After a spectacular fast reinforcement day, Hurricane Eric made a landfall in a few densely populated areas, just east of Punta Maldonado near Mexico’s southern Pacific coast on Thursday, June 19.
There are no preliminary reports of Eric's major damage. Several small towns on the far western coast of Oaxaca may have suffered from strong winds and scattered damage as Erick approached the coast. The closest community to the Erick Raceway is the Pinotepa nacional area (56,000 popular), located in the Southwest Oaxaca State, at an altitude of about 600 feet and about 15 miles from the coast. Erick’s hurricane winds are only 15 miles from its center, so the peak winds at Pinotepa Nacional (out of power and some damage) may have peaked at the minimum hurricane intensity.
As of 2 p.m. ET on Thursday, Erick weakened the smallest hurricane condition with the highest sustained wind of 75 mph. The rapid weakening will continue, with Eric expected to dissipate on Thursday night. A concentrated area of intense rainfall moves on land near Erick’s center, but most of the biggest rainfall remains offshore. A local local total is still possible Thursday near the center of Erick's Rapid Center, and a summit landslide remains a threat.
Data from reconnaissance aircraft Wednesday night showed Erick had the maximum wind of two concentric rings, indicating it entered an eye replacement cycle, which could hinder further enhancement. But the storm quickly reintegrated and tightened, exacerbating it again. Erick reached an overnight peak with Cat 4 intensity, with an estimated maximum speed of 145 mph at 11:45 pm EST, less than a day after tropical storm. This put Erick in the fastest hurricane on record as it gained 80 knots (92 mph) in intensity in 24 hours.
More impressively, Erick was the first storm in the Eastern Pacific or Atlantic Ocean, known to land as a major hurricane (Cat 3 or stronger) before the summer solstice. The only other major landing in the first half of the first half was Cat 3 Audrey, which struck Louisiana in a disastrous manner on June 27, 1957. A reliable database dates back to the eastern Pacific in 1971 and extended the Atlantic Ocean in 1851.
Most of the hurricanes at Erick's location end up staying overseas, especially early in the season. In fact, in modern records in June and July, no major hurricanes made landfall on Mexico's Pacific coast (see Figure 1). Even by August, only one major landfall occurred in the Pacific region of Mexico: Hurricane Kiko, on August 27, 1989, the southernmost Trojan Peninsula of Class 3 intensity attacked a weak analog of Eric. km/h).
In the past 75 years, 16 hurricanes have made landfall in Mexico before July, with only three striking at Category 2 intensity, and the last time in late May 2022, Hurricane Agatha hit the town of Puerto Rico, which was also the hurricane that hit Erick (H/T), h/t to h/t to Michael lowry for for for for for for for for for for for Michael).
Comparison with 2024's devastating Hurricane John
Erick also brought some similarities to last year’s Hurricane John, which also brought huge sharp dangers to the Pacific coast east of Acapulco. On the evening of September 24, after John quickly strengthened as he headed north almost north, he attacked Guerrero in the eastern state of Guerrero, with a wind speed of 105 mph (169 km/h). Over the next three days, John leaned towards West, moved at sea, and returned to the unusual second landing, a tropical storm at Guerrero State University in the far west. Along the way, it poured over 10 to 20 inches (25-51 cm) or even higher local volumes of extensive rainfall. John killed 29 people and caused the estimated $2.45 billion damage from Gallagher Re. According to EM-DAT, only three other Eastern Pacific hurricanes have caused inflation-adjusted dollar losses in Mexico: Otis ($12 billion in 2023); Manuel ($5.6 billion in 2013); and Odile ($3.2 billion in 2014).
On the heels of Otis and John, Erick is now the third storm that has hit Mexico's South Pacific coast in less than three years, after rapidly strengthening from tropical storms to the main Hrulic status in less than 24 hours.
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