Hurricane Roxanne was a rare and erratic tropical cyclone that caused extensive flooding in Mexico due to its unusual movement. The seventeenth storm, tenth hurricane, and the fifth and final major hurricane of the very active 1995 Atlantic hurricane season, Roxanne developed in the southwestern Caribbean Sea from an area of low pressure on October 7. The depression curved northward, causing it to avoid landfall in Central America. By October 9, the depression intensified enough to be upgraded to Tropical Storm Roxanne. On the following day, Roxanne turned west-northward, where it promptly intensified into a hurricane. As Roxanne headed generally westward, it began to rapidly deepen and reached Category 3 intensity less than 24 hours after becoming a hurricane. Shortly thereafter, Roxanne made landfall near Cozumel, Mexico at its peak intensity, which caused severe damage.

Roxanne rapidly weakened while traversing the Yucatán Peninsula, and when it emerged into the Bay of Campeche on October 12, the storm was a Category 1 hurricane. Further weakening occurred, and Roxanne was downgraded to a tropical storm later that day. Roxanne tracked northwestward and eventually re-intensified into a hurricane on October 14. Thereafter, Roxanne began to meander erratically in the Gulf of Mexico; the storm turned abruptly southeastward and remained nearly stationary offshore of the Yucatan Peninsula. The following day, Roxanne curved back northwestward and weakened back to a tropical storm on October 17. Roxanne completed a cyclonic loop across the Gulf of Mexico on October 18. Further weakening occurred, and Roxanne was downgraded to a tropical depression on October 19. A cold front in the Gulf of Mexico turned Roxanne abruptly southward, and the storm dissipated just offshore of Veracruz on October 21.

Roxanne was the first October hurricane that formed and reached Category 3 intensity on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale (SSHS) in the western Caribbean Sea since Hurricane Hattie in October 1961. While in its formative stages, the depression moved northward, steered by a nearby upper-level low, amid weak steering currents caused by a subtropical ridge over the southwestern Atlantic Ocean. Early on October 9, the NHC upgraded the depression to Tropical Storm Roxanne. On October 12, Roxanne weakened to tropical storm status. The hurricane turned to the southeast, after the cold front bypassed the system and the ridge rebuilt. Over the next day, Roxanne stalled off the northwest coast of the Yucatán Peninsula. Drier air, wind shear, and upwelling caused the hurricane to weaken back to a tropical storm. By late on October 17, the circulation had little convection associated with it. The storm moved northwestward for a few days, until an approaching cold front steered Roxanne to the south on October 19; by that time, Roxanne had weakened to tropical depression status. On October 21, the circulation of Roxanne was dissipating as it moved onshore Veracruz. An emergency alert was issued to hundreds of fishermen off the Yucatán coastline to move to port immediately. In the state of Campeche, 150 shelters were opened and able to accommodate roughly 15,000 people. However, more than 20,000 people sought refuge from the storm throughout the state.

Impact

thumb|Roxanne Rainfall across Mexico

Roxanne affected the Yucatán Peninsula less than two weeks after Hurricane Opal formed in the area. The combined damage between the two hurricanes was estimated at US$1.5 billion. While Roxanne was moving ashore eastern Mexico, it produced an estimated storm surge of . Waves washed into hotel lobbies in Cancún and Cozumel. In the Gulf of Mexico, waves struck the Mexican coast while Roxanne drifted offshore for a few days, pushing water hundreds of yards inland.

Roxanne caused 29 deaths, with six of them coming from the sinking of the pipelay derrick barge DLB 269 with 245 people on board. Roxanne caused widespread flooding and agriculture damage in eastern Mexico, notably in Campeche, Tabasco, Veracruz. Along the coast, high waves wrecked docks, fishing stalls, and nets while damaging dozens of boats.

Roxanne caused the state owned Pemex to shut down 90% of its drilling in the Gulf of Mexico during its pass as well as halt all shipments from three oil terminals in the southeastern region of the gulf. As a result, Mexico lost millions of dollars. (A rough guess using a price of the Maya Crude averaging about $13.77/b, 30 days in September, and 862,000 barrels a day of lost output yields $356 million, which in 2011 dollars equals about $530 million.) Oil production didn't completely recover in November, so there were some additional losses, but did completely return in December. The Mexican government allocated 16 million pesos to people affected by Roxanne, as well as 55 million pesos to fishermen.

See also

  • Timeline of the 1995 Atlantic hurricane season
  • List of retired Atlantic hurricane names
  • List of Category 3 Atlantic hurricanes
  • Hurricane Stan (2005)
  • Hurricane Richard (2010)

References

  • NHC Roxanne Report
  • HPC Roxanne Rainfall Page