Hurricane Fifi-Orlene

Infobox Hurricane
Name=Hurricane Fifi-Orlene
Type=hurricane
Year=1974
Basin=Atl
Image location=Hurricane Fifi.jpg


Formed=September 14, 1974
Dissipated=October 10, 1974
1-min winds=95
Pressurepre=≤
Pressure=971
Da

Inflated=0
Fatalities=8,000 – 10,000 direct (all as Fifi)
Areas=Honduras, Guatemala, Belize, southern Mexico (as Fifi), southwestern Mexico (as Orlene)
Hurricane season=1974 Atlantic hurricane season
1974 Pacific hurricane season

Hurricane Fifi (or Hurricane Fifi-Orlene) was a catastrophic storm during the 1974 Atlantic hurricane season that made landfall in Belize. Fifi was one of the costliest hurricanes in history, causing $3.7 billion (2005 USD) in damagesFact|date=February 2007. It was also one of the deadliest Atlantic hurricanes, killing as many as 10,000 people. Fifi was one of several storms that crossed from the Atlantic to the Pacific ocean. [Stephen Caparotta, D. Walston, Steven Young and Gary Padgett. [http://www.aoml.noaa.gov/hrd/tcfaq/E15.html Subject: E15) What tropical storms and hurricanes have moved from the Atlantic to the Northeast Pacific or vice versa?] Retrieved on 2008-08-07.]

Meteorological history

Hurricane Fifi

A tropical wave that moved off the coast of Africa on September 8 became a tropical depression in the eastern Caribbean Sea on September 14. It moved westward, slowly strengthening to a tropical storm on the 16th. Conditions became favorable for further development, and Fifi became a hurricane on the 17th.

Fifi reached a peak of 110 mph (175 km/h) winds, just before skimming the northern coast of Honduras on the September 18 and 19. [http://www.aoml.noaa.gov/hrd/hurdat/Data_Storm.html Re-Analysis Project ] ] The hurricane made landfall as a Category 2 storm in Belize on the 19th, and continued through Guatemala and Mexico as a tropical system. After weakening to a depression, Fifi emerged into the Pacific Ocean, becoming the first crossover storm since Hurricane Irene-Olivia in 1971.

Hurricane Orlene

The remnants of Fifi encountered a depression and interacted with it. This triggered the development of another system. After it was named Orlene, it paralleled the coast of Mexico before reaching hurricane intensity on September 23. It made landfall near its secondary peak strength on September 23 southeast of Culiacan and dissipated shortly after that.Sharon Towry [http://ams.allenpress.com/pdfserv/10.1175%2F1520-0493(1975)103%3C0550:ENPTCP%3E2.0.CO%3B2 Eastern North Pacific Tropical Cyclones, 1974: Part 2] ]

Impact

Honduras

Fifi, considered a Category 3 hurricane at the time but finally classified as a Category 2 hurricane, skirted the north coast of Honduras, causing massive flooding from the inflow of southerly winds. It was reported that 24"/610 mm of rain fell in 36 hours across northeast Honduras. [http://www.thehurricanearchive.com/Viewer.aspx?
] ] The rains collected in rivers, which caused enormous amounts of physical and economic damage to poor villages, small towns, and commercial banana plantations when it skimmed Honduras. Most of the country's fishing fleet was destroyed. Roughly half of food crops, including up to 95% of the banana crop, was wiped out. Fourteen bridges were washed away. The cities of Choloma, Omoa, and Trujillo and the island of Roatan were virtually destroyed. The Ulua river valley became a lake about 20 miles wide for several days following Fifi. About 20% of railroad lines survived the cyclone. Although estimates of the number killed range from 3,000 to 10,000, a figure of 8,000 dead is generally accepted. Most deaths appear to have been caused by flash flooding from the rainfall that accompanied the hurricane.

Hurricane Fifi is usually considered the fourth deadliest hurricane in history, though uncertainty about the number of deaths caused by Fifi and the Galveston Hurricane of 1900 could place it as the third deadliest ever. Fifi caused a total of $900 million (1974 USD, $3.7 billion 2005 USD) in damage. [http://www.worldbook.com/wc/popup?path=features/hurricanes&page=html/fifi.htm&direct=yesfact] [http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/pastdeadly.shtml The Deadliest Atlantic Tropical Cyclones, 1492-1996 ] ]

Mexico

The Orlene part of Hurricane Fifi-Orlene caused no reported casualties.Robert A. Baum [http://ams.allenpress.com/pdfserv/10.1175%2F1520-0493(1975)103%3C0301:ENPTCP%3E2.0.CO%3B2 Eastern North Pacific Tropical Cyclones, 1974: Part 1] ] Nothing was reported from ships either, although it is likely to have happened. Rainfall of over 11 inches was reported in Acapulco, however. The storm hit near Mazatlan as a category 2 storm, but no deaths were reported, and damage is unknown. [http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/archive/storm_wallets/atlantic/atl1974-prelim/fifi/prelim01.gif]

Retirement

The name "Fifi" was retired following this storm, and won't be used again in this basin, but due to a change to the lists in 1979, there was no replacement name. Fifi was the first category 2 hurricane to be retired until then, and only 2 others joined it since then, which were Hurricane Diana in 1990 and Hurricane Juan in 2003.

See also

* List of Atlantic hurricanes
* List of Pacific hurricanes
* Hurricane Orlene

References

External links

* [http://www.weather.unisys.com/hurricane/atlantic/1974/FIFI/track.gifFifi track]
* [http://www.weather.unisys.com/hurricane/e_pacific/1974/ORLENE/track.gifOrlene path]