Hurricane Kenna
- This article is about the hurricane of 2002. For other storms of the same name, see Hurricane Kenna (disambiguation).
| hurricane | |
|---|---|
| Formed | October 22, 2002 |
| Dissipated | October 26, 2002 |
Hurricane Kenna was a destructive hurricane of the 2002 Pacific hurricane season. It was one of the strongest Pacific hurricanes to ever strike Mexico.
Storm history
Tropical storm (39–73 mph, 63–118 km/h)
Category 1 (74–95 mph, 119–153 km/h)
Category 2 (96–110 mph, 154–177 km/h)
Category 3 (111–129 mph, 178–208 km/h)
Category 4 (130–156 mph, 209–251 km/h)
Category 5 (≥157 mph, ≥252 km/h)
Unknown
Extratropical cyclone, remnant low, tropical disturbance, or monsoon depressionA tropical wave entered the eastern Pacific on October 19. It moved westward, slowly organizing until it became Tropical Depression 14-E on October 22, 325 nautical miles south of Acapulco, Mexico. Later that day, it became Tropical Storm Kenna, and it continued to slowly intensify as it moved west-northwestwerd.
On the 23rd, Kenna became a hurricane, and strengthened rapidly on the 24th to a Category Five on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale that night, one of 3 Category Fives in the season. A strong mid-to-upper level trough pulled Kenna northward, where upper level shear weakened Hurricane Kenna back to a category four. After weakening from a 165 mph hurricane, Kenna made landfall near Puerto Vallarta on the 25th as a 140 mph hurricane. The high mountains of Mexico caused Kenna to dissipate the next day over land, but the remnants still brought heavy rain to the southern United States. {{Category 5 Pacific hurricanes|align=left} The only Pacific hurricanes to strike Mexico at greater intensity were 1976's Hurricane Madeline and an unnamed 1959 storm.
Impact
Officials reported four deaths from Hurricane Kenna. Damage was estimated at $50 million in damage (2002 US dollars), but no estimate was available for the rest of the region.
Kenna was one of only seven Eastern Pacific hurricanes (and the most recent one) to be retired; it was retired in the spring of 2003 and will be replaced with Karina in the 2008 season.
External links
