Hurricane Patricia remains the strongest hurricane ever observed
The storm rapidly intensified with ferocious winds off the coast of Mexico
A brave team of scientists and engineers flew into the eye of Hurricane Patricia during the early morning hours of Oct. 23, 2015, and discovered the most powerful tropical cyclone ever recorded.
Hurricane Patricia rapidly intensified off the western shores of Mexico into a high-end Category 5 storm with maximum sustained winds of about 345 km/h (215 mph).
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El Niño influenced a very busy hurricane season throughout the northeastern Pacific basin in 2015. The year produced 26 named storms, including a record-setting 11 major hurricanes.
Tropical Storm Patricia formed off the southwestern coast of Mexico on the evening of Oct. 20, steadily moving west into an environment exceptionally favourable for strengthening.
The storm’s maximum sustained winds exploded from 110 km/h to 280 km/h in just 24 hours between Oct. 22-23, the fastest rate of intensification ever observed in a tropical cyclone.
Further strengthening occurred through the night of Oct. 23, during which a U.S. Air Force Reconnaissance flight into the storm’s core made a remarkable discovery.
Hurricane Patricia’s maximum sustained winds had increased to 325 km/h (200 mph). Air temperatures within the eye of the storm measured a record 32.2°C a few hundred metres above the ocean surface.
The U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) estimates that the storm intensified even more after the reconnaissance flight left, reaching a maximum strength of 345 km/h (215 mph).
This jaw-dropping intensity made Patricia the world’s strongest tropical cyclone reliably observed in terms of maximum winds. Reliable records date back to the late-1960s.
A minimum air pressure of 872 mb also made it the most intense hurricane in the western hemisphere, and world’s second-most intense cyclone (in terms of air pressure) behind Super Typhoon Tip.
Powerful hurricanes struggle to maintain peak strength for long. The storm began weakening at an even faster rate than it strengthened, though ‘weakening’ is relative when it comes to the region’s strongest-ever storm. Patricia made landfall near Playa Cuixmada, Mexico, as a Category 4 storm with 240 km/h winds.
Despite its formidable strength, only two people died after the storm made landfall. The narrow core of the storm and the relative ruralness of the areas it struck limited its potential damage. A consistent forward speed also limited flash flooding and mudslides.
Header image of Hurricane Patricia courtesy of RAMMB/CIRA/NOAA.