Hurricane John (2006)

Hurricane John

Category 4 major hurricane (SSHWS/NWS)
John as a Category 2 hurricane off Jalisco on August 31
Formed	August 28, 2006
Dissipated	September 4, 2006
Highest winds	1-minute sustained: 130 mph (215 km/h)
Lowest pressure	948 mbar (hPa); 27.99 inHg
Fatalities	5 direct
Damage	$60.9 million (2006 USD)
Areas affected	Guerrero, Michoacán, Baja California Sur, Arizona, California, New Mexico, Texas
Part of the 2006 Pacific hurricane season

Hurricane John was the eleventh named storm, seventh hurricane, and fifth major hurricane of the 2006 Pacific hurricane season. Hurricane John developed on August 28 from a tropical wave to the south of Mexico. Favorable conditions allowed the storm to intensify quickly, and it attained peak winds of 135 mph (215 km/h) on August 30. Eyewall replacement cycles and land interaction with western Mexico weakened the hurricane, and John made landfall on southeastern Baja California Sur with winds of 110 mph (180 km/h) on September 1. It slowly weakened as it moved northwestward through the Baja California peninsula, and dissipated on September 4. Moisture from the remnants of the storm entered the southwest United States.

The hurricane threatened large portions of the western coastline of Mexico, resulting in the evacuation of tens of thousands of people. In coastal portions of western Mexico, strong winds downed trees, while heavy rain resulted in mudslides. Hurricane John caused moderate damage on the Baja California peninsula, including the destruction of more than 200 houses and thousands of flimsy shacks. The hurricane killed five people in Mexico, and damage totaled $663 million (2006 MXN, $60.8 million 2006 USD). In the southwest United States, moisture from the remnants of John produced heavy rainfall. The rainfall aided drought conditions in portions of northern Texas, although it was detrimental in locations that had received above-normal rainfall throughout the year.

The tropical wave that would become John moved off the coast of Africa on August 17. It entered the eastern Pacific Ocean on August 24, and quickly showed signs of organization. That night, Dvorak classifications were initiated on the system while it was just west of Costa Rica, and it moved west-northwestward at 10–15 mph (15–25 km/h). Conditions appeared favorable for further development, and convection increased late on August 26 over the area of low pressure. Early on August 27, the system became much better organized about 250 miles (400 km) south-southwest of Guatemala, although convection remained minimal. Early on August 28, banding increased within its organizing convection, and the system developed into Tropical Depression Eleven-E.