User:Hurricane Noah/Hurricane Sergio (2018)
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Hurricane Sergio was a powerful and long-lived tropical cyclone that affected the Baja California Peninsula as a tropical storm. Sergio became the eighth Category 4 hurricane in the East Pacific for 2018, breaking the old record of seven set in 2015. The twentieth named storm, eleventh hurricane, and ninth major hurricane of the season, Sergio originated from a broad area of low pressure that formed a few hundred miles south-southeast of the southern coast of Mexico on September 26. The National Hurricane Center monitored the disturbance for a few days until it organized into a tropical storm, after which it was assigned the name Sergio. The system gradually strengthened for the next couple of days, becoming a hurricane on October 2. Sergio then began a period of rapid intensification, becoming a major hurricane later that day. Intensification then halted for about twelve hours before resuming on October 3. The next day, Sergio peaked as a Category 4 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 140 mph (220 km/h) and a minimum central pressure of 942 mbar (27.82 inHg). Sergio maintained peak intensity for six hours before beginning to weaken. On October 5, the system bottomed out as a low-end Category 3 hurricane. Sergio then began another period of intensification, achieving a secondary peak on October 6. The next day, Sergio began to weaken again, falling below major hurricane strength. At the same time, Sergio unexpectedly assumed the structure of an annular tropical cyclone. By October 9, Sergio had weakened into a tropical storm. On October 12, Sergio made landfall as a tropical storm on the Baja California Peninsula, and later in northwestern Mexico as a tropical depression before dissipating early on October 13.
Category 4 major hurricane (SSHWS/NWS) | |
Formed | September 29, 2018 |
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Dissipated | October 13, 2018 |
Highest winds | 1-minute sustained: 140 mph (220 km/h) |
Lowest pressure | 942 mbar (hPa); 27.82 inHg |
Fatalities | None |
Damage | $2.668 million (2018 USD) |
Areas affected | Baja California Peninsula, Northwestern Mexico, Southwestern United States, Texas |
Part of the 2018 Pacific hurricane season | |
On October 10, Sergio's approach warranted the issuance of tropical storm watches and warnings along the western and eastern coasts of Baja California. Sergio made landfall in western Baja California Sur and Sonora on October 13 as a weak tropical storm, causing over US$2 million1 in damage, over a thousand school closures, and a few hundred evacuations due to severe flooding. The remnants of Sergio also brought heavy rainfall to Arizona, resulting in the closure of its state fair. Throughout Mexico and Arizona, no injuries or deaths were reported. Heavy rainfall also occurred in Texas and Arizona, resulting in around US$548,000 in damage. Multiple tornadoes also spawned as a result of the increased moisture.