Hurricane Hernan (2002)

Hurricane Hernan

Category 5 major hurricane (SSHWS/NWS)
Hurricane Hernan near peak intensity on September 1
Formed	August 30, 2002
Dissipated	September 6, 2002
Highest winds	1-minute sustained: 160 mph (260 km/h)
Lowest pressure	921 mbar (hPa); 27.2 inHg
Fatalities	None
Damage	None
Areas affected	Pacific coast of Mexico, Socorro Island, California
Part of the 2002 Pacific hurricane season

Hurricane Hernan was the second of three Category 5 hurricanes during the 2002 Pacific hurricane season. The twelfth tropical cyclone, tenth named storm and sixth hurricane of the season, Hernan originated from a tropical wave that formed in the Atlantic Ocean and crossed to the Pacific Ocean. The wave spawned a low pressure system which organized into a tropical depression on August 30, a tropical storm on August 31 and a hurricane later that day. Hernan rapidly intensified and reached peak intensity as a Category 5 storm on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale. Proceeding northwest, it maintained this strength for eight hours, but on September 2 it entered cooler waters and began to weaken. By September 6 it had degenerated into a remnant area of low pressure.

Hernan was the second most intense hurricane of the season, and it maintained Category 5 status for the second-longest time of the season, behind Hurricane Kenna. Although Hernan remained far from land, swells of 15 to 20 feet (4 to 6 meters) caused minor beach erosion along the coast of Mexico. In addition, an associated remnant plume of moisture generated light shower activity in southern California as it tracked just offshore.

On August 16, a tropical wave left the coast of Africa. It traveled westward across the Atlantic Ocean, crossing over Central America and emerging in the eastern Pacific, where it merged with a pre-existing intertropical convergence zone disturbance. The system gradually developed moderate convection, and on August 30 it had developed sufficient convection to be designated Tropical Depression 10-E. The depression produced persistent strong thunderstorms, primarily in two areas of deep convection located to the northeast and west of the center of circulation. Although the center was elongated, wind shear over the system remained light and outflow was good, which led forecasters to predict modest intensification. On the afternoon of August 30, banding features became evident, and the depression was upgraded to Tropical Storm Hernan with sustained winds of 45 mph (72 km/h). Further organization occurred, and the center of circulation became encircled by convective thunderstorms. On August 31, the storm was upgraded to Hurricane Hernan as it moved northwestward about 400 miles (634 km) southwest of Acapulco.