
Environmental conditions in the Pacific greatly contributed to the force of this particular hurricane, the 24th named storm of the 2015 season. The overall increase in hurricane intensities of the past few years continues to fuel discussions around the human influence on climate change, and whether or not countries need to upgrade their disaster response plans in anticipation of future record-breaking storm events.
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