Hurricane Alma (1996)

Hurricane Alma reached Category 2 in the Eastern Pacific between June 20, 1996 and June 27, 1996, with a lowest pressure of 969 mb, and made landfall.

Track and intensity

The whole track of Hurricane Alma, colored by strength, with the other storms of the 1996 season in the same basin behind it, and its wind and pressure hour by hour. Every fix is in the track table below.

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The storm

Basin: Eastern Pacific
Dates: June 20, 1996 to June 27, 1996
Peak strength: Category 2, 90 kt (104 mph)
Lowest pressure: 969 mb (28.61 inHg)
Landfall: Yes
Accumulated cyclone energy: 9.4
Fastest the center moved: 7 kt (8 mph)
Identifier: EP031996

Deaths and damage

No source this site reads carries a casualty or damage figure for this storm.

Landfall

Time (UTC)	Where	Position	Wind	Pressure
Jun 24, 00:00	La Orilla, Michoacan, Mexico, 18 km away	18.0N 102.4W	90 kt (104 mph)	973 mb

Landfall points the US agencies flagged in the best track. The nearest town is named from the site’s gazetteer, not from the report.

Track

Time (UTC)	Position	Wind	Pressure	Status
Jun 20, 00:00	13.1N 98.7W	30 kt	1009 mb	Tropical depression
Jun 20, 06:00	13.5N 99.3W	30 kt	1009 mb	Tropical depression
Jun 20, 12:00	13.9N 99.9W	30 kt	1007 mb	Tropical depression
Jun 20, 18:00	14.4N 100.3W	35 kt	1005 mb	Tropical storm
Jun 21, 00:00	14.9N 100.7W	40 kt	1002 mb	Tropical storm
Jun 21, 06:00	15.4N 101.1W	45 kt	1000 mb	Tropical storm
Jun 21, 12:00	15.7N 101.5W	50 kt	997 mb	Tropical storm
Jun 21, 18:00	15.8N 102.0W	55 kt	994 mb	Tropical storm
Jun 22, 00:00	15.8N 102.4W	65 kt	987 mb	Hurricane
Jun 22, 06:00	15.9N 102.7W	75 kt	985 mb	Hurricane
Jun 22, 12:00	16.2N 102.6W	85 kt	978 mb	Hurricane
Jun 22, 18:00	16.6N 102.6W	85 kt	975 mb	Hurricane
Jun 23, 00:00	16.7N 102.8W	85 kt	972 mb	Hurricane
Jun 23, 06:00	16.9N 102.9W	85 kt	970 mb	Hurricane
Jun 23, 12:00	17.2N 102.8W	90 kt	969 mb	Hurricane
Jun 23, 18:00	17.5N 102.6W	90 kt	970 mb	Hurricane
Jun 24, 00:00 landfall	18.0N 102.4W	90 kt	973 mb	Hurricane
Jun 24, 06:00	17.8N 102.6W	80 kt	975 mb	Hurricane
Jun 24, 12:00	17.7N 102.8W	65 kt	979 mb	Hurricane
Jun 24, 18:00	17.7N 102.8W	60 kt	985 mb	Tropical storm
Jun 25, 00:00	17.6N 102.7W	55 kt	995 mb	Tropical storm
Jun 25, 06:00	17.5N 102.4W	45 kt	1000 mb	Tropical storm
Jun 25, 12:00	17.3N 102.5W	35 kt	1005 mb	Tropical storm
Jun 25, 18:00	17.3N 102.7W	30 kt	1009 mb	Tropical depression
Jun 26, 00:00	17.4N 102.9W	30 kt	1009 mb	Tropical depression
Jun 26, 06:00	17.5N 103.5W	30 kt	1009 mb	Tropical depression
Jun 26, 12:00	17.7N 104.0W	30 kt	1009 mb	Tropical depression
Jun 26, 18:00	18.0N 104.5W	30 kt	1009 mb	Tropical depression
Jun 27, 00:00	18.4N 105.0W	25 kt	1009 mb	Tropical depression
Jun 27, 06:00	18.7N 105.5W	25 kt	1009 mb	Tropical depression
Jun 27, 12:00	18.9N 106.2W	20 kt		Not reported

Other Eastern Pacific storms of 1996

What this means

A best track is the record a warning agency settles on after the storm, not what it said at the time: position, maximum sustained wind and central pressure every six hours, revised against every observation that came in later. Category is the Saffir-Simpson scale, which runs from Category 1 at 64 kt to Category 5 at 137 kt and reads wind only, so it says nothing about surge or rain. Accumulated cyclone energy adds up the square of the wind through the storm's life, so it counts strength and duration together.

Sources

Storm history from NOAA NCEI’s International Best Track Archive for Climate Stewardship (IBTrACS), which merges the official best track of every warning agency. Live storms, cones, watches and warnings from the National Hurricane Center and the Central Pacific Hurricane Center. Archived radar from NOAA’s Level II archive.