Welcome to the twelfth “Storm Summary” post of the hurricane season. Most Fridays from now until the official end of the season (November 30) I will post an update on past and present hurricanes in the Atlantic and Pacific, like the following:
| NAME | PEAK STATUS | DATE | LOCATION | DAMAGE |
| Carlos | Cat. 1 | 7/10 to 7/16 | East Pacific | None |
| Felicia | Cat. 4 | 8/3 to 8/11 | East Pacific | None |
| Guillermo | Cat. 3 | 8/12 to 8/19 | East Pacific | None |
| Bill | Cat. 4 | 8/15 to 8/24 | Mid Atlantic | No major damage |
| Fred | Cat. 3 | 9/7 to 9/12 | South Atlantic | None |
| Jimena | Cat. 4 | 8/29 to 9/4 | East Pacific | No major damage |
| Linda | Cat. 1 | 9/7 to 9/11 | East Pacific | None |
| Rick | Cat. 5 | 10/15 to 10/21 | East Pacific | No major damage |
| Neki | Cat. 3 | 10/18 to 10/27 | Central Pacific | No major damage |
| Ida | Cat. 2 | 11/4 to 11/10 | Western Caribbean | No major damage |
Let’s talk Hurricane Ida.
Ida began as a small storm off the coast of Costa Rica on Nov. 4. It then strengthened to a tropical storm and then a hurricane — the third of the Atlantic hurricane season. Ida made landfall in Nicaragua on Nov. 5, which weakened it to a tropical storm.
But Ida wouldn’t go down quietly — late on Nov. 6, Ida made her way back to water an regained strength. It was classified yet again as a tropical storm early the next morning and as a category 1 hurricane later that same day. Hurricane Ida was classified as a category 2 storm on Nov. 8 and she made landfall in and around El Salvador two days later as a weakened tropical storm.
Initial reports out of the area blamed Hurricane Ida for 124 deaths.
However, later reports from the National Hurricane Center placed the blame on a “disturbed weather area” off the coast of El Salvador, which brought torrential rains and deadly mudslides. It should be noted that the reason we claim there was “no major damage” from Hurricane Ida is because, though Ida did cause minor damage, the majority of the destruction was due to the weather that immediately followed the Ida.
Though the Atlantic has only seen three official hurricanes, the waters of the Pacific are seeing constant activity, due, in part, to El Niño, which is “the periodic warming of central and eastern tropical Pacific waters [that] occurs on average every two to five years and typically lasts about 12 months.” Although most people think of this phenomenon in negative terms for the damage it can spur on the West Coast, it is actually beneficial to the East Coast/Gulf Coast in the sense that warmer waters in the Pacific usually create conditions that suppress Atlantic hurricanes.
Why exactly this occurs is not something I’m qualified to explain but, as I recall, it has something to do with warm and cool air mixing in a different way and creating a “wind shear” that helps prevent storms from developing. The International Research Institute for Climate and Society can probably explain it better. For hard proof of El Niño, consider the fact that the Pacific has seen 23 named storms, mostly tropical storms and hurricanes, while the Atlantic waters have seen only 11.
For constant, up-to-date storm information, visit NOAA. And for breaking information on the insured losses the storms create, check out the Insurance Information Institute and the Insurance Services Office.
Most importantly, don’t forget to check back next Friday for our fourteenth “Storm Summary” installment.
