Hurricane Ignacio was the latest-forming first hurricane of a
Pacific hurricane
A Pacific hurricane is a mature tropical cyclone that develops within the northeastern and central Pacific Ocean to the east of 180°W, north of the equator. For tropical cyclone warning purposes, the northern Pacific is divided into three regio ...
season since reliable satellite observation began in 1966. The ninth tropical storm of the
2003 Pacific hurricane season
The 2003 Pacific hurricane season was the first season to feature no major hurricanes – storms of Category 3 intensity or higher on the Saffir–Simpson hurricane wind scale (SSHWS) – since 1977. The dates conventionally delimiting the ...
, Ignacio developed out of a
tropical wave
A tropical wave (also called easterly wave, tropical easterly wave, and African easterly wave), in and around the Atlantic Ocean, is a type of atmospheric trough, an elongated area of relatively low air pressure, oriented north to south, which ...
on August 22 a short distance off the coast of
Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
. It was initially predicted to track out to sea and remain a weak tropical storm, though it unexpectedly organized rapidly to attain peak winds of on August 24 while located a short distance southeast of southern
Baja California Sur
Baja California Sur (; 'South Lower California'), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California Sur ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California Sur), is the least populated state and the 31st admitted state of the 32 federal ent ...
. Land interaction weakened Ignacio to an hurricane by the time it made
landfall
Landfall is the event of a storm moving over land after being over water. More broadly, and in relation to human travel, it refers to 'the first land that is reached or seen at the end of a journey across the sea or through the air, or the fact ...
near
La Paz
La Paz (), officially known as Nuestra Señora de La Paz (Spanish pronunciation: ), is the seat of government of the Bolivia, Plurinational State of Bolivia. With an estimated 816,044 residents as of 2020, La Paz is the List of Bolivian cities ...
, and it dissipated on August 27 in the central
Baja California peninsula.
The hurricane produced heavy rainfall across Baja California Sur, which resulted in flooding. Statewide, four people were killed, and damage was estimated at $21.2 million. Resort areas near the coast experienced minor effects, though further inland the damage was more severe. The impact of Ignacio was compounded by flooding from
Hurricane Marty a month later, with damage from the two hurricanes totaling about $1 billion (2003 US).
Meteorological history
A
tropical wave
A tropical wave (also called easterly wave, tropical easterly wave, and African easterly wave), in and around the Atlantic Ocean, is a type of atmospheric trough, an elongated area of relatively low air pressure, oriented north to south, which ...
exited the coast of
Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
on August 6. It moved westward across the
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...
without development, and entered the eastern
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...
on August 16 after crossing
Central America
Central America ( es, América Central or ) is a subregion of the Americas. Its boundaries are defined as bordering the United States to the north, Colombia to the south, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. ...
. Cloudiness and
convection
Convection is single or multiphase fluid flow that occurs spontaneously due to the combined effects of material property heterogeneity and body forces on a fluid, most commonly density and gravity (see buoyancy). When the cause of the convec ...
gradually increased along the wave axis and organized into a distinct area of disturbed weather on August 20 while located a short distance south of
Manzanillo,
Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
.
It slowly became better organized as it moved northwestward in an area favorable for continued development.
With light vertical
wind shear
Wind shear (or windshear), sometimes referred to as wind gradient, is a difference in wind speed and/or direction over a relatively short distance in the atmosphere. Atmospheric wind shear is normally described as either vertical or horizontal ...
and warm
water temperatures, the convection concentrated around a developing low-level circulation,
and on August 22 it organized enough for the
National Hurricane Center
The National Hurricane Center (NHC) is the division of the United States' NOAA/National Weather Service responsible for tracking and predicting tropical weather systems between the Prime Meridian and the 140th meridian west poleward to the 3 ...
to classify it as Tropical Depression Nine-E while it was located about west of the Mexico mainland or about southeast of the southern tip of the
Baja California Peninsula.
With an
anticyclone
An anticyclone is a weather phenomenon defined as a large-scale circulation of winds around a central region of high atmospheric pressure, clockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and counterclockwise in the Southern Hemisphere as viewed from abov ...
located over the southwestern
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
and a
ridge
A ridge or a mountain ridge is a geographical feature consisting of a chain of mountains or hills that form a continuous elevated crest for an extended distance. The sides of the ridge slope away from the narrow top on either side. The line ...
extending southward into northwestern Mexico, the National Hurricane Center initially predicted the depression to track generally west-northwestward out to sea and reach peak winds of .
