Hurricane Willa

Hurricane Willa

Willa at peak intensity just west of Jalisco early on October 22
Meteorological history
Formed	October 20, 2018
Dissipated	October 24, 2018
Category 5 major hurricane
1-minute sustained (SSHWS/NWS)
Highest winds	160 mph (260 km/h)
Lowest pressure	925 mbar (hPa); 27.32 inHg
Overall effects
Fatalities	9 total
Damage	$820 million (2018 USD)
Areas affected	Central America, Mexico, Texas
IBTrACS / [1]
Part of the 2018 Pacific hurricane season

Hurricane Willa was a powerful tropical cyclone that brought torrential rains and destructive winds to southwestern Mexico, particularly the states of Sinaloa and Nayarit, during late October 2018. It was the twenty-fifth tropical cyclone, twenty-second named storm, thirteenth hurricane, tenth major hurricane, and record-tying third Category 5 hurricane of the 2018 Pacific hurricane season. Willa was the first major hurricane to make landfall in the Mexican state of Sinaloa since Lane in 2006.

Willa originated from a tropical wave that the United States-based National Hurricane Center (NHC) began to monitor for tropical cyclogenesis in the southwestern Caribbean Sea on October 14. However, the system subsequently crossed over Central America into the East Pacific, without significant organization. The NHC continued to track the disturbance until it developed into a tropical depression on October 20, off the coast of southwestern Mexico. The depression strengthened into Tropical Storm Willa later in the day as a period of rapid intensification commenced. Willa peaked as a Category 5 hurricane with sustained winds of 160 mph (260 km/h) on the following day. Afterward, a combination of an eyewall replacement cycle and increasing wind shear weakened the hurricane, and early on October 24, Willa made landfall as a marginal Category 3 hurricane in the Mexican state of Sinaloa. Following landfall, Willa rapidly weakened, dissipating later that day over northeastern Mexico.

Up to its landfall, Willa prompted the issuance of hurricane and tropical storm watches and warnings for western Mexico. The hurricane killed nine people, and caused Mex$16.1 billion (US$820 million) in damage,^{[nb 1]} mostly around the area where it moved ashore. The storm knocked out power to nearly 100,000 people in four states. Willa caused significant damage to many schools, a hospital, and infrastructure in the city of Escuinapa, with totals estimated at Mex$6 billion (US$306 million). The overflow of multiple rivers damaged structures and left many areas in Sinaloa and Nayarit without a supply of potable water. In the surrounding states, flooding and landslides were the main sources of damage and injury. The remnants of Willa later entered the United States and caused flash floods in Texas. After the storm, multiple individuals did not receive direct help from the Mexican government until many months had passed. The victims mainly relied on help from charitable organizations to recover and rebuild their damaged property. The Sinaloa state government delivered rotten mattresses to storm victims and the federal government lost track of funds it had appropriated for relief efforts. Reconstruction was not slated to begin in some areas until a few months after the storm.

Cite error: There are <ref group=nb> tags on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=nb}} template (see the help page).