1959 Mexico hurricane

On October 22, a low pressure area was present south of the Gulf of Tehuantepec, having originated out of an area of disturbed weather in the region the day before. That day, two ships reported gale-force winds, suggesting that a tropical storm formed by 12:00 UTC. Moving west-northwestward parallel to the southwest coast of Mexico, the system steadily intensified, reaching hurricane status by late on October 23. The storm continued to intensify, although there were few ships in the path to record the intensity until October 26. During that time, interpolation of observations suggests that the storm attained major hurricane intensity – a Category 3 on the modern Saffir–Simpson scale – with winds of on October 25. On October 26, the hurricane turned abruptly to the northeast toward the Mexican coast. At 00:00 UTC on October 27, a nearby ship recorded winds of , confirming the increase in intensity. Six hours later, another ship recorded winds of . At around 12:00 UTC on October 27, the hurricane made landfall just northwest of Manzanillo, Colima, with an eye in diameter. The Mary Barbara – a ship in Manzanillo Harbor – estimated winds of , The same ship reported a minimum barometric pressure of in the southeastern periphery of the eyewall; this, in conjunction with other nearby readings, suggested a minimum central pressure of . Based largely on the central pressure, the 2016 reanalysis concluded the hurricane's peak intensity at landfall was 140 mph (220 km/h), based on uncertainties in the wind estimates, the central pressure, as well as the storm's small size and slow movement. The hurricane rapidly weakened over the mountainous terrain of southwestern Mexico. Within 12 hours of landfall, the system weakened to tropical storm status, and on October 28, the storm dissipated. ==Impact==

Thousands of people were unprepared for the storm. Thus, the system was dubbed "a sneak hurricane". After passing well offshore from Acapulco, it was forecast to head out to sea. Instead, it recurved eastward and made landfall. Most of the destruction was in Colima and Jalisco. A preliminary estimate of property damage was $280 million (1959 USD). The storm sank three merchant ships, On one ship, the Sinaloa, 21 of 38 hands went down. On another, the El Caribe, all hands were lost. In Manzanillo, Colima, 40 percent of all homes were destroyed, and four ships in the harbor were sunk. Large portions of Colima and Jalisco were isolated by flooding. Hundreds of people were stranded. Minatitlán, Colima, suffered especially, as 800 people out of its population of 1000 were dead or missing, according to a message sent to President Adolfo López Mateos. Water supplies were badly polluted, both by debris and dead bodies. ==Aftermath==

In the aftermath, air rescue operations were conducted, but the destruction of roads in the area hindered convoys carrying aid. Planes also made supply drops, but rescue operations were hindered by broken roads and rails. Survivors were vaccinated against typhoid and tetanus. Part of Manzanillo was placed under quarantine. ==See also==