Formed June 10, 2015 Fatalities None | Dissipated June 17, 2015 Highest winds 145 km/h | |
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Lowest pressure 978 mbar (hPa); 28.88 inHg Damage At least $1.1 million (2015 USD) Areas affected Southwestern and Western Mexico Date 10 June 2015 – 17 June 2015 Affected areas Western Mexico, Southwestern Mexico, Mexico Similar Hurricane Blanca, Hurricane Marty, Hurricane Sandra, Hurricane Dolores, Hurricane Linda | ||
Hurricane Carlos was an unusually small tropical cyclone which affected the western coast of Mexico in June 2015. Forming as the third named storm and hurricane of the annual hurricane season, Carlos developed from a trough first noted by the National Hurricane Center on June 7. The disturbance gradually organized and was designated as a tropical depression three days later. Drifting slowly northwestward, the depression was upgraded further to tropical storm intensity. Although persistent wind shear and dry air hampered intensification early on, Carlos strengthened into a hurricane on June 13 after moving into more favorable conditions. However, the return of dry air and upwelling caused the storm to deteriorate into a tropical storm. Paralleling the Mexican coast, Carlos would later regain hurricane intensity on June 15 and reach peak intensity a day later. The onset of wind shear and dry air afterwards led to rapid weakening, and Carlos degenerated into a remnant area of low pressure on June 17.
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Carlos' formation prompted coastal authorities to enact precautionary measures along states deemed at risk. In Guerrero, 507 shelters were opened. Rough seas along the shore generated by the hurricane caused widespread damage, which included the sinking of 12 ships in Playa Manzanillo harbor. The waves combined with heavy rain to inflict at least 5 million pesos (US$320,000) of damage on Michoacán's coastal installations. Strong winds produced by the passing storm also downed trees, power poles, and billboards.
Meteorological history
Late on June 2, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) highlighted the potential for an area of low pressure to form well south of the coasts of Guatemala and El Salvador over subsequent days. This forecast come to fruition early on June 7, when shower and thunderstorm activity began to increase in association with a trough south of the Gulf of Tehuantepec. Steered steadily northwestward, the disturbance acquired organized, deep convection near the center, prompting the NHC to upgrade it to a tropical depression at 18:00 UTC on June 10. Following the formation of a spiral band that wrapped more than half way around the center, the depression was upgraded to Tropical Storm Carlos at 12:00 UTC the following day while positioned about 230 miles (370 km) south of Acapulco, Mexico.
Following its designation as a named storm, Carlos drifted generally north-northwestward while embedded within a weak steering regime. The cyclone struggled with a combination of northerly wind shear and dry air entrainment, limiting the storm's associated deep convection to the eastern quadrant. By early on June 13, however, a ragged eye became evident on visible satellite imagery as the upper-level environment became increasingly conducive for intensification, and Carlos was upgraded to a Category 1 hurricane on the Saffir–Simpson hurricane wind scale at 12:00 UTC. The eye increased in symmetry over the coming hours, and the cyclone reached its initial peak with winds of 85 mph (140 km/h) six hours later. By early on June 14, the presentation of Carlos began to deteriorate as a result of upwelling and the ingestion of dry air; the eye became obscured and banding features decreased on satellite, while the eyewall became increasingly ill-defined on radar. At 00:00 UTC on June 15, the storm was downgraded to a tropical storm.
Over the next 24 hours, Carlos changed little in structure as it tracked west-northwest under the influence of a mid-level ridge across central Mexico. However, a microwave pass early on June 15 indicated the presence of a small, closed eye, and an Air Force Reserve reconnaissance aircraft investigating the system a few hours later recorded peak 700 mb flight-level winds of 79 mph (127 km/h) and surface winds in the range of 74–77 mph (119–124 km/h). As a result, Carlos was once again upgraded to a Category 1 hurricane. Despite persistent northerly wind shear, the presentation continued to improve throughout the morning hours of June 16, with deep convection near the center and a banding eye feature observable. A second reconnaissance mission into the storm around 18:00 UTC that day found that the storm had attained winds of 90 mph (150 km/h), despite the minimum pressure remaining above the previous peak. Over the next few hours, Carlos quickly weakened as the environment became unfavorable. At 09:00 UTC on June 17, the storm made landfall near Tenacatita, Jalisco with winds of 50 mph (85 km/h). By that night, Carlos had degraded into a depression. Less than six hours later, Carlos was declared a remnant low.
Preparations and impact
Shortly after designation, authorities in Guerrero suspended classes for 5 municipalities. Statewide, 507 shelters were opened, including 98 in Acapulco. The ports of Acapulco and Zihuatanejo were closed for navigation on June 13 and swimming was banned in the ocean in the former. After becoming a hurricane, officials activated a "red" (high risk) alert in southwestern Guerrero, while a "yellow" (moderate risk) alert was declared for Michoacan and the rest of Guerrero. Much of Western and Central Mexico were placed under lower levels of alert. On June 15, the remainder of the Guerrero was placed on an "orange" alert.
Strong winds downed several trees and power poles in coastal Guerrero. High waves caused localized flooding in tourists areas, leaving three automobiles trapped in Acapulco. Within the city itself, 17 trees and three billboards were toppled and some locations lost power. A total of 16 homes were washed away. One person was injured when a wall collapsed. At the Playa Manzanillo（Spanish：-{Playa Manzanillo}-） harbor, 37 ships were damaged, of which 12 sunk. The Bellísima, a luxury yacht worth up to 12 million pesos (US$783,000), was among the vessels sunk by the storm. Large waves and heavy rain caused at least 5 million pesos (US$326,000) in damage to coastal installations across Michoacán. Farther north in Guadalajara, Jalisco, one person was fatally injured by falling metal. However, the NHC later determined that the death was caused by severe weather unrelated to Carlos.