2003 Pacific hurricane season
From Biocrawler, the free encyclopedia.
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| First storm formed: | May 19, 2003 | |
| Last storm dissipated: | Oct. 26, 2003 | |
| Named Storms: | 16 | |
| Major storms (Cat. 3+) | 0 | |
| Total damages (in USD): | N/A | |
| Total fatalites: | 14 | |
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The 2003 Pacific hurricane season officially started May 15, 2003 in the eastern Pacific, and June 1, 2003 in the central Pacific, and lasted until November 30, 2003. These dates conventionally delimit the period of each year when most tropical cyclones form in the northeastern Pacific Ocean.
The scope of this article is confined to those storms monitored by the U.S. National Hurricane Center, which is all tropical cyclones in the northern hemisphere east of 140 degrees west longitude, and the Central Pacific Hurricane Center in Hawaii, which monitors tropical cyclones from 180W (the international date line) to 140W. Tropical depressions that form east of 140W have "-E" (Eastern) appended to the number, storms that form west of 140W have "-C" (Central) appended.
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Notable Storms
Tropical Storm Carlos
Carlos formed as Tropical Depression Three_E off the coast of Mexico in late June and quickly became a tropical storm. Tropical Storm warnings were issued for the Mexican coast. The morning after it formed, Carlos made landfall near Puerto Escondido. Torrential rainfall fell briefly over the mountains before Carlos went back out to sea. Minor damage and flooding was reported in the coastal communities in the state of Oaxaca.
Hurricane Ignacio
Tropical Depression Nine_E formed off Cape Corrientes on August 22. Ignacio slowly crept toward Cabo San Lucas. Ignacio became the first hurricane of the season off the coast and soon reached Category 2 strength. Torrential rain began to fall on Baja California. The hurricane came ashore near the village of Santiago on the shore of the Gulf of California. Due to the storm’s slow movement, flooding was severe. Wind damage was restricted to signs and power lines. Two rescue workers drowned in the flood waters brought by the storm.
Hurricane Marty
Marty formed from Tropical Depression Thirteen_E off the central Mexican coast on September 19. Marty headed north, steadily strengthening. Marty was hours away from landfall on Cabo San Lucas when he became a Category 2. It came ashore at San Jose Del Cabo on the morning of September 22, packing sustained winds of 97 mph. Marty brought torrential rainfall to the entire Gulf of California. 4,000 homes were either damaged or destroyed and 12 people were killed. Marty was the deadliest hurricane of the 2003 East Pacific hurricane season.
Hurricane Nora
Nora was the strongest storm of the season, with winds of 103 mph and a pressure of 969 millibars (28.61 inches). Nora formed from Tropical Depression Fourteen_E on the 1st of October and a briefly made landfall in Mexico as a weakening depression. No damage was reported.
Hurricane Olaf
Olaf formed from Tropical Depression Fifteen_E on October 3 a couple hundred miles south of the southern Mexican coast. Olaf headed northeast, steadily strengthening. The storm briefly reached hurricane strength before weakening to a tropical storm again and turning sharply east toward the coast. Olaf made landfall near Manzanillo on October 7. 12,000 houses were damaged by flooding but no one was killed.
2003 storm names
The following names were used for named storms that formed in the eastern Pacific in 2003. No names were retired by the WMO, therefore this list will be used again in the 2009 Pacific hurricane season. Names that were not assigned are marked in gray.
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See also
External links
- NHC 2003 Pacific hurricane season archive (http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/2003epac.shtml)
- Central Pacific Hurricane Center (http://www.prh.noaa.gov/hnl/cphc/)
