Hurricane Iris

Iris was the second-strongest storm of the 2001 Atlantic hurricane season. It was the ninth named storm, fifth hurricane, and third major hurricane of the year. It formed from a tropical wave on October 4 just southeast of Barbados. Iris rapidly intensified into a Category 4 on the Saffir–Simpson scale. It reached peak winds of 145 mph before making landfall in southern Belize.

About Hurricane Iris in brief

Iris was the second-strongest storm of the 2001 Atlantic hurricane season, behind Hurricane Michelle. It was the ninth named storm, fifth hurricane, and third major hurricane of the year, forming from a tropical wave on October 4 just southeast of Barbados. Iris rapidly intensified into a Category 4 on the Saffir–Simpson scale. A small hurricane with an eye of only 7 mi in diameter, Iris reached peak winds of 145 mph before making landfall in southern Belize near Monkey River Town. The hurricane caused severe damage—destroying homes, flooding streets, and leveling trees—in coastal towns south of Belize City. Iris killed 24 people in Belize, including 20 who died when a scuba diving boat capsized near Big Creek. The storm also killed eight people and damaged about 2,500 homes in neighboring Guatemala, and later dropped heavy rainfall in southern Mexico, where two people died. Iris left about 15,000 people homeless, many receiving assistance from the government and the local Red Cross chapter. High winds also damaged large swaths of forest and crops, mostly affecting the banana industry. In post-season analysis, the National Hurricane Center estimated that Iris had attained tropical storm status about nine hours earlier. In their first discussion on Iris, the NHC mentioned the potential for the system to degenerate into the tropical wave if it maintained its forward speed and a stadium effect on October 6. Although its overall appearance did not change significantly, the Hurricane Hunters reported a closed eye with a diameter of 23 mi and 23 ft (8.5 m) The hurricane quickly dissipated over Central America, although its remnants contributed to the formation of Tropical Storm Manuel in the eastern Pacific Ocean.

The remnants of Iris are still visible on the surface of the Pacific Ocean, near the tip of Baja California, and in the southern tip of the Yucatán Peninsula, where they are still classified as a tropical cyclone. In its early stages, the depression moved west-northwestward between the islands of St. Vincent and St. Lucia under the influence of a strong ridge to its north. As the depression approached the Lesser Antilles, a mid-level wind circulation formed within the deepest part of the convection, and a low-level circulation became gradually more pronounced on satellite imagery. The system increased in organization enough to be classified as Tropical Depression Eleven at 12: 00 UTC on October 4, located about 100 mi  southeast of Barbados. On October 5, they reported a strengthening circulation with flight-level winds of 74 mph, corresponding to a surface wind intensity of 60 mph. Based on these data, the tropical storm was upgraded to Tropical Storm Iris, situated about 155 mi south of the southern coast of Puerto Rico. Despite the storm’s intensification and well-organized satellite appearance, the storm failed to become better defined, and the N.H.C. estimated the system could degenerate to a tropical waves.

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