| Category 4 hurricane (SSHS) | |
|---|---|
| Hurricane Juliette off the coast of Mexico | |
| Formed | September 21, 2001 |
| Dissipated | October 3, 2001 |
| Highest winds | 1-minute sustained: 145 mph (230 km/h) |
| Lowest pressure | 923 mbar (hPa; 27.26 inHg) |
| Fatalities | 12 total |
| Damage | $400 million (2001 USD) |
| Areas affected | Baja California, Northwestern Mexico |
| Part of the 2001 Pacific hurricane season | |
Hurricane Juliette was a long lasting Category 4 hurricane in the 2001 Pacific hurricane season. It caused 12 deaths and $400 million (2001 USD; $496 million 2012 USD) in damage when it hit Baja California in late September.[1][2]
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Atlantic Ocean Tropical Depression Nine hit Nicaragua on September 21. It moved quickly across Central America, losing its circulation but maintaining intense convection while crossing. Upon reaching the eastern Pacific Ocean, it reorganized and became Tropical Depression Eleven-E on September 21. Though it was located only 100 miles off the coast of Guatemala, its small size allowed it to strengthen into Tropical Storm Juliette later on the 21st.
Juliette paralleled the Mexican coastline, steadily organizing under a state of low vertical shear and warm water temperatures. On September 23, it was upgraded to a hurricane, and Juliette rapidly intensified to reach Category 4 status just 18 hours later. A small pinhole eye aided in the rapid strengthening, but an eyewall replacement cycle weakened Juliette to a 110 mph hurricane late on September 24. As its outer eyewall contracted, Juliette again rapidly intensified to a peak of 145 mph on the 25th. At its peak, Reconnaissance Aircraft reported a minimum central pressure of 923 mbar, the third lowest measured pressure in Eastern Pacific history behind Hurricanes Ava and Kenna; other hurricanes such as Hurricane Linda have had lower pressures estimated from satellite imagery however.
A strong trough of low pressure brought Hurricane Juliette northward, where cooler water temperatures and another eyewall replacement cycle caused the hurricane to weaken. Juliette slowed its forward motion as it continued north-northwestward, and weakened to a tropical storm on September 28. A small area of warm waters near the Baja California peninsula allowed the storm to re-strengthen into a hurricane on the 29th. Increased vertical shear again weakened Juliette, and the storm hit Baja California near Cabo San Lucas as a 45 mph tropical storm. Officially, Juliette dissipated on the 30th, but the low level circulation remained as it crossed the peninsula, and it restrengthened into a 35 mph tropical depression in the Gulf of California. Under weak steering currents, it drifted westward, where, after hitting northeastern Baja California, it finally dissipated on October 3.
Not long after Juliette was designated as a tropical storm on September 21, the Government of Mexico issued a tropical storm warning for areas between Salina Cruz and Acapulco and a tropical storm watch for areas west of Acapulco to Lázaro Cárdenas, Michoacán. Later that day, the warning was updated to include areas through Zihuatanejo and a watch through Manzanillo, Colima. Once Juliette turned westward and no longer posed a threat to the country, all watches and warnings were discontinued by the afternoon of September 22. However, due to the system's slow, erratic track on September 23, a hurricane watch and tropical storm warning was issued for areas between Lázaro Cárdenas and Cabo Corrientes. These advisories remained in place through the afternoon of September 25, by which time Juliette had picked up forward momentum and tracked northwestward. By September 26, the hurricane threatened land once more, prompting watches and warnings for the Baja California Peninsula. Initially, only a tropical storm watch was issued for the southern tip of Baja California Sur but, as the storm neared the peninsula, more extensive advisories were declared. By the morning of September 27, a hurricane warning covered much of both coasts of Baja California Sur as the storm was forecast to track directly through the state. The following day, a tropical storm warning was issued for areas between Mazatlán and Yavaros in Sonora but, this was discontinued later that day. As the storm stalled offshore and weakened, all hurricane warnings were replaced with tropical storm warnings which were later canceled once Juliette weakened to a tropical depression.[3]
Along coastal areas around Acapulco, the storm brought heavy rainfall and strong winds.[4] Offshore, one fisherman was killed by the storm after he set sail directly into it. In Guerrero, heavy rains triggered flash floods that washed out two bridges and destroyed 20 homes.[5] As rains continued to fall over the following days, mountainsides gave way, producing landslides which killed seven people. Strong winds also uprooted trees and downed power lines in several states. Additionally, two fishermen were listed as missing after venturing out into 5 m (16 ft) swells produced by Juliette.[6] Throughout Michoacán, an estimated 1,000 people were left homeless by the hurricane.[7]
As Hurricane Juliette stalled just off the coast of Baja California Sur, it produced prolonged heavy rainfall in the region. A large swath of the state, along the eastern coast, received more than 10 in (250 mm) of rain and areas along the southern tip reported more than 20 in (510 mm). A maximum of 39.8 in (1,010 mm) fell in Caudaño,[8] the highest known total ever recorded from a tropical cyclone in the sate.[9]
The extreme rainfall led to widespread flooding and mudslides across the state. Along the southern tip of the peninsula, roughly 3,000 people were stranded after their town was isolated by flood waters. About 800 more people had to be evacuated due to the state of their homes.[10] Damage from the floods were widespread in the area, with more than 9,000 people reported damage to their property from the storm. At least two people were killed across the peninsula in storm-related incidents.[11]
Throughout Mexico, damage from Hurricane Juliet was estimated at $400 million (2001 USD; $496 million 2012 USD).[2]
Late in Juliette's life and in its aftermath, the remnants brought strong thunderstorm activity to the American Southwest, knocking down trees and power lines in southern California. Rainfall in the United States peaked at 0.9 inches in Patagonia, Arizona.[12]
Following the significant damage across southern states, Mexican authorities and the army deployed transport and rescue aircraft along with medical teams and emergency supplies.[7] As reports of damage began come out of Baja California Sur, the state governor declared the entire area a disaster zone.[10]
At its peak, Juliette attained a minimum pressure of 923 mbar (hPa; 27.26 inHg), ranking it as the fifth strongest Pacific hurricane on record, along with Olivia in 1994. However, in subsequent years, five other storms have surpassed it and the storm now ranks as the tenth strongest in the basin. In addition, it holds the record for having the lowest barometric pressure of any Category 4 hurricane in the region, a record shared with Olivia.[13]