The tropical depression moved slowly northwestward, with the slow motion persisting for its entire lifetime due to the storm being embedded within the weakness of a mid-level ridge to its north.
Shortly after forming, the storm was located in a marginally favorable environment, with westerly wind shear and dry air approaching the depression
and leaving the center of circulation exposed from the convection. However, the wind shear subsequently decreased,
and early on August 23 the depression intensified into Tropical Storm Ignacio.
The storm quickly organized and developed well-defined
banding features and very well-organized upper-level outflow, and by late on August 23 a warm spot formed in the center of the convection.
The warm spot organized into an intermittent
eye feature.
Early on August 24, Ignacio attained hurricane status,
the latest formation of the first hurricane of a season recorded in the East Pacific since reliable satellite observation began in 1966.
Hurricane Ignacio continued to quickly intensify after becoming a hurricane, and reached peak winds of later on August 24 while located within /h) off the coast of
Baja California Sur
Baja California Sur (; 'South Lower California'), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California Sur ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California Sur), is the least populated state and the 31st admitted state of the 32 federal ent ...
.
Upon reaching peak strength, the hurricane possessed a wide eye surrounded by very deep convection. The National Hurricane Center predicted it to attain major hurricane status and potentially reach significantly higher winds if the center remained over open water.
However, it turned to the northwest and paralleled the
Baja California Peninsula a short distance offshore, resulting in a steady weakening trend due to its interaction with the high terrain. On August 25 Ignacio made
landfall
Landfall is the event of a storm moving over land after being over water. More broadly, and in relation to human travel, it refers to 'the first land that is reached or seen at the end of a journey across the sea or through the air, or the fact ...
just east of
La Paz
La Paz (), officially known as Nuestra Señora de La Paz (Spanish pronunciation: ), is the seat of government of the Bolivia, Plurinational State of Bolivia. With an estimated 816,044 residents as of 2020, La Paz is the List of Bolivian cities ...
with winds of . It rapidly weakened over land, first deteriorating to a tropical storm 12 hours after landfall and later to a tropical depression about a day after moving ashore. Ignacio continued northwestward across the peninsula, and
dissipated
In thermodynamics, dissipation is the result of an irreversible process that takes place in homogeneous thermodynamic systems. In a dissipative process, energy (internal, bulk flow kinetic, or system potential) transforms from an initial form to a ...
on August 28 while located in northwestern Baja California Sur.
Preparations
![Hurricane Ignacio 25 aug 2003 1830Z](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/35/Hurricane_Ignacio_25_aug_2003_1830Z.jpg)
Coinciding with the issuance of the first advisory on Ignacio, the government of
Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
issued a
tropical storm watch
Tropical cyclone warnings and watches are alerts issued by national weather forecasting bodies to coastal areas threatened by the imminent approach of a tropical cyclone of tropical storm or hurricane intensity. They are notices to the local popul ...
from
Santa Fe to
La Paz
La Paz (), officially known as Nuestra Señora de La Paz (Spanish pronunciation: ), is the seat of government of the Bolivia, Plurinational State of Bolivia. With an estimated 816,044 residents as of 2020, La Paz is the List of Bolivian cities ...
, with the watch upgraded to a warning nine hours later. The warning was extended on both coasts from
Bahia Magdalena
Magdalena Bay ( es, Bahía Magdalena) is a long bay in Comondú Municipality along the western coast of the Mexican state of Baja California Sur. It is protected from the Pacific Ocean by the unpopulated sandy barrier islands of Isla Magdalena ...
to
San Evaristo the next day. About 48 hours before Ignacio made landfall, a hurricane warning was issued from Santa Fe to La Paz, and 21 hours later extended to Bahia Magdalena and San Evaristo. The government of Mexico also issued a tropical storm warning for the mainland from
Atlata to
Topolobampo
Topolobampo () is a port on the Gulf of California in northwestern Sinaloa, Mexico. It is the fourth-largest town in the municipality of Ahome (after Los Mochis, Ahome, and Higuera de Zaragoza), reporting a 2010 census population of 6,361 inhabit ...
in the state of
Sinaloa
Sinaloa (), officially the Estado Libre y Soberano de Sinaloa ( en, Free and Sovereign State of Sinaloa), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the Administrative divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. It is d ...
.
