Hurricane Rosa (1994)
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Hurricane Rosa was the only
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 ...
to make landfall during the above-average
1994 Pacific hurricane season The 1994 Pacific hurricane season was the final season of the eastern north Pacific's consecutive active hurricane seasons that started in 1982. The season officially started on May 15, 1994, in the eastern Pacific, and on June 1, 1994, in the c ...
. It killed at least 4 people in
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 ...
. Moisture from the hurricane was a factor in widespread flooding in the U.S. state of
Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...
that killed 22 people and caused hundreds of millions of dollars in damage in October 1994. The pre-Rosa tropical depression formed on October 8 before degenerating the next day. It reformed on October 10 and steadily strengthened as it approached Mexico. Ultimately peaking as a Category 2 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale right before
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 ...
, Rosa was the final hurricane, nineteenth tropical storm, and second-last tropical cyclone of the
1994 Pacific hurricane season The 1994 Pacific hurricane season was the final season of the eastern north Pacific's consecutive active hurricane seasons that started in 1982. The season officially started on May 15, 1994, in the eastern Pacific, and on June 1, 1994, in the c ...
.


Meteorological history

On October 8, a circulation associated with an area of disturbed weather acquired
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 conve ...
and was designated Tropical Depression Nineteen-E. Upon formation, the depression was forecast to dissipate because of strong
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 horizont ...
. Moving little, its development was constantly hindered by wind shear. The depression had difficulty organizing, and on October 9, it became so disorganized that advisories were discontinued. The depression's remnants moved eastward and interacted with an area of disturbed weather. This regenerated the convection, and the depression regenerated on October 10, possibly with a new center of circulation. However, the National Hurricane Center's preliminary report does not indicate that the depression ever dissipated or regenerated. Moving little in a favorable environment, the depression was upgraded to Tropical Storm Rosa on October 11, and to hurricane status a day later. At the time it was about south of the southern tip of the Baja California Peninsula. Rosa continued drifting slowly for another day and a half. Then, a trough caused Rosa to begin moving and accelerate north-northeastward. On October 14, Rosa peaked in intensity as a Category 2 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale with winds of and a
central pressure Atmospheric pressure, also known as barometric pressure (after the barometer), is the pressure within the atmosphere of Earth. The standard atmosphere (symbol: atm) is a unit of pressure defined as , which is equivalent to 1013.25 millibars, 7 ...
of . A few hours later, Rosa 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 Concepción about south-southeast of
Mazatlán Mazatlán () is a city in the Mexican state of Sinaloa. The city serves as the municipal seat for the surrounding '' municipio'', known as the Mazatlán Municipality. It is located at on the Pacific coast, across from the southernmost tip ...
. Rosa's circulation weakened over the mountains, and it dissipated on October 15.


