Hurricane Marty (2015)

Hurricane Marty

Category 1 hurricane (SSHWS/NWS)
Hurricane Marty at peak intensity off Mexico on September 28
Formed	September 26, 2015
Dissipated	October 4, 2015
(Remnant low after September 30)
Highest winds	1-minute sustained: 80 mph (130 km/h)
Lowest pressure	987 mbar (hPa); 29.15 inHg
Fatalities	None
Damage	$30 million (2015 USD)
Areas affected	Southwestern and Western Mexico
Part of the 2015 Pacific hurricane season

Hurricane Marty was a tropical cyclone that produced heavy rains and flooding in several states in Southwestern and Western Mexico. The twentieth named storm and twelfth hurricane of the annual hurricane season, Marty developed from a tropical wave on September 26, 2015 to the southwest of Acapulco, Guerrero, in Mexico. Initially a tropical depression, the system strengthened into a tropical storm early on the following day. Due to favorable atmospheric conditions, Marty continued to intensify, but wind shear sharply increased as the storm approached a large mid- to upper-level trough. Despite this, the cyclone deepened further, becoming a hurricane on September 28 and peaking with sustained winds of 80 mph (130 km/h) shortly thereafter. Wind shear quickly took its toll on the hurricane, weakening it to a tropical storm early on September 29. About 24 hours later, Marty degenerated into a post-tropical low pressure area offshore Guerrero. The low further degenerated into a trough later on September 30, and eventually dissipated on October 4.

In anticipation of the storm, tropical cyclone warnings and watches were issued in the states of Guerrero and Michoacán. Flooding occurred, particularly in Guerrero, where areas near Acapulco observed 5 to 6 in (130 to 150 mm) of rainfall. There were several landslides and over 300 homes in the municipality of Coyuca de Benitez were flooded. The remnants also caused severe flooding in Sonora. About 800 homes and 400 vehicles were damaged in the city of Guaymas alone. Total damage in the state reached 500 million pesos (US$30 million).

A tropical wave emerged into the Atlantic Ocean from the west coast of Africa on September 10. Tracking westward, the wave split into two portions, with the slower-moving northern portion ultimately developing into Atlantic Tropical Depression Nine on September 16. The southern portion crossed Venezuela and Colombia and emerged into the Pacific, where a large area of deep convection began to form. A well-defined low pressure area developed on September 26, and organized into a tropical depression by 18:00 UTC (1 p.m. CDT) the same day while situated about 335 mi (540 km) southwest of Acapulco, Guerrero. Six hours later, after banding features became more defined and intensity estimates using the Dvorak technique showed a slight increase in intensity, the depression was classified as a tropical storm and was accordingly named Marty by the National Hurricane Center (NHC). At the time, the storm was moving slowly northward due to the influence of a large mid- to upper-level trough.