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Hurricane Adolph (2001)
Encyclopedia
Hurricane Adolph of the 2001 Pacific hurricane season
was the first and only East Pacific hurricane in May to reach Category 4 strength on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale
since record keeping began in the East Pacific. The name was also retired due to sensitivities surrounding the use of Adolf Hitler
's first name.
Adolph was the first depression of the season, forming on May 25; it became a hurricane three days later. After rapidly intensifying, Adolph became the most powerful storm in terms of maximum sustained wind
s this season, along with Hurricane Juliette
. It dissipated on June 1 after moving over colder waters after briefly threatening land.
left the coast of Africa
. The wave moved across the Atlantic Ocean
showing little signs of development until May 18, when a low pressure center began organizing along the wave over Costa Rica
and Panama
. The low entered the Pacific Ocean
on May 22, and Dvorak classifications
—satellite-based intensity estimates—began two days later. At first the system was disorganized, but convection
quickly concentrated near the center, and on May 25 the disturbance developed into Tropical Depression One-E while located about 250 miles (402.3 km) south-southwest of Acapulco
, Mexico
.
The newly-formed depression moved very slowly due to weak steering currents aloft. Moving towards the east-northeast over weak steering currents, the computer models
used to predict the movement of the depression varied greatly, with one predicting an eventual Mexican landfall. Located in conditions ideal for tropical development
, the developing cyclone formed a central dense overcast, a large area of deep convection. The depression steadily intensified to become Tropical Storm Adolph on May 26 about 225 mi (362.1 km) south-southwest of Acapulco. Adolph was in a low wind shear
environment with warm sea surface temperatures and as such, the NHC forecasted intensification to hurricane status within two days. Adolph turned northward on May 27, a turn influenced by a mid-level ridge
building to the east and southeast, thus causing the tropical storm to approach Mexico. A banding eye
feature, a type of eye common in minor hurricanes, became apparent on satellite imagery. Convection around the eye deepened while the eye became more pronounced, and Adolph was upgraded to hurricane strength on May 27. On May 28, the hurricane passed within roughly 165 mi (265 km) of the Mexican coastline the next day, its closest approach to land. Shortly thereafter, Adolph turned westward under the influence of a mid-tropospheric ridge
. The high upper-oceanic heat content, good outflow, and lack of vertical shear allowed the hurricane to begin a burst of rapid intensification, dropping 1.46 mbars
per hour. While reducing in size, Adolph reached its peak strength of 145 mph (230 km/h) on August 29. Dvorak classifications
reported a T-number of 7.0 for Adolph, equivalent to a low-end Category 5 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale
. However, because of a lack of data from the storm via Hurricane Hunters
, these strength measurements may be disputed.
After peaking in intensity, Adolph weakened while decelerating westward due to an eyewall replacement cycle
; by May 30, the winds dropped to 115 mph (185 km/h) as the eyewall became cloud filled and became less distinct. The trend of weakening continued as the eye definition and convection oscillated in presentation. On June 1 Adolph deteriorated into a tropical storm as convection became exposed from the increasingly elongated center. As the storm passed over increasingly colder waters and into an area of stable air, the system weakened more quickly, and dissipated on June 1, while located about 460 miles (740.3 km) south-southwest of Baja California. The remaining clouds persisted for a few days before dissipating entirely.
Though Adolph never moved ashore, its close approach to land as well as its slow, unpredictable movement resulted in the issuance of a tropical storm warning
and a hurricane watch for southern Mexico around the time when the cyclone attained major hurricane strength. The threat for heavy rainfall was mentioned for areas from Puerto Ángel
to Zihuatanejo
when Adolph was a depression and later from Acapulco
to Lázaro Cárdenas
. The government of Mexico expressed concern that rain and 13 feet (4 m) waves waves from Adolph would affect Oaxaca
, Colima
, Jalisco
, Michoacan
, and Guerrero
. The hurricane was responsible for the closure of ports in Acapulco
to small vessels.
Despite the tropical storm warning and forecasts of minor impacts, no tropical storm force winds from Adolph were reported on land; the only reported tropical storm force winds were given by a ship called the Seurat, which recorded sustained winds of 45 mi/h on May 29. Outside of some reports of rain and heavy surf, no reports of casualties or damages were received in connection with the storm.
