Identification of Tropical Cyclones’ Critical Positions Associated with Extreme Precipitation Events in Central America

Abstract

Tropical cyclones are one of the most important causes of disasters in Central America. Using historical (1970–2010) tracks of cyclones in the Caribbean and Pacific basin, we identify critical path locations where these low-pressure systems cause the highest number of floods in a set of 88 precipitation stations in the region. Results show that tropical cyclones from the Caribbean and Pacific basin produce a large number of indirect impacts on the Pacific slope of the Central American isthmus. Although the direct impact of a tropical cyclone usually results in devastation in the affected region, the indirect effects are more common and sometimes equally severe. In fact, the storm does not need to be an intense hurricane to cause considerable impacts and damage. The location of even a lower intensity storm in critical positions of the oceanic basin can result in destructive indirect impacts in Central America. The identification of critical positions can be used for emergency agencies in the region to issue alerts of possible flooding and catastrophic events.

Regional Climate Change in Southeast Mexico-Yucatan Peninsula, Central America and the Caribbean

“…According to [3] they warn that the adverse effects of floods could be exacerbated in the states of Tabasco, Chiapas, and Veracruz, while the states of Oaxaca, Tabasco, and Yucatan in southern Mexico will have the potential effects of climate change. On the other hand, in Central America, [35] report tropical cyclones to be one of the most important causes of disasters in this region, with direct impacts on different agricultural sectors and impacts on the population. Precipitation patterns in this region are also expected to intensify hydrological extremes (floods and droughts) in the near future [20,25].…”

Climate Variability and Change in Central America: What Does It Mean for Water Managers?

“…Other parts of the region have been identified for their vulnerability to extreme wet precipitation events associated with direct and indirect impacts of tropical cyclones (Hidalgo et al, 2020). These critical areas of the cyclones' trajectories cause the higher number of extreme precipitation events in the Caribbean coast of northern Central America (direct impacts) and in the Pacific coast of southern Central America (indirect impacts), while the middle part (i.e., Nicaragua) is being exposed to both types of effects depending on the location of the cyclone.…”

Visualization of 40 Years of Tropical Cyclone Positions and Their Rainfall Impacts in Central America

“…CIGEFI supplied all the tracking data, along with wind speed velocities, of all the tropical cyclones occurring over the last 50 years. As in [30], information of the trajectories and other characteristics of tropical cyclones at hourly time steps from 1970 to 2010 were obtained from the combination of two databases: HURDAT from the United States (US) National Hurricane Center and Central Pacific Hurricane Center part of the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration and the tracks of the most recent cyclones were obtained from Unisys database from the repositories of the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration.…”

“…Three databases were utilized: 1. A list of 88 weather stations distributed throughout Central America with their corresponding geographic coordinates (see [30] for the metadata information of the meteorological stations).…”