Rainfall characteristics of hurricane Mitch

Jon Hellin (), Martin Haigh and Frank Marks
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Jon Hellin: Natural Resources Institute, University of Greenwich
Martin Haigh: Oxford Brookes University
Frank Marks: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration/Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory

Nature, 1999, vol. 399, issue 6734, 316-316

Abstract: Abstract The hurricane or tropical storm known as Mitch struck Central America towards the end of October 1998. The subsequent flooding and landslides claimed approximately 11,000 lives. It was the most deadly hurricane to strike the Western Hemisphere in two centuries. We have measured rainfall totals during Mitch (from 1 to 48 hours) and find that they were not exceptional for hurricanes and tropical storms in the Atlantic basin. Rainfall totals and intensities measured over intervals of 1, 2, 5, 10, 30 and 60 minutes were less than values from the updated maximum potential rainfall curve1,2. The data suggest that extraneous factors, such as already saturated soils and denuded hillsides, were largely responsible for the damage caused.

Date: 1999
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DOI: 10.1038/20577

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