Hurricane Joan was a long lived and powerful tropical cyclone that caused death and destruction in over a dozen countries in the Caribbean and Central America. Moving on a due west course for nearly two weeks in October 1988, Hurricane Joan caused widespread flooding and over 200 deaths after moving into Central America. Widespread suffering and economic crises were exacerbated by Joan, primarily across Nicaragua, as heavy rains and high winds impacted those near the hurricane's path.

After crossing Central America into the Pacific, the cyclone was renamed Tropical Storm Miriam, with the system's dissipation occurring southwest of Mexico. Joan–Miriam was the final hurricane of the 1988 Atlantic hurricane season and the final named storm of the Pacific hurricane season.

Meteorological history

At the time, Joan was one of the latest tropical cyclones to form in the central Atlantic in any season. It formed from an area of convection in the Intertropical Convergence Zone that moved off the coast of Africa early in October. It developed banding and was upgraded to Tropical Depression Seventeen on October 10 and later designated as Tropical Storm Joan while located at low latitude in the central Atlantic Ocean.

thumb|220px|right|Hurricane Joan off the Colombian coast on October 18

Joan gradually strengthened as it passed over the southern Windward Islands on October 15. It continued heading west in response to a strong ridge, and passed over the Guajira Peninsula on October 17. Upwelling caused by the quasi-stationary hurricane weakened the system. As the nearby depression dissipated, Joan resumed its westward track. A strong anticyclone over the southwestern Caribbean Sea created an extremely favorable environment, and Joan underwent rapid deepening at a rate of 38 millibars in the space of a day.

Joan made landfall just south of Bluefields on October 22. Ordinarily, a pressure this low would indicate a Category 1 hurricane, but due to its disorganized convection, Miriam was not upgraded to a hurricane.

Unusual path

Hurricane Joan's path through the southern Caribbean in late October was highly unusual. Most October storms in the Atlantic gravitate towards the northern portion of the Caribbean, and often recurve quickly. Joan took the southernmost path of an Atlantic-basin tropical cyclone in the Northern Hemisphere since a June system in 1933, although Hurricane Irene in 1971 took a path that was just north of Joan's.

Preparations

Tropical storm watches and later warnings were issued for the Windward Islands as far north as Martinique on October 13. They were dropped over the subsequent two days as Joan passed through. Along the coast of South America, additional warnings were raised and later dropped as Joan paralleled the coast.

The first hurricane watches were issued for parts of Panama, and Providencia starting on October 18. The watch area was expanded to include Costa Rica and Nicaragua on October 19 as the watches were upgraded to warnings. These warnings provided several hours' worth of lead time, allowing evacuations and preparations to be made. In addition, flash flood and mudslide warnings were issued for western Panama, Costa Rica, Honduras, and Nicaragua starting on October 21.

In response to Miriam, the flood and mudslide warnings issued because of Joan were not lifted until October 23 and 25. Tropical Storm warnings were issued for the Pacific coast of Nicaragua, El Salvador, and the Gulf of Fonseca on October 24. They were dropped the next day. Guatemala was placed under a warning on October 24. In addition, new flash flood and mudslide warnings were raised for Guatemala and the Mexican state of Chiapas on October 24 and 25, respectively. All warnings and watches were discontinued later on October 25 as Miriam turned away from the coast.

Despite the dangers from the intense hurricane, evacuations in Bluefields were met with resistance and disbelief from residents. In Costa Rica, a total of 55,000 people were evacuated.

Impact

{| class="wikitable" align="right"

|-

! colspan=3|Impact by Country

|-

! Country

! Deaths

! Damage

|-

| Nicaragua

| 148-248

| $751.1 million

|-

| Costa Rica

| 28-46

| $60 million

|-

| Colombia

| 25

| $1 billion

|-

| Venezuela

| 11

| Unknown

|-

| Panama

| 7

| $60 million

|-

!Total

!216-337

!$1.85 billion

|}

Hurricane Joan killed at least 216 people, with 118 unaccounted for. The total cost of damage was around $2 billion (1988 USD). In Trinidad and Tobago, Joan was described as a "minor inconvenience". Sustained winds up to with gusts up to were recorded on Grenada. Heavy rains amounted to in St. George's. Significant flooding was reported throughout the island, resulting in hundreds of thousands of dollars in damage. A rare invasion of African desert locusts in the Windward Islands were blamed on the storm.

thumb|left|Tropical Storm Joan shortly after passing over the Guajira Peninsula on October 17

South America

In Venezuela, 11 people were killed due to flash-flooding caused by heavy rains. Landslides and flooding killed 25 people in Colombia. The rains and flooding left 27,000 people homeless.

Nicaragua

Most of the destruction was in Nicaragua. Throughout the country where it caused catastrophic economic damage, 148 people perished, 184 were badly hurt, and 100 were unaccounted for. Roughly 23,300 homes were destroyed, with 6,000 being damaged. A port being constructed with Bulgarian help at El Bluff was severely damaged. On a brighter note, public health measures managed to keep the death toll lower than it could have been. In the southeast rain forests, Joan toppled or snapped 80 percent of the trees and completely destroyed of canopy. Hurricane Joan caused transportation difficulties in the country. Floodwaters destroyed 30 bridges and seriously damaged 36 others. Roads totaling in length were washed away. In all, the storm left at least 250,000 people homeless. Total damages in the country amounted to $751.1 million.

In the remaining portions of Central America, heavy rainfall, locally exceeding , was reported. These rains caused flooding and landslides, especially in mountainous regions.

Mexico

In Mexico, heavy rainfall associated with Tropical Storm Miriam caused the cancellation of flights from the airport at Tuxtla Gutiérrez. The highest rainfall reported recorded was at Lázaro Cárdenas. In small settlements, rivers were flooded and mudslides were reported. Casualties from the flooding are not known.

Retirement

On account of the deaths and destruction caused by the hurricane in the Atlantic basin, the name Joan was retired by the World Meteorological Organization in the spring of 1989. The name Miriam was not retired. Joan was replaced with Joyce for the 1994 Atlantic hurricane season.

See also

  • List of Atlantic–Pacific crossover hurricanes
  • List of Category 4 Atlantic hurricanes
  • List of Eastern Pacific tropical storms
  • Hurricane Irene–Olivia (1971)
  • Hurricane Fifi–Orlene (1974)
  • Tropical Storm Bret (1993)
  • Hurricane Otto (2016)
  • Hurricane Iota (2020)

References

  • Joan path
  • Miriam path
  • Joan preliminary report
  • Miriam preliminary report
  • Miriam advisories<!--Joan is unavailable-->
  • Atlantic to Pacific crossover storms