2002 жылғы "Исидор" дауылы: Мексика, Куба және АҚШ-тағы апаттар

Category 3 Atlantic hurricane in 2002

Hurricane Isidore was a powerful tropical cyclone that caused widespread flooding and heavy damage across Mexico, Cuba, and the United States in September 2002. The ninth named storm and the second hurricane in the 2002 Atlantic hurricane season, and the fifth of eight named storms to occur in September of that year, Isidore peaked as a Category 3 hurricane, causing damage, as well as four fatalities in Jamaica, Cuba, Mexico, and the United States. Isidore is also noted for threatening to strike the northern Gulf Coast as a Category 4 hurricane, however, the storm struck the region as a moderately strong tropical storm, due to a track change that brought the storm over the Yucatán Peninsula for over a day, which significantly weakened the cyclone in the process. The primary impact from the storm was the heavy rainfall, which fell across southeast Mexico, and also from the central United States Gulf coast into the Ohio Valley.

On September 9, a tropical wave moved off the coast of Africa. Despite moving through a dry environment, its convection became organized as an anticyclone developed over the wave. On September 14, convection was well organized enough around a small closed wind circulation to classify the system as Tropical Depression Ten near Trinidad and Tobago. Embedded within a weak steering current, it drifted to the northwest, and strengthened into Tropical Storm Isidore on September 18 near Jamaica. After grazing the island, it quickly intensified to a hurricane late on September 19 while south of Cuba. Isidore's maximum sustained winds reached near the Isle of Youth, and weakened slightly to an hurricane as it made landfall on Cabo Frances late on September 20. Despite Dvorak satellite estimates of , reconnaissance aircraft indicated Isidore remained a Category 3 hurricane, with pressures dropping to , typical of a Category 4 hurricane. It is the lowest minimum pressure ever observed for an Atlantic hurricane which did not exceed Category 3 intensity. High pressures to its north forced it southward, and Isidore made landfall at Telchac Puerto in Yucatán as a major hurricane on September 22. It weakened rapidly as it nearly stalled over Yucatán, and was only a minimal tropical storm after being inland for 30 hours. The inner core of convection collapsed while over southeast Mexico, and upon moving northward and reaching the Gulf of Mexico again, it was a large but weak tropical storm. Conditions favored significant strengthening, but Isidore did not redevelop central convection until reaching the northern Gulf of Mexico. The strengthening system hit Grand Isle, Louisiana on September 26 with maximum sustained winds of , but weakened quickly into a tropical depression after moving inland. The system raced to the northeast, and became an extratropical cyclone on September 27 before becoming absorbed in a frontal zone over Pennsylvania that night.

Before Isidore became a hurricane, there were fears that the storm would end up being a significant threat. Just ten months after the destructive Hurricane Michelle, Hurricane Isidore threatened to cause similar effects in Cuba. In preparation for the storm, about 292,000 people and thousands of farm animals were evacuated in the Pinar del Río province. Hurricane Warnings were posted about 48 hours before landfall, leaving ample time to prepare for the storm. Once in the Gulf of Mexico, Hurricane Isidore became a major Category 3 storm with winds of Initially expected to remain north of the peninsula, hurricane warnings were issued just over a day prior to landfall, with no watch preceding Isidore's passage. More than 70,000 people were evacuated, and ports on the Gulf coast of Yucatán were closed. Mexican authorities declared a state of emergency prior to the arrival of the storm. Due to Isidore's unexpected southward turn into the Yucatán Peninsula, Isidore weakened significantly to a tropical storm which limited potential damage along the United States Gulf Coast. In preparation for the hurricane, the Red Cross mobilized its members across Texas, Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Florida days before Isidore's expected landfall. Over 130 tobacco drying houses were affected to some degree, damaging valuable tobacco stock. The Gulf Coast island of Isla Arena was nearly covered by Isidore's storm surge. Its residents evacuated prior to the storm's passage. Hurricane Isidore hit near Mérida, Yucatán, as a hurricane, and remained over the area for around 36 hours. Over of rainfall fell, with the maximum recorded near Campeche. Nearly 36,500 houses were destroyed in Yucatán from the intense winds, and 75% of barns and warehouses were either severely damaged or destroyed. Damage to crops and livestock was extreme; 2,000 square kilometres of maize and 400 square kilometres of fruit trees were damaged across the country. A total of 70% of the poultry production and livestock were lost during the storm in Yucatán. Damage to Mexico's power grid reached US$19.76 million. Over one fourth of the roads across the peninsula were moderately or severely damaged, which resulted in losses of US$9.88 million to rural areas.

Isidore caused heavy rains in Guatemala due to upslope flow from the Pacific Ocean, which led to landslides and flooding across southern and western portions of the country. The rains led to the drowning of two people when they tried to cross a rain swollen river. Three hundred and fifty households reported losses. Isidore claimed five lives in the U. S.: four direct and one indirect. The indirect death was from a man that went into cardiac arrest in Mississippi, whereas the other four were drowning deaths.