Hurricane Madeline (1998)

Hurricane Madeline

Category 1 hurricane (SSHWS/NWS)
Hurricane Madeline on October 18
Formed	October 16, 1998
Dissipated	October 20, 1998
Highest winds	1-minute sustained: 85 mph (140 km/h)
Lowest pressure	979 mbar (hPa); 28.91 inHg
Fatalities	None reported
Areas affected	Mexico, Baja California Peninsula, Texas
Part of the 1998 Pacific hurricane season

Hurricane Madeline was the final tropical cyclone of the 1998 Pacific hurricane season. Madeline originated from a tropical wave that emerged off the coast of Africa on September 25, 1998. The wave traversed the Atlantic Ocean and crossed over Central America on October 5 or 6. Gradually, the system intensified and was classified as a tropical depression on October 16, a tropical storm later that day, and a hurricane on October 17. The storm reached peak winds of 85 mph (140 km/h) about 95 miles (150 km) southwest of San Blas, Nayarit, and after 18 hours it subsequently began to weaken. Although Madeline never made landfall, numerous rainbands affected the Mexican coast causing no known damage or fatalities. The remnant moisture moved north and contributed to flooding in central Texas, which killed 31 people and caused $750 million (1998 USD) in damage.

On September 25, 1998 a tropical wave emerged off the coast of Africa, producing intermittent concentrated clusters of convective activity. The wave traversed the Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea before crossing Central America on October 5 or October 6. After several days, convection increased, and Dvorak classifications initiated. Satellite imagery indicated that the system dissipated on October 11, although an area of cloudiness persisted off the coast of Mexico. After four days, the system regenerated and under diffluent flow aloft, deep convection became more concentrated; it is estimated that a tropical depression formed at 0000 UTC on October 16, about 230 mi (370 km) west-southwest of Manzanillo, Mexico. Initially, due to disorganization, determining the forward movement of depression was difficult, although a few hours later it was estimated that the system was tracking to the north-northwest. With favorable conditions aloft, the deep convection became more concentrated, and 12 hours after first developing, the depression intensified into Tropical Storm Madeline about 170 miles (270 km) southwest of Cabo Corrientes.