The Civil Protection agency for the state of Baja California Sur ordered for the evacuation for 10,000 residents in flood-prone areas near
La Paz
La Paz (), officially known as Nuestra Señora de La Paz (Spanish pronunciation: ), is the seat of government of the Bolivia, Plurinational State of Bolivia. With an estimated 816,044 residents as of 2020, La Paz is the List of Bolivian cities ...
. Officials also moved 700 people in areas near rivers to shelters in
Los Cabos
LOS, or Los, or LoS may refer to:
Science and technology
* Length of stay, the duration of a single episode of hospitalisation
* Level of service, a measure used by traffic engineers
* Level of significance, a measure of statistical significance ...
.
32 emergency shelters were set up in and around La Paz.
Residents near the coast placed
sandbag
A sandbag or dirtbag is a bag or sack made of hessian (burlap), polypropylene or other sturdy materials that is filled with sand or soil and used for such purposes as flood control, military fortification in trenches and bunkers, shielding gl ...
s to protect their houses from potential flooding,
and also stocked up on hurricane supplies. Police authorities were stationed in areas around Los Cabos to guard against
price gouging
Price gouging is a pejorative term used to describe the situation when a seller increases the prices of goods, services, or commodities to a level much higher than is considered reasonable or fair. Usually, this event occurs after a demand or ...
.
Officials closed many schools and businesses throughout the area,
and also shut down the area's primary airport in La Paz.
About 500 people in
Sinaloa
Sinaloa (), officially the Estado Libre y Soberano de Sinaloa ( en, Free and Sovereign State of Sinaloa), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the Administrative divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. It is d ...
were evacuated, as well.
Impact
Prior to developing, the precursor tropical disturbance dropped heavy rainfall and produced gusty winds, primarily from
Zihuatanejo
Zihuatanejo (), or Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo, is the fourth-largest city in the Mexican state of Guerrero. It was known by 18th century English mariners as Chequetan or Seguataneo. Politically the city belongs to the municipalities of Mexico, municipali ...
in the state of
Guerrero
Guerrero is one of the 32 states that comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 81 municipalities and its capital city is Chilpancingo and its largest city is Acapulcocopied from article, GuerreroAs of 2020, Guerrero the pop ...
to
Manzanillo in the state of
Colima
Colima (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Colima ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Colima), is one of the 31 states that make up the Political divisions of Mexico, 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It shares its name with its capital and ...
.
The slow motion of Ignacio produced heavy rainfall across the southern portion of the
Baja California Peninsula, including a peak 24‑hour total of in
Ciudad Constitución
Ciudad Constitución is a city in the Mexican state of Baja California Sur. It is the seat of Comondú Municipality. As of 2019, the city had a total population of 45,888 inhabitants. Ciudad Constitución is a small city which serves as a gateway ...
.
The
National Hurricane Center
The National Hurricane Center (NHC) is the division of the United States' NOAA/National Weather Service responsible for tracking and predicting tropical weather systems between the Prime Meridian and the 140th meridian west poleward to the 3 ...
warned of rainfall totals of up to in some localized areas, which did verify in Los Cabos.
Ignacio produced strong waves which hit the eastern Baja California coastline.
Swells of in height in
La Paz
La Paz (), officially known as Nuestra Señora de La Paz (Spanish pronunciation: ), is the seat of government of the Bolivia, Plurinational State of Bolivia. With an estimated 816,044 residents as of 2020, La Paz is the List of Bolivian cities ...
closed the city's small port.
Hurricane-force winds blew down trees, signs, and power lines in and around La Paz,
while closer to the beach the hurricane destroyed multiple beach huts.
Rough surf in the harbor of La Paz sunk one fishing vessel and grounded four others. Efforts by the
Mexican Navy
The Mexican Navy is one of the two independent armed forces of Mexico. The actual naval forces are called the ''Armada de México''. The ''Secretaría de Marina'' (''SEMAR'') (English: Naval Secretariat) includes both the ''Armada'' itself and ...
prevented an additional vessel and two cruise ships from being grounded.
In
Cabo San Lucas
Cabo San Lucas (, "Saint Luke Cape"), or simply just Cabo, is a resort city at the southern tip of the Baja California Peninsula, in the Mexican state of Baja California Sur. As at the 2020 Census, the population of the city was 202,694 inhabitan ...
, effects were minimal, amounting to light winds and rain of less than .
The passage of the hurricane left citizens in
Todos Santos without power for around 24 hours.
Heavy rainfall caused severe inland flooding,
destroying bridges
and multiple mudslides, some of which blocked roads.
