Hurricane/Cyclone/Typhoon Journal Entry
Hurricane Kenna Slams Mexico (October 26, 2002)
Color-enhanced satellite view shows rain bands inside Hurricane Kenna. Areas in yellow or green carry the most intense rain. Image courtesy Hal Pierce, NASA GSFC Mesoscale Atmospheric Processes Branch.
Hurricane Kenna slammed Mexico's Pacific Coast over the weekend with fierce winds of 140 mph (224 km/h). The storm was the strongest storm to threaten the hemisphere this year and one of the most powerful to strike the country in decades. Three deaths were blamed on the hurricane, which left thousands of people homeless and caused tens of millions dollars in damage.
Government officials say about 100,000 people were evacuated from their homes in cities and towns along the coast, from south of Mazatlan to Puerto Vallarta. Hundreds of homes were damaged or destroyed and thousands of people were threatened by floods and landslides. The storm knocked down trees and power lines and blocked several major highways.
Before making landfall, Kenna was classified as a maximum Category 5 hurricane with winds of 160 mph (256 km/h). Fortunately, the storm was downgraded to Category 4 by the time it struck land.
Hurricanes from as low pressure areas over warm tropical waters. As more and more humid air is sucked in, winds begin to swirl around the area of lowest pressure in the center of the storm. A tropical storm is classified as a hurricane when its winds reach 74 mph (118 km/h).
