Hurricane Kiko (1989)

Hurricane Kiko (1989)

The eleventh named storm of the 1989 Pacific hurricane season, Kiko formed out of a large mesoscale convective system on August 25. It rapidly intensified into a hurricane early the next day, reaching its peak intensity with winds of 120 mph. The storm made landfall near Punta Arena at the southern tip of Baja California Sur. Kiko was the second major hurricane to ever make landfall on the Gulf Coast of Mexico since reliable recordkeeping began in 1949.

About Hurricane Kiko (1989) in brief

Summary Hurricane Kiko (1989)The eleventh named storm of the 1989 Pacific hurricane season, Kiko formed out of a large mesoscale convective system on August 25. Slowly tracking northwestward, the storm rapidly intensified into a hurricane early the next day. Strengthening continued until early August 27, when Kiko reached its peak intensity with winds of 120 mph. The storm made landfall near Punta Arena at the southern tip of Baja California Sur. Kiko was thus the second major hurricane to ever make landfall on the Gulf Coast of Mexico since reliable recordkeeping began in 1949. Though Kiko made landfall as a Category 3 hurricane, its impact was relatively minor. 20 homes were destroyed and numerous highways were flooded by torrential rains. The hurricane rapidly weakened into a tropical storm later that day and further into a Tropical depression by August 28, shortly after entering the Pacific Ocean.

The depression persisted for another day while tracking southward, before being absorbed by nearby Tropical Storm Lorena. The remnants of Kiko dissipated around 1800 UTC on August 29; however, its remnants continued southward before being absorbed by Lorena by the following day. A hurricane watch was also issued for areas between Los Burros and southern Baja Sur along the Gulf of California along the southern coast of Mexico. The following day, the Government of Mexico issued a hurricane warning for the areas between the border of Islas Marías and El Dorado. The warning was upgraded to a hurricane watch the following morning, with the storm expected to make landfall by the end of the day. It was the second major hurricane to make landfall in Mexico since 1949, the other being 1967’s Hurricane Olivia.