Mops, Brooms

Hurricane Pauline was one of the strongest and deadliest Pacific hurricanes to make landfall on Mexico. more...

Home
A/V Accessories & Cables
DVD & Home Theater
Gadgets & Other Electronics
Heating, Cooling & Air
Home Audio
Lamps, Lighting, Ceiling...
Major Appliances
Outdoor Power Equipment
Satellite, Cable TV
Televisions
Vacuum Cleaners &...
Carpet & Floor Sweepers
Carpet Shampooers
Carpet Steamers
Cleaning Supplies
Cleaners
Cleaning Towels & Cloths
Mops, Brooms
Other Cleaning Supplies
Polishes
Trash Cans, Wastebaskets
Home Organization
Laundry Supplies
Other Vacuums & Housekeeping
Vacuum Cleaners

The 16th tropical storm, 8th hurricane, and 7th major hurricane of the 1997 Pacific hurricane season, Pauline developed out of a tropical wave on October 5 about 250 miles (410 km) south-southwest of Huatulco in the state of Oaxaca. It initially moved eastward, then turned northwestward and quickly strengthened to reach peak winds of 135 mph. It paralleled the Mexican coastline a short distance offshore before weakening and hitting Puerto Escondido on October 9, and dissipated the next day.

Pauline produced torrential rainfall along the Mexican coastline, peaking at 16 inches in Acapulco. Intense flooding and mudslides in some of the poorest areas of Mexico killed between 230 to 400 people, making it one of the deadliest Eastern Pacific storms in recorded history. The passage of the hurricane destroyed or damaged tens of thousands of houses, leaving around 300,000 homeless and causing $7.5 billion in damage (1997 USD, 80 billion 1997 MXN pesos, $9.3 billion (2006 USD). (1997 USD)

Storm history

A tropical wave exited the coast of Africa on September 16. It traversed steadily westward, with the southern portion of the wave axis moving across northern South America. On September 26 the wave entered the eastern Pacific Ocean near Panama, and slowly organized. A weak low-level trough extended from the Caribbean Sea to south of Mexico, disrupting the normal flow of westward steering currents. On October 3, the tropical wave developed a distinct area of deep convection, and began to drift eastward to the south of Mexico. Two days later a low-level circulation formed, and midday on October 5 the system developed into Tropical Depression Eighteen-E while located about 250 miles (410 km) south-southwest of Huatulco in the state of Oaxaca.

With an absence of vertical wind shear, the depression drifted just south of due east and steadily organized. The system developed banding features and a central dense overcast, and early on October 6 the depression intensified into Tropical Storm Pauline while located about 295 miles (475 km) south-southeast of Salina Cruz. A strong high pressure system eroded the trough over southeastern Mexico, which turned Pauline to the northeast. An eye feature developed late on the 6th, and early on October 7 Pauline intensified into a hurricane about 265 miles (425 km) southeast of Salina Cruz after turning to the north and northwest.

Pauline rapidly intensified after becoming a hurricane with favorable conditions for continued development, and 18 hours after becoming a hurricane it attained a peak intensity of 135 mph. The winds of the hurricane weakened slightly to 115 mph, but on October 8 Pauline re-strengthened to reach winds of 135 mph a short distance off the coast of Mexico. The hurricane turned more to the west-northwest while paralleling the southern coast of Oaxaca, and Pauline quickly weakened due to interaction with the mountainous terrain before landfall near Puerto Escondido as a 110 mph hurricane early on October 9. The storm continued to weaken as it paralleled the coast a short distance inland, and on October 10 Pauline dissipated over the state of Jalisco.

Read more at Wikipedia.org