Hurricane Tara (1961)

Hurricane Tara

Category 1 hurricane (SSHWS/NWS)
Surface weather analysis of the storm near peak intensity
Formed	November 10, 1961
Dissipated	November 12, 1961
Highest winds	1-minute sustained: 85 mph (140 km/h)
Lowest pressure	996 mbar (hPa); 29.41 inHg
Fatalities	436 total
Damage	$16 million (1961 USD)
Areas affected	Southern Mexico
Part of the 1961 Pacific hurricane season

Hurricane Tara, also known as Cyclone Tara, was one of the deadliest Pacific hurricanes on record. The final tropical cyclone of the 1961 Pacific hurricane season, Tara formed on November 10 about 230 mi (365 km) off the coast of Mexico. It strengthened to reach maximum sustained winds of 85 mph (140 km/h) before making landfall in the Mexican state of Guerrero near Zihuatanejo. Hurricane Tara dissipated on November 12, bringing heavy rainfall and strong winds to locations inundated by 10 days of precipitation. Damage was light in the major port city of Acapulco, though further west along the coast, the effects of Tara were much worse. The city of Nuxco in Tecpán de Galeana municipality received the most damage and deaths from the hurricane. Throughout Mexico, at least 436 fatalities were reported, and damage exceeded $16 million (1961 USD, $115 million 2009 USD).

On November 9, a weak circulation remained nearly stationary off the coast of Acapulco, Mexico. It did not have significant convection, although it organized enough to be considered a tropical cyclone at 0000 UTC on November 10, about 230 mi (365 km) off the coast of Mexico. By the afternoon of the 10th, it was a tropical depression moving northeastward toward the coastline. Tara intensified, reaching hurricane status and its peak intensity of 85 mph (140 km/h) late on November 11. Early on November 12, Hurricane Tara made landfall near Zihuatanejo, Guerrero, between Acapulco and Manzanillo, near where Hurricane Iva moved ashore five months earlier. Continuing inland, it was last observed at 1200 UTC on November 12. At the time, it was known as Cyclone Tara, as the term cyclone was the more common equivalent for hurricane in the region.