Mexico tropical cyclone rainfall climatology

All tropical cyclone tracks between the years 1985 and 2005.

Mexico tropical cyclone rainfall climatology discusses precipitation characteristics of tropical cyclones that have struck Mexico over the years. One-third of the annual rainfall received along the Mexican Riviera and up to half of the rainfall received in Baja California Sur is directly attributable to tropical cyclones moving up the west coast of Mexico. The central plateau is shielded from the high rainfall amounts seen on the oceanward slopes of the Sierra Madre Oriental and Occidental mountain chains.

General characteristics

rightabout 156447% a year including the whole country.

Storms track near and along the western Mexican coastline primarily between the months of July and September.^[1] These storms enhance the monsoon circulation over northwest Mexico and the southwest United States.^[2] On an average basis, eastern Pacific tropical cyclones contribute about one-third of the annual rainfall along the Mexican Riviera, and up to one-half of the rainfall seen annually across Baja California Sur.^[3] Mexico is twice as likely (18% of the basin total) to be impacted by a Pacific tropical cyclone on its west coast than an Atlantic tropical cyclone on its east coast (9% of the basin total). The three most struck states in Mexico in the 50 years at the end of the 20th century were Baja California Sur, Sinaloa, and Quintana Roo.^[4]

Highest known rainfall amounts

Juliette (2001) Rainfall Distribution

Below is a list of the top ten highest known storm total rainfall amounts from individual tropical cyclones across Mexico. Most of the rainfall information was provided by the Mexico's National Weather Service, Servicio Meteorológico Nacional, which is a part of the National Water Commission, Comisión Nacional del Agua.

Wettest tropical cyclones in Mexico Highest recorded rainfall totals since 1974[5]
Rank	Storm and year	Precipitation
		(mm)	(in)
1	Wilma 2005	1576	62.05
2	Frances 1998	1119	44.06
3	Tropical Depression Eleven (1999)	1098	43.23
4	Juliette 2001	1011	39.80
5	Dolly 1996	950	37.41
6	Fifi/Orlene 1974	941	37.06
7	Alex 2010	890	35.04
8	Gert 1993	805	31.69
9	Hermine 1980	791	31.15[6]
10	Isidore 2002	774	30.49

Maximum tropical cyclone rainfall per state for Mexico

See also: List of wettest tropical cyclones by country

Mexico tropical cyclone rainfall maxima per state

On the western side of Mexico, the Sierra Madre Occidental keeps the central plateau free of excessive rainfall, as tropical cyclones originating in the Eastern Pacific Ocean rain themselves out on the upslope sides of the topography. On the eastern side of Mexico, the Sierra Madre Oriental has the same orographic effect, this time blocking tropical disturbances making landfall from the Gulf of Mexico. State maxima relating to tropical cyclones and their remnants are shown on the right, color coded by amount.

State	Rainfall (mm)[7]	Rainfall (in)[7]	Storm (Year)[7]
Aguascalientes	150.6	5.93	Eugene (1987)
Baja California	261.1	10.28	Juliette (2001)
Baja California Sur	1,010.9	39.80	Juliette (2001)
Campeche	774.4	30.49	Isidore (2002)
Chiapas	1,119.1	44.06	Frances (1998)
Chihuahua	134.9	5.31	Ismael (1995)
Coahuila	406.4	16.01	Alex (2010)
Colima	395.5	15.57	Javier (1998)
Distrito Federal	109.2	4.30	Cosme (1989)
Durango	228.1	8.98	Tico (1983)
Guanajuato	124.0	4.88	Erika (2003)
Guerrero	950.2	37.41	Dolly (1996)
Hidalgo	567.9	22.36	TD 11 (1999)
Jalisco	440.2	17.33	Javier (1998)
México	108.0	4.25	Cosme (1989)
Michoacán	525.3	20.68	Eugene (1987)
Morelos	148.3	5.84	Cosme (1989)
Nayarit	396.0	15.59	Javier (1998)
Nuevo León	890.0	35.04	Alex (2010)
Oaxaca	499.6	19.67	Pauline (1997)
Puebla	1098.0	43.23	TD 11 (1999)
Querétaro	83.1	3.27	Eugene (1987)
Quintana Roo	1576.1	62.05	Wilma (2005)
San Luis Potosí	804.9	31.69	Gert (1993)
Sinaloa	304.0	11.97	Isis (1998)
Sonora	672.0	26.46	Jimena (2009)
Tabasco	523.7	20.62	Roxanne (1995)
Tamaulipas	623.6	24.55	Keith (2000)
Tlaxcala	71.9	2.83	Eugene (1987)
Veracruz	928.9	36.57	TD 11 (1999)
Yucatán	444.0	17.48	Isidore (2002)
Zacatecas	355.6	14.00	Alex (2010)

See also

• List of wettest tropical cyclones by country
• Tropical cyclone
• Tropical cyclone rainfall climatology
• Tropical cyclone rainfall forecasting

References

1. ^ D. S. Gutzler, E. A. Ritchie, A. V. Douglas, and M. D. Lewis. Interannual Variability of Near-Coastal Eastern Pacific Tropical Cyclones. Retrieved on 2007-06-21.
2. ^ R. W. Higgins and W. Shi. Relationships Between Gulf of California Moisture Surges and Tropical Cyclones in the Eastern Pacific Basin. Retrieved on 2007-06-21.
3. ^ Art Douglas and Phil Englehart. An Historical Analysis of Transient Rain Bearing Systems in the NAME Domain: The Impact of Inverted Troughs on Monsoon Rainfall. Retrieved on 2007-06-21.
4. ^ E. Jáuregui. Climatology of landfalling hurricanes and tropical storms in Mexico. Retrieved on 2007-06-23.
5. ^ David Roth. Tropical Cyclone Rainfall Maxima. Retrieved on 2007-03-15.
6. ^ David M. Roth. Tropical Storm Hermine (1980) Rainfall Graphic. Retrieved on 2008-05-21.
7. ^ ^{a b c} David Roth. "Tropical Cyclone Maxima Per Mexican State" (GIF). Tropical Cyclone Rainfall Data. Hydrometeorological Prediction Center. http://www.hpc.ncep.noaa.gov/tropical/rain/tcmexicostatemaxima.gif. Retrieved 2007-07-21. 

External links

• Individual Tropical Cyclone Rainfall Pages for North America
• SOI and PDO relation to tropical cyclone rainfall variability in Mexico
• Characteristics of Landfalling Tropical Cyclones in the United States and Mexico: Climatology and Interannual Variability