Preparations, impact, and aftermath

On October 12, a
hurricane 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 pop ...
was issued for the coast from
Culiacán Culiacán, officially Culiacán Rosales, is a city in northwestern Mexico, the capital and largest city of both the Culiacán Municipality and the state of Sinaloa. The city was founded on 29 September 1531, by the Spanish conquerors Lázar ...
to Manzanillo and the Baja California Peninsula south of latitude 24°N. At the same time, a tropical storm warning was issued from Manzanillo to
Tepic Tepic () is the capital and largest city of the western Mexican state of Nayarit, as well as the seat of the Tepic Municipality. Located in the central part of the state, it stands at an altitude of above sea level, on the banks of the Rí ...
. On October 14, a hurricane warning was issued for the coast between Culiacán and Cabo Corrientes, and a tropical storm warning south of Cabo Corrientes to Manzanillo. All watches and warnings were lifted later that day. Rosa's rainfall map, Mexico only On October 13 and 14, two ships, the ''London Spirit'' and the ''Marie Maersk'', encountered winds of tropical storm or hurricane force. The ''Marie Maersk'' was located especially close to the eye, and its
observations Observation is the active acquisition of information from a primary source. In living beings, observation employs the senses. In science, observation can also involve the perception and recording of data via the use of scientific instrument ...
were useful to forecasters. In
Nayarit Nayarit (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Nayarit ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Nayarit), is one of the 31 states that, along with Mexico City, comprise the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 20 municipalities and its ...
and Durango, two people drowned, while in Sinaloa, four people were pronounced missing. More than 100,000 people in Nayarit had their homes damaged. Rosa's winds damaged many
telephone pole A utility pole is a column or post typically made out of wood used to support overhead power lines and various other public utilities, such as electrical cable, fiber optic cable, and related equipment such as transformers and street lights. It ...
s,
power line An overhead power line is a structure used in electric power transmission and distribution to transmit electrical energy across large distances. It consists of one or more uninsulated electrical cables (commonly multiples of three for three-p ...
s, and houses in Sinaloa. Rainfall between caused many landslides in mountainous areas. Mudslides forced the evacuation of 400 people from two coastal villages in Jalisco. Rosa dumped rain over parts of coastal and inland Mexico; the highest rainfall total was at Mesa de Pedro Pablo. Rosa sent moisture into the United States, which, in combination with humidity drawn north from the
Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico ( es, Golfo de México) is an 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 the United ...
, caused heavy
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 some ...
s and flooding in parts of thirty eight
Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...
counties A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...
on October 15 to 19. The flooding was worst around the San Jacinto and Trinity River basins, and in coastal areas. Rainfall totals ranged from to more than . The rain levels caused
100-year flood A 100-year flood is a flood event that has a 1 in 100 chance (1% probability) of being equaled or exceeded in any given year. The 100-year flood is also referred to as the 1% flood, since its annual exceedance probability is 1%.Holmes, R.R., Jr. ...
s at nineteen stations. Several records were broken, some of which had stood since 1940. In the case of the
Lavaca River The Lavaca River ( ) is a navigable river in the U.S. state of Texas. It begins in the northeastern part of Gonzales County, and travels generally southeast for until it empties into Lavaca Bay, which is a component of Matagorda Bay. History Th ...
near Edna, it broke a record set in 1936. The flooding destroyed 3069 homes, heavily damaged 6560, and damaged 6148 others. Railbeds and roads sustained damage, while broken
gas Gas is one of the four fundamental states of matter (the others being solid, liquid, and plasma). A pure gas may be made up of individual atoms (e.g. a noble gas like neon), elemental molecules made from one type of atom (e.g. oxygen), or ...
and oil pipelines caused spills and environmental damage in the Lower San Jacinto River and Galveston Bay. Twenty-two people died due to effects from the storm. In total, the flooding in southeastern Texas caused 700 million (1995 
USD The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...
) in damage. On October 18, the
Federal Emergency Management Agency The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is an agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS), initially created under President Jimmy Carter by Presidential Reorganization Plan No. 3 of 1978 and implemented by two Ex ...
(FEMA) declared the worst-affected areas a
disaster area A disaster area is a region or a locale that has been heavily damaged by either natural, technological or social hazards. Disaster areas affect the population living in the community by dramatic increase in expense, loss of energy, food and serv ...
. After the declaration, FEMA received 26,000 applications for disaster assistance and approved 54 million (1995 USD) in aid.


See also

* Other storms named Rosa *
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 ...


References


External links


Preliminary reportStorm path
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Rosa Rosa or De Rosa may refer to: People *Rosa (given name) * Rosa (surname) * Santa Rosa (female given name from Latin-a latinized variant of Rose) Places * 223 Rosa, an asteroid *Rosa, Alabama, a town, United States * Rosa, Germany, in Thuringia, ...
Rosa Rosa or De Rosa may refer to: People *Rosa (given name) * Rosa (surname) * Santa Rosa (female given name from Latin-a latinized variant of Rose) Places * 223 Rosa, an asteroid *Rosa, Alabama, a town, United States * Rosa, Germany, in Thuringia, ...
Rosa (1994)
Rosa Rosa or De Rosa may refer to: People *Rosa (given name) * Rosa (surname) * Santa Rosa (female given name from Latin-a latinized variant of Rose) Places * 223 Rosa, an asteroid *Rosa, Alabama, a town, United States * Rosa, Germany, in Thuringia, ...