When Adolph reached Category 4 strength on May 29, it became the strongest hurricane to form in the East Pacific basin in May. Coincidentally, the previous record holder for strongest May hurricane, in 1983
with 110 mph (175 km/h) winds, was also named Adolph. Adolph also became the only May hurricane to reach Category 4 strength.
The name Adolph was removed from the list of hurricane names after this season for political reasons. The given reason is that the name was retired because of connections to Adolf Hitler
. The World Meteorological Organization
received intense criticism for using both Adolph and Israel during the season, mostly from Jewish leaders who called the use of the names "bizarre", "stupid", and "insensitive".
2001 Pacific hurricane season
The 2001 Pacific hurricane season was an event in tropical cyclone meteorology. The most notable storm that year was Hurricane Juliette, which caused devastating floods in Baja California, leading to 12 fatalities and $400 million worth of damage...
was the first and only East Pacific hurricane in May to reach Category 4 strength on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale
Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale
The Saffir–Simpson Hurricane Scale , or the Saffir–Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale , classifies hurricanes — Western Hemisphere tropical cyclones that exceed the intensities of tropical depressions and tropical storms — into five categories distinguished by the intensities of their sustained winds...
since record keeping began in the East Pacific. The name was also retired due to sensitivities surrounding the use of Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
's first name.
Adolph was the first depression of the season, forming on May 25; it became a hurricane three days later. After rapidly intensifying, Adolph became the most powerful storm in terms of maximum sustained wind
Maximum sustained wind
The maximum sustained winds associated with a tropical cyclone are a common indicator of the intensity of the storm. Within a mature tropical cyclone, they are found within the eyewall at a distance defined as the radius of maximum wind, or RMW. Unlike gusts, the value of these winds are...
s this season, along with Hurricane Juliette
Hurricane Juliette (2001)
Hurricane Juliette was a long lasting Category 4 hurricane in the 2001 Pacific hurricane season. It caused 12 deaths and $400 million in damage when it hit Baja California in late September.-Meteorological history:...
. It dissipated on June 1 after moving over colder waters after briefly threatening land.
Meteorological history
On May 7, a tropical waveTropical wave
Tropical waves, easterly waves, or tropical easterly waves, also known as African easterly waves in the Atlantic region, are a type of atmospheric trough, an elongated area of relatively low air pressure, oriented north to south, which move from east to west across the tropics causing areas of...
left the coast of Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
. The wave moved across the Atlantic Ocean
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
showing little signs of development until May 18, when a low pressure center began organizing along the wave over Costa Rica
Costa Rica
Costa Rica , officially the Republic of Costa Rica is a multilingual, multiethnic and multicultural country in Central America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, Panama to the southeast, the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Caribbean Sea to the east....
and Panama
Panama
Panama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...
. The low entered the Pacific Ocean
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
on May 22, and Dvorak classifications
Dvorak technique
The Dvorak technique is a widely used system to subjectively estimate tropical cyclone intensity based solely on visible and infrared satellite images. Several agencies issue Dvorak intensity numbers for cyclones of sufficient intensity...
—satellite-based intensity estimates—began two days later. At first the system was disorganized, but convection
Convection
Convection is the movement of molecules within fluids and rheids. It cannot take place in solids, since neither bulk current flows nor significant diffusion can take place in solids....
quickly concentrated near the center, and on May 25 the disturbance developed into Tropical Depression One-E while located about 250 miles (402.3 km) south-southwest of Acapulco
Acapulco
Acapulco is a city, municipality and major sea port in the state of Guerrero on the Pacific coast of Mexico, southwest from Mexico City. Acapulco is located on a deep, semi-circular bay and has been a port since the early colonial period of Mexico’s history...
, Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
.
The newly-formed depression moved very slowly due to weak steering currents aloft. Moving towards the east-northeast over weak steering currents, the computer models
Tropical cyclone track forecasting
Tropical cyclone track forecasting involves predicting where a tropical cyclone is going to track over the next five days, every 6 to 12 hours. The history of tropical cyclone track forecasting has evolved from a single station approach to a comprehensive approach which uses a variety of...
used to predict the movement of the depression varied greatly, with one predicting an eventual Mexican landfall. Located in conditions ideal for tropical development
Tropical cyclogenesis
Tropical cyclogenesis is the term that describes the development and strengthening of a tropical cyclone in the atmosphere. The mechanisms through which tropical cyclogenesis occurs are distinctly different from those through which mid-latitude cyclogenesis occurs...
