Otis Explodes Off the Mexico Coast, Slams Acapulco as a Category Five Monster

Written by Team Morecast

 

Residents of the central Mexican Pacific Coast left for work on Tuesday morning with Tropical Storm Otis meandering offshore. By mid-evening, Otis had strengthened faster than almost any hurricane in history.  Otis roared into the tourist hot spot of Acapulco Tuesday night as a Category Five, wreaking havoc with only hours of warning.

 

 

The tropical cyclone season in the Pacific and Atlantic Basins is typically winding down by late October. However, a pocket of very warm ocean water lingers off the central Pacific coast late into the autumn (see image above). This was precisely the region that Otis moved over as it approached the Mexican coast on Tuesday. Forecasters knew there was a possibility of some intensification leading up to landfall. However, the rapid strengthening Otis experienced was beyond any reasonable prediction (see satellite animation below).

 

 

 

 

Otis slammed Acapulco and nearby communities with sustained winds up to 165 mph (265 kph). It was by far the strongest hurricane to strike that region in recorded history. Photos and videos from the scene show nearly all windows blown out of hotels and residential high-rises. The buildings were subsequently hollowed out by the high winds. Trees were stripped of branches and debris littered area roadways. Landslides closed many roadways, and officials reported that communications had been completely cutoff at one point on Wednesday. Fortunately, the hurricane dissipated as fast as it intensified after hitting the interior mountains of central Mexico.

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