At a Glance
- Nana made landfall in Belize early Thursday as a Category 1 hurricane.
- Heavy rainfall brought flash flooding and mudslide concerns.
Nana made landfall in Belize as a Category 1 hurricane early Thursday morning and weakened as it moved inland. However, heavy rainfall brought the threat of flash flooding and mudslides inland.
(MORE: Nana Brings Heavy Rain, Damage to Belize, Guatemala, Honduras)
Nana was upgraded to a tropical storm Tuesday morning, based on observations from a U.S. Air Force Reserve Hurricane Hunter mission, finding a tight, stronger than expected low-level center of circulation.
According to Colorado State University tropical scientist Phil Klotzbach, Nana became the record earliest-in-season 14th storm, four days earlier than the previous record, Nate on September 5, 2005.
Nana made landfall at 1 a.m. CDT Thursday as a Category 1 hurricane on the Belize coast between Dangriga and Placencia.
As Nana tracked farther inland, the rugged terrain of Guatemala caused the system to weaken.
Flash flooding and mudslides from Nana's heavy rainfall were the main threats, particularly over any mountainous terrain. This heavy rainfall threat included parts of northern Honduras, Belize, Guatemala and southeastern Mexico.
Entering the Peak of Hurricane Season
September is the peak month of hurricane season, and the most active day of the year is around Sept. 10, on average.
Colorado State University tropical scientist Phil Klotzbach said that roughly three-quarters of Atlantic hurricane seasons since 1966 have had at least one active named storm on Sept. 10. Also, half of all seasons have had at least one active hurricane on this date.
This doesn't guarantee every Sept. 10 will have a rash of Atlantic named storms.
There's an overlap of favorable factors in early-mid September, including ocean water reaching its highest temperature, the atmosphere's ability to generate thunderstorms hitting its peak, hostile shearing winds declining to a minimum and a parade of disturbances known as tropical waves acting as seeds for development that, while peaking in July, are numerous in September.
Tropical storms and hurricanes can form just about anywhere in the Atlantic Ocean this time of year.
The most common source of tropical storms begins to shift from tropical waves in the first half of the month toward cold fronts and other low pressure systems late in the month.
With 15 tropical storms on the books already, most forecasting agencies, including IBM, are forecasting 4 to 10 more tropical storms, which may include 3-7 more hurricanes.
Now is the time to make sure you have a hurricane plan in case another storm threatens this season.
Hurricane season continues until the end of November.
The Weather Company’s primary journalistic mission is to report on breaking weather news, the environment and the importance of science to our lives. This story does not necessarily represent the position of our parent company, IBM.
