2002 Eastern Pacific hurricane season
Hurricane Kenna 2002
Hurricane Kenna intensified faster than forecasts anticipated before striking Mexico near San Blas in October 2002. Coastal communities between Nayarit and Puerto Vallarta suffered extensive damage from wind and water.
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167 mph
Oct 25, 2002 during the tropical stage
Full archive record, including non-tropical stages if present
Along the recorded center positions
STORM HISTORY
Rapid growth before a northeast turn
Kenna formed south of Mexico on October 22. Warm water above 29°C and favorable upper-level conditions supported rapid strengthening. On October 25, it reached maximum one-minute winds of 145 kt and a central pressure of 913 hPa southwest of Puerto Vallarta.
An approaching trough turned Kenna north and northeast while increasing wind shear began to weaken it. The hurricane reached the coast near San Blas at 16:30 UTC on October 25 with one-minute winds of 120 kt, still Category 4. Its circulation dissipated over the Sierra Madre Occidental the next day.
San Blas and Puerto Vallarta
About 95 percent of buildings in San Blas suffered damage. Hundreds of buildings along Puerto Vallarta's coast were destroyed, and more than 100 people suffered injuries across the hardest-hit area. The saved account attributes four immediate deaths and about US$101 million in damage to the hurricane, in 2002 currency.
Kenna's remnants carried rain into the southern United States, where flooding killed a driver in Texas. A later dengue outbreak in western Jalisco caused two further deaths. Officials retired the name Kenna after the disaster.
Further reading
NOAA IBTrACS v04r01 historical track archive
Official report (PDF) — National Hurricane Center, Tropical Cyclone Report.
QUICK ANSWERS
Kenna in brief
What was Hurricane Kenna's highest wind speed?
167 mph, the highest one-minute sustained wind in its tropical stage, recorded on Oct 25, 2002, 12:00 AM UTC.
What category was Hurricane Kenna?
Category 5 at its peak on the Saffir–Simpson one-minute wind scale, first reaching Category 5 on Oct 24, 2002, 06:00 PM UTC. Other agencies classify storms differently.
What was Hurricane Kenna's lowest pressure?
913 mb, the minimum central pressure recorded during its tropical stage, on Oct 25, 2002, 12:00 AM UTC.
When did Hurricane Kenna occur?
The archived track runs from Oct 22, 2002, 12:00 AM UTC to Oct 26, 2002, 12:00 AM UTC, with the tropical stage from Oct 22, 2002, 12:00 AM UTC to Oct 26, 2002, 12:00 AM UTC.
Where did Hurricane Kenna form?
In the Eastern Pacific basin, in the 2002 season. Its first archived position is 11.4°N, 99.4°W on Oct 22, 2002, 12:00 AM UTC.
Did Hurricane Kenna make landfall?
The archive places its center over land at 1 recorded position; the strongest is 138 mph on Oct 25, 2002, 04:30 PM UTC. Positions are six-hourly, so this is not a landfall chronology.
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