The Great El Nino of 1998

Not all El Niño’s have the same affects globally but one place that is always adversely affected is Peru (where the term ‘El Niño’ was first used). The warming of the Eastern Pacific during an El Niño event always contributes to higher than normal rainfall in Peru, sometimes, as was the case in 1997-1998, catastrophically so. One location, Tumbes, in northwestern Peru, received 2,100 mm (82.7”) of precipitation between December 1997 and May 1998, including 730 mm (28.7”) in January alone. The normal rainfall for Tumbes between December-May is just 200 mm (8”). Flooding and mudslides killed over 200 in Peru and over 250 in Ecuador. The Peruvian government said that damage to the nation’s infrastructure cost US$2 billion. In September of 1997 Hurricane Linda formed off the coast of Mexico and developed into the strongest Eastern Pacific tropical cyclone on record with sustained winds reaching 185 mph and a central barometric pressure as low as 900 mb (26.58”) on September 12th. A month later, Hurricane Pauline hit Mexico killing 250-400 people and dropping 686 mm (27.01”) of rainfall in 24 hours on the town of San Luis Actatlan, the 2nd heaviest rainfall recorded in Mexico as a result of a Pacific Hurricane. In the Western Pacific, three of the top 10 most intense typhoons on record formed (two of them simultaneously): Super Typhoon Joan (872 mb/25.75” on Oct. 19), ST Ivan (872 mb on Oct. 18), and ST Keith (878 mb/25.92”) on Nov. 2nd.