Hurricane John Eastern Pacific 2006

Information on Hurricane John -

09AM MDT 09/05/06 Hurricane John has dissipated. No further reports will be issued here until historical information is available.

08PM MDT 09/04/06 John has degenerated to a Topical Depression and the National Hurricane Center in Miami issued it's last advisory on the system at 8AM MDT 09/04. The systems last position was 29.2N 113.3W and it was moving 340° at 6kts and expected to bring rain to the US Southwest.

Hurricane John was classified a Category 2 Hurricane from it's landfall in East Cape nearly all the way north to Loreto as it traveled up the eastern coast of Baja. Northward it was a Category 1 storm only briefly before degrading to a Tropical Storm.

Currently our reports indicate that the most extensive damage occurred near Los Barriles from wind and from Loreto to Santa Rosalia from extensive rainfall. Reports from the Loreto and Mulege area are sketchy at this time. We are looking for first hand reports from our readers.

Internet connections were cut from apparent damage to fiber optic cables along the coast. Cellular service and internet service was restored to much of Baja Sur late Monday afternoon. Hwy 1 and 19 are open between La Paz and Los Cabos on both coasts. Hwy 1 has significant damage between San Bartolo and Los Barriles.

Click here to see reports from Insider Reader around Baja Sur

 Send us your report from Baja Sur here

Click on images below to enlarge

Track/SST °C

Storm Forecast Track

Historical Data on Hurricane John

The final data has been released on Hurricane John since our last Hurricane Watch article. We have received a number of reports from Insider Readers in Baja of wind speeds "in excess of 200mph" and that with the damage, "John must have been a Category 5." We empathize for all who suffered losses in the storm and it is natural to want the bully that kicked your butt to be larger than life – but Hurricane John was at the high end of Category 2 when it made landfall on East Cape.

Localized wind conditions and gusts do not a Category 3 Hurricane make. The amount of destruction in the region may have been greater, due to the significant increase in population and wide spread construction in bad locales, but Hurricane Kiko in 1989 remains the only Category 3 storm to make landfall in Baja. The NHC says that John was a Category 2 storm even as it traveled north of La Paz. However, official and unofficial data I collected indicated John may have been a Category 1 hurricane when the eye passed over La Paz in the early morning hours of September 2. Some of the worst damage inflicted was when John was a Tropical Storm near Loreto and Mulege. As the storm deteriorated rainfall increased, delivering 15-25" of rain to that region and causing terrible flooding. John was also a particularly small storm - even in comparison to Ignacio 3 years ago, with hurricane force winds only extending out 20-25 miles.

I think it is important not to overrate or create legend of a storm, for one day a major hurricane (Category 3 or greater) may again hit Baja and the impact will be 10 times greater for each increase in category. I witnessed the complacency first hand that develops from this in Florida in the early 90's. Hurricane parties became the rage and preparations went by the wayside. Unimagined destruction and loss of life were the result when Hurricane Andrew roared ashore, one of the most powerful storms to ever make landfall in the US. Had John been a Category 4 or 5 it would be likely that not a single palapa roof or wooden structure would have survived along the entire eastern shore of Baja Sur. (see Hurricane Damage)

Aletta • Bud • Carlotta • Daniel • Emilia • Fabio • Gilma • Hector • Ileana • John • Kristy • Lane • Miriam • Norman • Olivia