Hurricane Blas was a
Category 1 hurricane that brought winds and flooding to several
Mexican states in June 2022. The second
named storm and second hurricane of the
2022 Pacific hurricane season, Blas developed from a low-pressure area off the coast of southwestern Mexico. It became a tropical depression on June 14. and strengthened into a tropical storm later that same day. Blas became a hurricane the next day, while paralleling the coast. The system reached its peak intensity on June 17, at 15:00 UTC, with maximum sustained winds of 80 knots (90 mph; 150 km/h) and a central pressure of 976 mbar (28.82 inHg). Later, Blas turned to the west and weakened, becoming a tropical depression on June 20, before transitioning into a
post-tropical cyclone on that same day.
Damage from the hurricane was minor as it remained offshore.[1] All totaled, Blas was responsible for the deaths of four people in Mexico.[2]
Meteorological history
On June 7, the
National Hurricane Center (NHC) began tracking a disturbance with potential for potential tropical development south of the
Gulf of Tehuantepec.[3] Late on June 10, a broad low-pressure area formed off the coast of southwestern Mexico, producing disorganized showers and thunderstorms in an environment conducive for gradual development.[4] By 09:00
UTC on June 14, the low had become a tropical depression while it was situated about 395 mi (636 km) south-southeast of
Manzanillo,
Colima.[5] Six hours later, the depression strengthened into a tropical storm, and was assigned the name Blas.[6] The storm's convective organization continued to improve through the day according to satellite imagery,[7] maintaining a well-defined structure and developing prominent
convective banding features,[8] as a circular
central dense overcast overcast became embedded on the system.[9] On June 15, Blas began to rapidly intensify as it developed an inner core, and at 15:00 UTC that day, it became a Category 1 hurricane on the
Saffir–Simpson scale.[10] Blas then developed a mid-level
eye on the western portions of the cyclone,[11] then maintained its intensity due to very cold cloud tops near the center and a strong
upper-level outflow in three of the storm's quadrants.[12]
Blas strengthened slightly on June 17, with its maximum sustained winds increasing to near 90 mph (140 km/h) and a minimum central barometric pressure of 976
mbar (28.82
inHg).[13] Soon after, the cyclone began to weaken as it moved westward.[14] At 03:00 UTC on June 18, Blas weakened to a tropical storm due to the mid-level center being sheared off to the southwestern side of the storm combined with colder
sea surface temperatures as it moved north-west, with no deep convection near the surface center.[15] The storm continued to weaken that day, with satellite images showing a partially exposed low-level center with convection confined to the southeastern quadrant of its circulation.[16][17]
Despite persistent
wind-shear and transiting over cool waters with temperatures below 79 °F (26 °C), Blas maintained limited convection on the eastern half into June 19.[18] By 21:00 UTC that day, only a few broken convective bands remain to the north and northeast of the storm's center,[19] and by 03:00 UTC on June 20, satellite imagery indicated that it had lost almost all of its organized deep convection.[20] With little or no convection remaining in association with Blas, along with their being no longer tropical-storm force winds in the circulation, the NHC downgraded the storm to a tropical depression six hours later.[21] By 15:00 UTC that same day, Blas transitioned to a
post-tropical cyclone about 350 mi (565 km) southwest of the southern tip of the
Baja California peninsula.[22] The remnant low later dissipated over the northern Pacific on June 24.[23]
Preparations and impact
On June 16, state authorities in
Oaxaca placed 60 municipalities, all still recovering from the impacts of
Hurricane Agatha, on alert as Blas neared.[24] Ports were also closed.[25] In the state of
Guerrero, schools were closed across 21 municipalities, including:
Costa Chica,
Costa Grande, and Acapulco; classes were also suspended in
Michoacán.[2] Blas was responsible for four deaths.[2] Two bodies were found at a beach in Acapulco with the cause of death unknown, but presumed to be storm-related. One Acapulco resident sustained injuries after a wall collapsed in her home.[26] In the state of
Puebla, two people were killed by a landslide in
Eloxochitlán.[2]
Blas caused only minor damage in Guerrero according to local authorities.[1] At Acapulco, winds and rains from Blas caused
beach erosion of over 980 ft (300 m) in length from El Morro beach.[27] In
Tecpán de Galeana, several acres (hectares) of banana crops were destroyed by strong winds.[28] Two streams overflowed in Acapulco, flooding eight neighborhoods. Flooding was also reported in Manzanillo and
Villa de Álvarez in
Colima.[2] Power outages were reported in
Zihuatanejo and in
Atoyac.[29][30]
Authorities in
Nayarit said that at least 100 people had been displaced by flooding in that state in the aftermath of the hurricane.[31] Governor
Miguel Ángel Navarro Quintero pledged that actions would be taken to rebuild the houses destroyed by the storm.[32] Soon after Blas passed, the
National Guard was activated to help in the cleanup and removal of debris in Michoacán and Guerrero.[33]