Tropical Storm Cristina was the third

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 ...

to make landfall along the Pacific 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 ...

in 10 days. On July 1, an area of disturbed weather developed into a tropical depression off the coast of

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 depression strengthened into Tropical Storm Cristina on July 2 as it moved west-northwest. Cristina was almost a hurricane at the time of its landfall near

Puerto Ángel Puerto Ángel (English: "Angel Port").Is a small coastal town in the Mexican state of Oaxaca located in the municipality of San Pedro Pochutla. It, along with San Agustinillo and Playa Zipolite are known as the "Riviera Oaxaqueña". It is located ...

on July 3. The cyclone dissipated over the mountains of

on the same day. Tropical Storm Cristina claimed 13 lives and left 62 missing. Eleven fishing boats were reported missing and 350 people were left homeless

Meteorological history

Cristina likely originated from area of thunderstorms that was affiliated with a tropical wave that had passed over

Panama Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Cos ...

on June 29. By June 30, thunderstorm activity increased while located west the Pacific coast of

. At 1200 UTC July 1, as convective banding became organized, 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 ...

initialed advisories Tropical Depression Five-E. At this time, the low located 300 miles (480 km) south of

San Salvador, El Salvador San Salvador (; ) is the capital and the largest city of El Salvador and its eponymous department. It is the country's political, cultural, educational and financial center. The Metropolitan Area of San Salvador, which comprises the capital ...

. With warm water and low

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 ...

meteorologist A meteorologist is a scientist who studies and works in the field of meteorology aiming to understand or predict Earth's atmospheric phenomena including the weather. Those who study meteorological phenomena are meteorologists in research, while t ...

s anticipated strengthening into a hurricane. Quickly organizing, the depression was upgraded into Tropical Storm Cristina while 260 miles (420 km) south of

Guatemala City, Guatemala Guatemala City ( es, Ciudad de Guatemala), known locally as Guatemala or Guate, is the capital and largest city of Guatemala, and the most populous urban area in Central America. The city is located in the south-central part of the country, nest ...

. During the night of July 1–2, the "tropical storm" peaked just under hurricane strength with winds of 70 mph (110 km/h) and a minimum pressure of 991 mbar (hPa). Early on July 3, the

center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentricity ...

of Tropical Storm Cristina crossed the Mexican coast near

at peak intensity. Within six hours, Cristina had weakened into a minimal tropical storm over the mountainous terrain of Mexico. By early July 3, the remnants of the tropical storm had completely dissipated.

Preparations, Impact, and aftermath

On July 2, the

Mexican government The Federal government of Mexico (alternately known as the Government of the Republic or ' or ') is the national government of the United Mexican States, the central government established by its constitution to share sovereignty over the republi ...

issued a

tropical storm warning 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 the

Guatemala Guatemala ( ; ), officially the Republic of Guatemala ( es, República de Guatemala, links=no), is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico; to the northeast by Belize and the Caribbean; to the east by H ...

border to Punta Maldonado. Making

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 ...

in the middle of the warning area, Cristina was the third storm to hit the region in less than two weeks. Tropical Storm Cristina dropped extremely heavy precipitation over southern Mexico and over 1,350 sites received rain. Many areas received more than of rainfall and a peak of fell in San Perdo Tapantepec. One fisherman drowned, another went missing, and another was found alive after their fishing boat sank off the coast of

Oaxaca Oaxaca ( , also , , from nci, Huāxyacac ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Oaxaca ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Oaxaca), is one of the 32 states that compose the political divisions of Mexico, Federative Entities of Mexico. It is ...

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 and mudslides in Oaxaca killed five and in

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 ...

killed at least seven people died. In the latter state, 51 communities were flooded, thus leaving 350 people homeless. In addition, 62 people were declared missing when eleven fishing boats were reported missing on July 2. On July 18, the

President of Mexico The president of Mexico ( es, link=no, Presidente de México), officially the president of the United Mexican States ( es, link=no, Presidente de los Estados Unidos Mexicanos), is the head of state and head of government of Mexico. Under the Co ...

had a meeting for the victims of Boris and Cristina in

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 ...

References

{{1996 Pacific hurricane season buttons

Cristina Cristina is a female given name, and it is also a surname. Notable people with the name include: Given name *Cristina (daughter of Edward the Exile), 11th-century English princess *Cristina (singer), Cristina Monet-Palaci (1956–2020), American s ...

Cristina 1996 Cristina 1996

Meteorological history

Preparations, Impact, and aftermath

See also

References