1977 North Atlantic hurricane season
Hurricane Anita 1977
Hurricane Anita intensified rapidly across the Gulf of Mexico before striking northeastern Mexico in September 1977. A change in its steering winds shifted the main threat south of Texas and brought the hurricane into Tamaulipas near peak strength.
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173 mph
Sep 2, 1977 during the tropical stage
Full archive record, including non-tropical stages if present
Along the recorded center positions
STORM HISTORY
Rapid strengthening across the Gulf
Anita developed in the north-central Gulf on 29 August from a disturbance associated with an African tropical wave. Warm water and favorable upper-level winds supported rapid organization, and it became a hurricane late on 30 August.
Forecasts initially placed Texas in Anita's path, but strengthening high pressure turned the storm west-southwest. Its winds rose sharply before landfall, reaching an archived peak of 150 kt early on 2 September. Anita came ashore near Soto la Marina later that day as a Category 5 hurricane.
Destruction in Tamaulipas
Strong winds severely damaged villages in northeastern Mexico, leaving about 25,000 people homeless. Heavy rain produced flooding and mudslides. Farther north, high tides caused some low-lying coastal flooding along the United States Gulf Coast, where damage was limited.
Anita weakened quickly over Mexico's mountains. Its circulation briefly emerged into the eastern Pacific as a tropical depression before dissipating south of Baja California. That Pacific continuation followed the end of this archived Atlantic record on 3 September.
IMPACT
Reported impact
| Deaths | 10 |
|---|---|
| Areas affected | Mexico |
Further reading
QUICK ANSWERS
Anita in brief
What was Hurricane Anita's highest wind speed?
173 mph, the highest one-minute sustained wind in its tropical stage, recorded on Sep 2, 1977, 06:00 AM UTC.
What category was Hurricane Anita?
Category 5 at its peak on the Saffir–Simpson one-minute wind scale, first reaching Category 5 on Sep 2, 1977, 12:00 AM UTC. Other agencies classify storms differently.
What was Hurricane Anita's lowest pressure?
926 mb, the minimum central pressure recorded during its tropical stage, on Sep 2, 1977, 06:00 AM UTC.
When did Hurricane Anita occur?
The archived track runs from Aug 29, 1977, 12:00 PM UTC to Sep 3, 1977, 06:00 AM UTC, with the tropical stage from Aug 29, 1977, 12:00 PM UTC to Sep 3, 1977, 06:00 AM UTC.
Where did Hurricane Anita form?
In the North Atlantic basin, in the 1977 season. Its first archived position is 26.9°N, 88.4°W on Aug 29, 1977, 12:00 PM UTC.
Did Hurricane Anita make landfall?
The archive places its center over land at 1 recorded position; the strongest is 138 mph on Sep 2, 1977, 12:00 PM UTC. Positions are six-hourly, so this is not a landfall chronology.
How many people died in Hurricane Anita?
10 deaths are recorded by Wikidata.
METHODOLOGY
Data sources and limitations
The map and summary are generated from NOAA's IBTrACS v04r01 archive. Wind and category use US-agency records; minimum pressure is calculated during the tropical stage, with the archive's pressure source retained. Category 5 refers to the Saffir–Simpson one-minute wind scale; local agencies may use different classifications. Coastlines use Natural Earth's 1:10m land data.
Track distance adds great-circle distances between consecutive observations, excluding gaps over 12 hours. This track has no gaps over 12 hours. The line shows the storm's center, not its size, rainfall or flood extent. Converted wind speeds are rounded to the nearest whole unit.
Archive retrieved
NOAA IBTrACS archive and Field documentation
Sources & methodology