Hurricane Emily
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- This article is about the 2005 Atlantic hurricane. For other storms of the same name, see Hurricane Emily (disambiguation).
 Hurricane Emily making landfall, July 14, 2005 |
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| Duration | July 10 - 21, 2005 |
| Highest winds | 155 mph (250 km/h) sustained |
| Damages | $420 million (estimated) |
| Fatalities | 5 direct, 9 indirect |
| Areas affected | Grenada, Jamaica, Cayman Islands, Yucatán Peninsula, northeastern Mexico, southernmost Texas |
| Part of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season | |
Hurricane Emily was the fifth named storm, second hurricane, and second major hurricane of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season. Emily was a Cape Verde-type hurricane and also the earliest fifth named storm on record in the Atlantic basin. The storm passed through the Windward Islands, where it caused moderate to severe damage in Grenada. Emily then made landfall in Mexico, first on the island of Cozumel and then just north of Tulum on the mainland of Quintana Roo, and later threatened the northern state of Tamaulipas and southern Texas in the United States.
On July 16, Emily became the strongest hurricane ever to form before August (beating a record set by Hurricane Dennis just nine days before on July 7, 2005) when its central pressure fell to 929 millibars and its sustained winds increased to 155 mph (250 km/h), which placed Emily on the verge of Category 5 intensity on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale. Some readings indicate that Emily may have briefly reached Category 5 strength.
Emily made landfall near Tulum on Mexico's Yucatán Peninsula as a Category 4 storm on July 18, and again near San Fernando in Tamaulipas on July 20, having regained Category 3 strength. It disappeared on July 21 after weakening to a tropical storm.
Storm history
Tropical Depression Five formed in the central tropical Atlantic the evening of July 10. Late on July 11, it strengthened and was named Tropical Storm Emily.
Initially forecast to strengthen rapidly and move west-northwest through the Greater Antilles, Emily instead moved almost due west toward the Windward Islands, remaining a moderate tropical storm.
The storm languished while moving quickly west, and struggled with maintaining its form. Contrary to the normal occurrence that hurricanes leave a cold wake behind, Hurricane Dennis had made portions of the Caribbean Sea warmer, and therefore more favorable for tropical cyclone development. Late on July 13, Emily strengthened rapidly and reached hurricane strength while passing Tobago and entering the western Caribbean. On July 14 Emily made landfall in northern Grenada.
The intensification trend picked up again the next day with a fairly rapid drop in the storm's central pressure as it entered the southeastern Caribbean Sea, a region typically unfavorable for intensification. Hurricane Emily's winds increased in reaction, briefly bringing the storm to Category 4 strength early on July 15. During the day, the storm's strength fluctuated greatly, dropping to a Category 2 storm and then rebuilding to Category 4. On July 16, Emily strengthened considerably, making it the strongest hurricane ever on record to form in the month of July. The storm's winds increased to 155 mph (250 km/h), just under Category 5 strength, and stayed at this strength for the rest of the day while passing south of Jamaica and, on July 17, the Cayman Islands. Some readings from this period indicate that it may have reached Category 5 strength briefly and then weakened again to a Category 4. (If indeed so, it would be the earliest Category 5 storm ever in a season, beating Hurricane Allen by nearly three weeks)
Hurricane Emily continued on its nearly straight track to the west-northwest, weakening somewhat but remaining at Category 4 until striking Cozumel just before mainland landfall near Tulum at 2:30 am EDT on July 18. Sustained winds were 135 mph (230 km/h), and the eyewall passed directly over Cozumel.
The center of circulation emerged over the Gulf of Mexico later that morning. Passage over land disrupted the hurricane's center of circulation, and it had weakened to a minimal hurricane with wind speeds of 75 mph (121 km/h). However, several hours over the warm waters of the western Gulf provided the energy needed for Emily to regenerate, and by midnight wind speeds were increasing. The increase in wind speed stalled, but the storm continued to become better organized. Emily started to show very symmetrical outflow, but the hurricane's strongest winds were being found at three different distances from the center. However, the outer wind radii subsided in the end, and the inner core prevailed. The result was a rapid strengthening of the inner core on the evening of the 19th. The pressure dropped about 30 millibars and the winds went from 90 mph to more than 125 mph, all within a few hours.
Further strengthening was expected by forecasters, but did not come. The storm's motion slowed, and the center began wobbling erratically toward the coast. The storm made landfall around 6am CDT (11 UTC) on July 20 near San Fernando in Tamaulipas. The storm had sustained winds of 125 mph (205 km/h), Category 3 on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale. After heading inland over northeast Mexico, it dissipated over the Sierra Madre Oriental on July 21.
Impact
On July 14, Emily hit Grenada which was still recovering from the impact of Hurricane Ivan which hit less than a year earlier. Emily resulted in one reported fatality and significant damage in the northern part of the country, including Carriacou which had been spared the worst effects of Ivan. The estimated damage from Emily in Grenada was USD $110 million. [1]
Landslides were reported in eastern Jamaica, triggered by heavy rain as the storm passed south of the island. Four people were reported dead [2].
In all, ten people died in the Caribbean. [3]
In Mexico, tens of thousands of tourists and residents were evacuated from the beach resorts in and around Cancún, the Riviera Maya, and Cozumel [4]. Hotel guests were evacuated on Saturday afternoon, and staff on Sunday afternoon. Two helicopter pilots were killed when their aircraft crashed while evacuating offshore oil platforms operated by Pemex [5]. A German resident was electrocuted while on his roof in Playa del Carmen. Damage in the Yucatán is currently estimated at USD $25 million. The area would be hit a second time just three months later by Hurricane Wilma, which caused even more damage as it tracked much more slowly across the Yucatan (despite having a similar intensity as Emily).
Communication to the Riviera Maya area was difficult: not all cellular phones were receiving coverage to the area, land lines were down, and electricity was out. About 18,000 people in 20 low-lying communities in the state of Tamaulipas, just south of the U.S.-Mexican border, were evacuated.
Insured damages in Mexico were estimated a $200 million dollars [6]. The total damage estimate for Emily in Mexico was $310 million.
Some positive effects were noted; the remains of Emily passed into Texas and delivered some badly needed rainfall, helping relieve a drought. [7]