, the developing cyclone formed a central dense overcast, a large area of deep convection. The depression steadily intensified to become Tropical Storm Adolph on May 26 about 225 mi (362.1 km) south-southwest of Acapulco. Adolph was in a low wind shear
Wind shear
Wind shear, sometimes referred to as windshear or wind gradient, is a difference in wind speed and direction over a relatively short distance in the atmosphere...
environment with warm sea surface temperatures and as such, the NHC forecasted intensification to hurricane status within two days. Adolph turned northward on May 27, a turn influenced by a mid-level ridge
Ridge (meteorology)
A ridge is an elongated region of relatively high atmospheric pressure, the opposite of a trough....
building to the east and southeast, thus causing the tropical storm to approach Mexico. A banding eye
Eye (cyclone)
The eye is a region of mostly calm weather found at the center of strong tropical cyclones. The eye of a storm is a roughly circular area and typically 30–65 km in diameter. It is surrounded by the eyewall, a ring of towering thunderstorms where the second most severe weather of a cyclone...
feature, a type of eye common in minor hurricanes, became apparent on satellite imagery. Convection around the eye deepened while the eye became more pronounced, and Adolph was upgraded to hurricane strength on May 27. On May 28, the hurricane passed within roughly 165 mi (265 km) of the Mexican coastline the next day, its closest approach to land. Shortly thereafter, Adolph turned westward under the influence of a mid-tropospheric ridge
Ridge (meteorology)
A ridge is an elongated region of relatively high atmospheric pressure, the opposite of a trough....
. The high upper-oceanic heat content, good outflow, and lack of vertical shear allowed the hurricane to begin a burst of rapid intensification, dropping 1.46 mbars
Bar (unit)
The bar is a unit of pressure equal to 100 kilopascals, and roughly equal to the atmospheric pressure on Earth at sea level. Other units derived from the bar are the megabar , kilobar , decibar , centibar , and millibar...
per hour. While reducing in size, Adolph reached its peak strength of 145 mph (230 km/h) on August 29. Dvorak classifications
Dvorak technique
The Dvorak technique is a widely used system to subjectively estimate tropical cyclone intensity based solely on visible and infrared satellite images. Several agencies issue Dvorak intensity numbers for cyclones of sufficient intensity...
reported a T-number of 7.0 for Adolph, equivalent to a low-end Category 5 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale
Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale
The Saffir–Simpson Hurricane Scale , or the Saffir–Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale , classifies hurricanes — Western Hemisphere tropical cyclones that exceed the intensities of tropical depressions and tropical storms — into five categories distinguished by the intensities of their sustained winds...
. However, because of a lack of data from the storm via Hurricane Hunters
Hurricane Hunters
The Hurricane Hunters are aircraft that fly into tropical cyclones in the North Atlantic Ocean and Northeastern Pacific Ocean for the specific purpose of directly measuring weather data in and around those storms. In the United States, the Air Force, Navy, and NOAA units have all participated in...
, these strength measurements may be disputed.
After peaking in intensity, Adolph weakened while decelerating westward due to an eyewall replacement cycle
Eyewall replacement cycle
Eyewall replacement cycles, also called concentric eyewall cycles, naturally occur in intense tropical cyclones, generally with winds greater than 185 km/h , or major hurricanes...
; by May 30, the winds dropped to 115 mph (185 km/h) as the eyewall became cloud filled and became less distinct. The trend of weakening continued as the eye definition and convection oscillated in presentation. On June 1 Adolph deteriorated into a tropical storm as convection became exposed from the increasingly elongated center. As the storm passed over increasingly colder waters and into an area of stable air, the system weakened more quickly, and dissipated on June 1, while located about 460 miles (740.3 km) south-southwest of Baja California. The remaining clouds persisted for a few days before dissipating entirely.
