Tropical Depression Five-E was a

tropical depression A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system characterized by a low-pressure center, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depend ...

which made landfall along the south-western

Mexican Mexican may refer to: Mexico and its culture *Being related to, from, or connected to the country of Mexico, in North America ** People *** Mexicans, inhabitants of the country Mexico and their descendants *** Mexica, ancient indigenous people ...

coastline in July 2008. It was the fifth

tropical cyclone A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system characterized by a low-pressure center, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depend ...

of the

2008 Pacific hurricane season The 2008 Pacific hurricane season was a near-average Pacific hurricane season which featured seventeen named storms, though most were rather weak and short-lived. Only seven hurricanes formed and two major hurricanes. This season was also the firs ...

. The depression developed out of a weak

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 ...

which formed off the coast of Africa on June 23. The wave remained poorly organized throughout its journey through 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 ...

and

Caribbean Sea The Caribbean Sea ( es, Mar Caribe; french: Mer des Caraïbes; ht, Lanmè Karayib; jam, Kiaribiyan Sii; nl, Caraïbische Zee; pap, Laman Karibe) is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean in the tropics of the Western Hemisphere. It is bounded by Mexico ...

. The wave entered the

Eastern Pacific 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 July 2 after passing through

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. ...

. The wave developed into an

area of low pressure In meteorology, a low-pressure area, low area or low is a region where the atmospheric pressure is lower than that of surrounding locations. Low-pressure areas are commonly associated with inclement weather (such as cloudy, windy, with possible ...

that afternoon. The low moved towards the northwest, paralleling the coastline. Continued development led to the eventual upgrade of the low to Tropical Depression Five-E on July 5. It was initially thought that the depression would become a tropical storm before landfall but the winds failed to increase above 35 mph (55 km/h). The depression made a turn towards the north-northwest and made landfall on July 7. It dissipated shortly after landfall due to the mountainous terrain. The depression produced heavy rainfall in parts of southwestern Mexico, peaking at . These rains triggered flooding that killed two people and left roughly

MXN The Mexican peso ( symbol: $; code: MXN) is the currency of Mexico. Modern peso and dollar currencies have a common origin in the 16th–19th century Spanish dollar, most continuing to use its sign, "$". The current ISO 4217 code for the p ...

30 million ($2.2 million) in damages.

Meteorological history

Tropical Depression Five-E formed out of a weak

, associated with scattered

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 ...

, which formed off the coast of Africa on June 23. The wave was moving towards the west at the rate of 23 mph (37 km/h), due to an area of high pressure located over the north-central

leading to a prevailing easterly flow. Some cyclonic turning was noted and convection was on either side of the axis— the center of the storm—but was mainly in association with the

Intertropical Convergence Zone The Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ ), known by sailors as the doldrums or the calms because of its monotonous windless weather, is the area where the northeast and the southeast trade winds converge. It encircles Earth near the thermal e ...

(ITCZ). The wave remained very close to the intertropical convergence zone for the next several days without any further development. On June 26, a small burst of moisture in the system was noted in the area of the wave, but no other notable development occurred. On July 2, the wave moved over

and produced scattered areas of strong convection off the coast of

Honduras Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. The republic of Honduras is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Oce ...

. Later in the day, the center of the wave became elongated as determined by a QuikSCAT

satellite pass An orbital pass (or simply pass) is the period in which a spacecraft is above the Horizontal coordinate system, local horizon, and thus available for Line-of-sight propagation, line-of-sight communication with a given ground station, satellite rec ...

. By the afternoon, the wave developed into an

and a

tropical cyclone formation alert A Tropical Cyclone Formation Alert (TCFA) is a bulletin released by the U.S. Navy-operated Joint Typhoon Warning Center in Honolulu, Hawaii or the Fleet Weather Center in Norfolk, Virginia, warning of the possibility of a tropical cyclone forming ...

was issued as the possibility of a tropical cyclone developing within 48 hours was present. Not long after the alert was issued, deep convection disappeared from the low while located 400 mi (645 km). Convection was anticipated to redeveloped later that night or early the next morning. The low was moving slowly towards the northwest due to a deep trough located over the

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico ( es, Golfo de México) is an oceanic basin, ocean basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, largely surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of ...

and a ridge of high pressure located over western Mexico. By the morning of July 3, convection had redeveloped near the low and its forward motion quickly increased to 11 mph (18 km/h). The low remained disorganized for the next two days as it steadily moved towards the northwest. During the morning of July 5, deep convection rapidly increased and banding features formed despite strong easterly wind shear. The convection persisted into the afternoon and the low was upgraded to Tropical Depression Five-E accordingly. Weak steering currents persisted as the depression moved towards the northwest at 4 mph (6 km/h) to 5 mph (8 km/h). Following the storm's upgrade, further development did not occur as the system tracked steadily towards the north-northwest. Early on July 7, the depression made landfall near Lazaro Cardenas with winds of 35 mph (55 km/h). Rapid weakening followed shortly after landfall and the storm dissipated several hours later over the mountains of Mexico.

Preparations and impact

As Tropical Depression Five-E approached Mexico, the country's government released tropical storm watches and warnings for certain parts of the coastline. When the tropical depression formed on July 5, the government issued a tropical storm warning from

Acapulco Acapulco de Juárez (), commonly called Acapulco ( , also , nah, Acapolco), is a city and major seaport in the state of Guerrero on the Pacific Coast of Mexico, south of Mexico City. Acapulco is located on a deep, semicircular bay and has bee ...

to Zihuatanejo. Other interests in the Pacific Ocean were asked to keep an eye on the developing depression. The morning of July 6, the Mexican government issued a tropical storm watch for Zihuatanejo to Manzanillo. The earlier tropical storm warning remained in effect, for another six hours, when the warning was demoted into a tropical storm watch. On the afternoon of July 6, the government discontinued the tropical storm watch up to Acapulco. The remaining tropical storm watch was discontinued on July 7, after the tropical depression had made landfall and began to weaken. The government's weather center also released thirteen tropical cyclone bulletins and four warnings for personal caution. The tropical depression produced of rain in Manzanillo, with other locations also experiencing isolated rainfall. Cerro de Ortega, Colima reported of rain in a 24-hour period. The community of Ometepec reported . Other locations reported moderate rainfall, ranging around . One person was swept away by flood waters, reaching in depth. Heavy rains from the depression resulted in a traffic accident that killed one person and injured two others. In all, damages from the storm amounted to

30 million ($2.2 million).

References

External links

The NHC's archive
on Tropical Depression Five-E. * on Tropical Depression Five-E.
The NHC's Tropical Cyclone Outlook
for the Eastern Pacific. {{DEFAULTSORT:5-E (2008) 2008 Pacific hurricane season 05E 05E 5-E

Meteorological history

Preparations and impact

See also

References

External links