Tropical Storm Barbara (2007)
| Tropical storm (SSHWS/NWS) | |
Tropical Storm Barbara shortly after being named
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| Formed | May 29, 2007 |
|---|---|
| Dissipated | June 2, 2007 |
| Highest winds |
1-minute sustained: 50 mph (85 km/h) |
| Lowest pressure | 1000 mbar (hPa); 29.53 inHg |
| Fatalities | 4 total |
| Damage | $55 million (2007 USD) |
| Areas affected | Southwestern Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador |
| Part of the 2007 Pacific hurricane season | |
Tropical Storm Barbara was the first tropical cyclone to make landfall during the 2007 Pacific hurricane season. The second storm of the season, Barbara developed from a small low pressure area on May 29 about 235 miles (380 km) southeast of Acapulco, Mexico. The system drifted southward before turning to a steadily eastward motion, and quickly intensified into a tropical storm. Increased wind shear weakened Barbara, though it re-organized to attain peak winds of 50 mph (85 km/h) before moving ashore just west of the border of Mexico and Guatemala. It rapidly weakened over land, and on June 2 the National Hurricane Center discontinued advisories on the storm. Despite expectations that the storm would attain hurricane status, Barbara moved ashore as a small, weak tropical storm. It produced locally heavy rainfall and gusty winds, and in most locations damage was minor. However, in southern Mexico, the rainfall destroyed large areas of cropland, with crop damage totaling 200 million pesos (2007 MXN, $55 million 2007 USD). In El Salvador, four people were killed by storm-induced floods.
A tropical wave moved off the coast of Africa on May 14, which is believed to have been the impetus to Barbara. The wave axis crossed Central America on May 25 and emerged into the eastern North Pacific Ocean the next day. Interacting with the Intertropical Convergence Zone, a broad surface low pressure area developed within the area on May 27, and as it drifted northward the system maintained limited and disorganized convection. On May 29, convection increased and became concentrated near the low pressure center, and banding features developed in its eastern semicircle as the circulation became better defined. It is estimated the system formed into Tropical Depression Two-E at 1800 UTC on May 29 about 115 miles (185 km) southeast of Puerto Escondido, Oaxaca. Upon becoming a tropical cyclone, the depression was stationary in an area with warm sea surface temperatures, very light wind shear, and favorable upper-level conditions.
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