Hurricane Anita
| Category 5 major hurricane (SSHWS/NWS) | |
Hurricane Anita on September 2, 1977, approaching the Gulf coast of Mexico.
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| Formed | August 29, 1977 |
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| Dissipated | September 4, 1977 |
| Highest winds |
1-minute sustained: 175 mph (280 km/h) |
| Lowest pressure | 926 mbar (hPa); 27.34 inHg |
| Fatalities | 11 direct |
| Areas affected | Northeastern Mexico |
| Part of the 1977 Atlantic and Pacific hurricane seasons |
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Hurricane Anita was a powerful Atlantic hurricane during an otherwise quiet 1977 Atlantic hurricane season. The first tropical cyclone of the season, Anita developed from a tropical wave on August 29 in the north-central Gulf of Mexico. It tracked westward into an area with conditions favorable for further development, and quickly intensified into a hurricane by late on August 30. Initially, Anita was forecast to strike Texas, though a building ridge turned it to the west-southwest. The hurricane rapidly strengthened to attain peak winds of 175 mph (280 km/h), and on September 2 Anita made landfall in eastern Tamaulipas as a Category 5 hurricane. It quickly weakened as it crossed Mexico, and after briefly redeveloping into a tropical depression in the eastern Pacific Ocean, Anita dissipated on September 4 to the south of the Baja California Peninsula.
The hurricane produced light rainfall and high tides along the Gulf Coast of the United States. Some low-level flooding was reported, but damage was slight. In Mexico, the hurricane caused strong winds and moderate rainfall. The winds caused extensive damage to villages in northeastern Mexico, with about 25,000 people left homeless. The rainfall, reaching over 17.52 inches (445 mm), caused flooding and mudslides which killed eleven people in Tamaulipas. Overall damage is unknown.
A tropical wave moved off the coast of Africa on August 16. The wave axis tracked steadily westward, and on August 23 convection increased after the wave passed beneath a cold-core upper-level low. By August 27, the wave axis was located over Cuba, with the area of convection located between Florida and the Bahamas after tracking northwestward. The disturbance crossed southern Florida, and after entering the Gulf of Mexico an anticyclone provided favorable conditions for further development. It tracked slowly westward at 5 mph (7 km/h), and after developing a surface circulation the system developed into a tropical depression on August 29 while located about 230 miles (370 km) south-southwest of New Orleans, Louisiana.
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