Impact and records
Tropical cyclone warnings and watches
Warnings and watches are two levels of alert 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 population and civil authorities to make appropriate...
and a hurricane watch for southern Mexico around the time when the cyclone attained major hurricane strength. The threat for heavy rainfall was mentioned for areas from Puerto Ángel
Puerto Ángel
Puerto Ángel 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 9 km south of city of Pochutla fifty km west of Huatulco and eighty km...
to Zihuatanejo
Zihuatanejo
Zihuatanejo or Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo, is the fourth-largest city in the Mexican state of Guerrero. Politically the city belongs to the municipality of Zihuatanejo de Azueta in the western part of Guerrero, but both are commonly referred to as Zihuatanejo...
when Adolph was a depression and later from Acapulco
Acapulco
Acapulco is a city, municipality and major sea port in the state of Guerrero on the Pacific coast of Mexico, southwest from Mexico City. Acapulco is located on a deep, semi-circular bay and has been a port since the early colonial period of Mexico’s history...
to Lázaro Cárdenas
Lázaro Cárdenas
Lázaro Cárdenas del Río was President of Mexico from 1934 to 1940.-Early life:Lázaro Cárdenas was born on May 21, 1895 in a lower-middle class family in the village of Jiquilpan, Michoacán. He supported his family from age 16 after the death of his father...
. The government of Mexico expressed concern that rain and 13 feet (4 m) waves waves from Adolph would affect Oaxaca
Oaxaca
Oaxaca , , officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Oaxaca is one of the 31 states which, along with the Federal District, comprise the 32 federative entities of Mexico. It is divided into 571 municipalities; of which 418 are governed by the system of customs and traditions...
, Colima
Colima
Colima is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, make up the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It shares its name with its capital and main city, Colima....
, Jalisco
Jalisco
Jalisco officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Jalisco is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is located in Western Mexico and divided in 125 municipalities and its capital city is Guadalajara.It is one of the more important states...
, Michoacan
Michoacán
Michoacán officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Michoacán de Ocampo is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 113 municipalities and its capital city is Morelia...
, and Guerrero
Guerrero
Guerrero officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Guerrero is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 81 municipalities and its capital city is Chilpancingo....
. The hurricane was responsible for the closure of ports in Acapulco
Acapulco
Acapulco is a city, municipality and major sea port in the state of Guerrero on the Pacific coast of Mexico, southwest from Mexico City. Acapulco is located on a deep, semi-circular bay and has been a port since the early colonial period of Mexico’s history...
to small vessels.
Despite the tropical storm warning and forecasts of minor impacts, no tropical storm force winds from Adolph were reported on land; the only reported tropical storm force winds were given by a ship called the Seurat, which recorded sustained winds of 45 mi/h on May 29. Outside of some reports of rain and heavy surf, no reports of casualties or damages were received in connection with the storm.
When Adolph reached Category 4 strength on May 29, it became the strongest hurricane to form in the East Pacific basin in May. Coincidentally, the previous record holder for strongest May hurricane, in 1983
1983 Pacific hurricane season
The 1983 Pacific hurricane season officially started May 15, 1983 in the eastern Pacific, and June 1, 1983 in the central Pacific, and lasted until November 30, 1983. These dates conventionally delimit the period of each year when most tropical cyclones form in the northeastern Pacific Ocean.This...
with 110 mph (175 km/h) winds, was also named Adolph. Adolph also became the only May hurricane to reach Category 4 strength.
The name Adolph was removed from the list of hurricane names after this season for political reasons. The given reason is that the name was retired because of connections to Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
. The World Meteorological Organization
World Meteorological Organization
The World Meteorological Organization is an intergovernmental organization with a membership of 189 Member States and Territories. It originated from the International Meteorological Organization , which was founded in 1873...
received intense criticism for using both Adolph and Israel during the season, mostly from Jewish leaders who called the use of the names "bizarre", "stupid", and "insensitive".
See also
- List of Pacific hurricanes
- 2001 Pacific hurricane season2001 Pacific hurricane seasonThe 2001 Pacific hurricane season was an event in tropical cyclone meteorology. The most notable storm that year was Hurricane Juliette, which caused devastating floods in Baja California, leading to 12 fatalities and $400 million worth of damage...
- Other storms of the same nameHurricane AdolphThe name Adolph was used for four tropical cyclones in the Eastern Pacific Ocean.* Hurricane Adolph , passed close to Mazatlán, Mexico* Tropical Storm Adolph , stayed far from land* Hurricane Adolph , neared the Mexican coast but turned away...