Hurricane Diana

Infobox Hurricane
Name=Hurricane Diana
Image location=Hurricane Diana 07 aug 1990 2011Z.jpg


Type=hurricane
Year=1990
Basin=Atl
Formed=August 4, 1990
Dissipated=August 9, 1990
1-min winds=88
Pressure=980
Da

Inflated=0
Fatalities=139
Areas=Yucatán Peninsula, central Mexico
Hurricane season=1990 Atlantic hurricane season

Hurricane Diana was the fourth named storm and second hurricane of the 1990 Atlantic hurricane season. It formed in August in the Caribbean Sea and made landfall over the Yucatán Peninsula as a tropical storm. Later, it entered the Bay of Campeche and strengthened to a Category 2 hurricane before slamming into the Mexican state of Veracruz. The storm caused over $135 million (2005 USD) in damage and killed 139 people.

Meteorological history

A tropical wave moved off the coast of Africa on July 27. It travelled westward across the unfavorable Atlantic Ocean, and remained disorganized until reaching the Caribbean Sea. Convection increased as it paralleled the north coast of South America, and it continued to organize as it moved westward. Over the western Caribbean Sea, conditions became very favorable for development, and the wave organized into a tropical depression to the east of Nicaragua on August 4. [http://ams.allenpress.com/pdfserv/10.1175%2F1520-0493(1991)119%3C2014:AHSO%3E2.0.CO%3B2 1990 Monthly Weather Review] ]

The tropical depression moved to the northwest under the influence of a mid-level trough, and intensified to a tropical storm on August 5 to the north of eastern Honduras. Named Diana, it continued quickly northwestward, and hit the Quintana Roo coast, south of the island of Cozumel, on the night of the 5th as a 65 mph tropical storm. The storm weakened slightly over the Yucatán Peninsula, and emerged into the Bay of Campeche on the 6th as a 50 mph tropical storm. [http://ams.allenpress.com/pdfserv/10.1175%2F1520-0493(1991)119%3C2014:AHSO%3E2.0.CO%3B2 1990 Monthly Weather Review] ]

When the trough of low pressure over the Gulf of Mexico weakened, steering currents forced Diana westward, where conditions remained favorable. The storm quickly strengthened over open waters, and Diana became a hurricane on August 7. On the night of the 7th, the hurricane reached its peak of 100 mph (160 km/h) winds, just before making landfall near Tampico, Tamaulipas. It moved across Mexico, maintaining a weak yet discernible circulation until dissipating over the Gulf of California on the 9th. [http://ams.allenpress.com/pdfserv/10.1175%2F1520-0493(1991)119%3C2014:AHSO%3E2.0.CO%3B2 1990 Monthly Weather Review] ]

Impact

While crossing over the Yucatán Peninsula, Mérida reported maximum sustained winds of 34 mph (54 km/h) with gusts of 40 mph (65 km/h). In addition, Diana caused heavy rain across the area, though damage is unknown. [http://ams.allenpress.com/pdfserv/10.1175%2F1520-0493(1991)119%3C2014:AHSO%3E2.0.CO%3B2 1990 Monthly Weather Review] ]

On mainland Mexico, the states of Veracruz, Hidalgo, and Puebla were hardest hit, with over 75,000 people affected by the hurricane. [http://www.cepis.org.pe/bvsade/e/fulltext/mexico/X.pdf Economic Effects of Mexican Natural Disasters] es icon] Hurricane Diana caused torrential rainfall while crossing the country, which, in turn, triggered mudslides and flooding. [http://ams.allenpress.com/pdfserv/10.1175%2F1520-0493(1991)119%3C2014:AHSO%3E2.0.CO%3B2 1990 Monthly Weather Review] ] The rainfall caused extensive property damage, destroying numerous houses and leaving 3,500 homeless. [http://www.dartmouth.edu/~floods/Archives/1990sum.htm 1990 Flood Archive] ] The torrential rain blocked highways and railways across 6 states. The flooding also destroyed 400 square kilometres (155 mi²) of farmland. The hurricane also injured 25,000 people. Excluding 56 people that were missing by the end of 1990, Hurricane Diana caused 139 deaths, and $90.7 million in damage (1990 USD, $135 million 2005 USD).

Due to its impact, the name Diana was retired by the World Meteorological Organization in the spring of 1991, and will never be used for another Atlantic hurricane. It was replaced with "Dolly" for the 1996 season. This Hurricane Diana is not to be confused with the 1955 season's Hurricane Diane, which was also retired. Diana is one of only 3 category 2 hurricanes to be retired in this basin; the others were Hurricane Fifi in the 1974 season and Hurricane Juan in the 2003 season.

ee also

* List of tropical cyclones
* List of wettest tropical cyclones in North Carolina
* List of Atlantic hurricanes

External links

* [ftp://ftp.nhc.noaa.gov/pub/storm_archives/atlantic/prelimat/atl1990/diana/ NHC Diana report (gif format)]
* [http://www.hpc.ncep.noaa.gov/tropical/rain/diana1990.html HPC Diana Rainfall page]

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