Flash flood
A flash flood is a rapid flooding of low-lying areas: washes, rivers, dry lakes and depressions. It may be caused by heavy rain associated with a severe thunderstorm, hurricane, or tropical storm, or by meltwater from ice or snow flowing o ...
ing in desert inland areas washed out roads, causing the Mexican government to restrict traffic through much of the peninsula for up to a week after the storm. Many roads remained impassable for a month after the hurricane.
The closed roads and the airport in La Paz and southern Baja California left some tourists stranded. The rainfall was welcome in some desert areas, where the moderate precipitation filled reservoirs.
Two rescue workers died when they were swept away by the floodwaters.
Six
municipalities
A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate.
The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...
in Baja California were declared disaster areas,
and by four days after landfall, the Mexican government prepared emergency funds to meet the immediate needs of the affected citizens.
Due to the storm's slow movement, rainfall was high and the resulting flooding was severe,
and Ignacio was responsible for approximately US$21.2 million of damage.
Two rescue workers drowned in the flood waters brought by the storm and some 10,000 people were evacuated to shelters.
Statewide, four people were killed, 1,198 homes were damaged, of crops were destroyed, and one school was also destroyed.
Heavy rainfall was also reported in
Sinaloa
Sinaloa (), officially the Estado Libre y Soberano de Sinaloa ( en, Free and Sovereign State of Sinaloa), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the Administrative divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. It is d ...
on the Mexican mainland.
The remnants of Ignacio produced
thunderstorm
A thunderstorm, also known as an electrical storm or a lightning storm, is a storm characterized by the presence of lightning and its acoustic effect on the Earth's atmosphere, known as thunder. Relatively weak thunderstorms are someti ...
activity in high terrain areas of central interior
California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
. Over 300
lightning
Lightning is a naturally occurring electrostatic discharge during which two electric charge, electrically charged regions, both in the atmosphere or with one on the land, ground, temporarily neutralize themselves, causing the instantaneous ...
strikes from the remnant moisture was recorded in a one-hour period. The lightning caused 14
forest fire
A wildfire, forest fire, bushfire, wildland fire or rural fire is an unplanned, uncontrolled and unpredictable fire in an area of Combustibility and flammability, combustible vegetation. Depending on the type of vegetation present, a wildfire ...
s in
Merced County
Merced County ( ), is a county located in the northern San Joaquin Valley section of the Central Valley, in the U.S. state of California.
As of the 2020 census, the population was 281,202. The county seat is Merced. The county is named after ...
, resulting in a loss of power to over 3,500 customers in and around the
Atwater area.
Just a month after Ignacio,
Hurricane Marty passed through the area, causing additional damage to areas hit by Ignacio. The combined damage from the two hurricanes totaled about $1 billion (2003 USD, $1.1 billion 2006 USD), and the effects from the two storms left at least 50,000 homeless.
See also
*
List of Pacific hurricanes
This is a list of notable Pacific hurricanes, subdivided by reason for notability. Notability means that it has met some criterion or achieved some statistic, or is part of a top ten for some superlative. It includes lists and rankings of Pacific ...
*
List of Baja California hurricanes
*
Timeline of the 2003 Pacific hurricane season
*
Hurricane Olaf (2021)
Hurricane Olaf was a Category 2 Pacific hurricane that struck the Baja California Peninsula in September 2021. The fifteenth named storm and sixth hurricane of the 2021 Pacific hurricane season, the cyclone formed from an area of low pressure t ...
– Impacted Baja California in 2021
Notes
References
External links
Hurricane Ignacio 2003 Best Track DataNHC Advisory Archive
{{Good article
Ignacio
Ignacio is a male Spanish language, Spanish and Galician Language, Galician name originating either from the Roman family name Egnatius (disambiguation), Egnatius, meaning born from the fire, of Etruscan origin, or from the Latin name "Ignatius" ...
Ignacio 2003
Ignacio 2003
2003 in Mexico
Ignacio
Ignacio is a male Spanish language, Spanish and Galician Language, Galician name originating either from the Roman family name Egnatius (disambiguation), Egnatius, meaning born from the fire, of Etruscan origin, or from the Latin name "Ignatius" ...
Ignacio
Ignacio is a male Spanish language, Spanish and Galician Language, Galician name originating either from the Roman family name Egnatius (disambiguation), Egnatius, meaning born from the fire, of Etruscan origin, or from the Latin name "Ignatius" ...