Hurricane Ignacio (2003)

Hurricane Ignacio

Category 2 hurricane (SSHWS/NWS)
Hurricane Ignacio at peak intensity on August 24, 2003
Formed	August 22, 2003
Dissipated	August 27, 2003
Highest winds	1-minute sustained: 105 mph (165 km/h)
Lowest pressure	970 mbar (hPa); 28.64 inHg
Fatalities	2 direct
Damage	$21 million (2003 USD)
Areas affected	Baja California Peninsula, Sonora, California
Part of the 2003 Pacific hurricane season

Hurricane Ignacio was the latest-forming first hurricane of a Pacific hurricane season since reliable satellite observation began in 1966. The ninth tropical storm of the 2003 Pacific hurricane season, Ignacio developed out of a tropical wave on August 22 a short distance off the coast of Mexico. It was initially predicted to track out to sea and remain a weak tropical storm, though it unexpectedly organized rapidly to attain peak winds of 105 mph (165 km/h) on August 24 while located a short distance southeast of southern Baja California. Land interaction weakened Ignacio to an 80 mph (130 km/h) hurricane by the time it made landfall near La Paz, and it dissipated on August 27 in the central region of the Baja California peninsula.

The hurricane produced heavy rainfall in southern Baja California, killing two rescue works from floodwaters. Resort areas near the coast experienced minor effects, though further inland the damage was more severe. The impact of Ignacio was compounded by flooding from Hurricane Marty a month later, with damage from the two hurricanes totaling about $1 billion (2003 USD, $1.1 billion 2006 USD).

A tropical wave exited the coast of Africa on August 6. It moved westward across the Atlantic Ocean without development, and entered the eastern Pacific Ocean on August 16 after crossing Central America. Cloudiness and convection gradually increased along the wave axis and organized into a distinct area of disturbed weather on August 20 while located a short distance south of Manzanillo, Mexico. It slowly became better organized as it moved northwestward in an area favorable for continued development. With light vertical wind shear and warm water temperatures, the convection concentrated around a developing low-level circulation, and on August 22 it organized enough for the National Hurricane Center to classify it as Tropical Depression Nine-E while it was located about 115 miles (185 km) west of the Mexico mainland or about 220 miles (345 km) southeast of the southern tip of the Baja California Peninsula. With an anticyclone located over the southwestern United States and a ridge extending southward into northwestern Mexico, the National Hurricane Center initially predicted the depression to track generally west-northwestward out to sea and reach peak winds of 50 mph (85 km/h).