Hurricane Elida (2002)

Hurricane Elida

Category 5 major hurricane (SSHWS/NWS)
Hurricane Elida on July 24 while off the coast of Mexico.
Formed	July 23, 2002
Dissipated	July 30, 2002
Highest winds	1-minute sustained: 160 mph (260 km/h)
Lowest pressure	921 mbar (hPa); 27.2 inHg
Fatalities	None
Areas affected	Mexico
Part of the 2002 Pacific hurricane season

Hurricane Elida was the first hurricane of the 2002 Pacific hurricane season to reach Category 5 strength on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale. Forming on July 23 from a tropical wave, the storm rapidly intensified from a tropical depression into a Category 5 in two days and lasted for only six hours at that intensity before weakening. It was one of only sixteen known hurricanes in the East Pacific east of the International Date Line to have reached such an intensity. Although heavy waves were able to reach the Mexican coastline, no damages or casualties were reported in relation to the hurricane.

The hurricane moved westward due to a high pressure ridge while undergoing two eyewall replacement cycles: the first was around peak intensity and was completed when the hurricane moved over cooler waters, and the second was a brief cycle shortly after the hurricane began to weaken. The last advisory was issued while the hurricane was west of Mexico, but it was not until the remnants were west of Los Angeles, California that they finally dissipated. Elida's rapid intensification and unsteady weakening after reaching its peak intensity caused large errors in the intensity forecasting of the hurricane. Although the intensity forecasts were off, the track forecasts were better than usual compared to the ten-year period prior to that year.

Elida formed from a tropical wave that left the coast of Africa on July 13. The wave moved uneventfully through the Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, emerging over the Pacific Ocean on July 21. The wave began organizing the next day, becoming Tropical Depression Six-E on July 23 while 350 mi (560 km) south-southeast of Puerto Escondido, Mexico. The depression was predicted to move westward due to the presence of a ridge of high pressure which was also controlling the movement of Hurricane Douglas. Due to low shear and warm ocean waters, it was predicted that the depression would reach hurricane strength in 48 hours. The depression began rapid intensification while moving westward, and only six hours after being recognized as a depression, the system was upgraded to Tropical Storm Elida while displaying banding features and a central dense overcast. The forecast was revised, now predicting the storm to attain hurricane strength the next day.