Hurricane Odile was the second of three tropical storms to make landfall in Mexico during the 1984 Pacific hurricane season. The fifteenth named storm and twelfth hurricane of the active season, it developed from a tropical disturbance about 185 miles south of Acapulco on September 17. Curving towards the northwest, Odile became a Category 1 hurricane on September 19. The tropical cyclone reached its peak intensity with winds of 105 mph two days later; however, Hurricane Odile began to weaken as moved erratically it encountered less favorable conditions and was downgraded to a tropical storm shortly before making landfall northwest of Zihuatanejo. Over land, the storm rapidly weakened, and dissipated on September 23. The storm caused significant rainfall accumulations of 24.73 inches in Southern Mexico, resulting in severe damage to tourism resorts. Flooding from Odile resulted in the evacuation of 7,000 people, 21 deaths, and the damage of about 900 homes.
Meteorological history
A tropical disturbance was first noted about south of Acapulco on September 16. After tracking over waters, the disturbance began to strengthen, and became a depression at 1800 UTC on September 17. The depression began to curve more towards the northwest beneath a narrow ridge located over southern Mexico and south of an upper-level low over northern Mexico. About 24 hours after developing into a tropical cyclone, the Eastern Pacific Hurricane Center upgraded the depression to Tropical Storm Odile. By 0000 UTC September 20, the EPHC reported that Odile had attained hurricane status while turning towards the east between the ridge and an upper-level low. Late on September 21, Hurricane Odile reached its peak intensity of 105 mph as it approached Acapulco. Due to a combination of an upper level trough that moved southward over the Baja California Peninsula and the weakening of the ridge, the hurricane began to turn more northwestward. After maintaining peak intensity for 12 hours, Odile started to weaken, as the storm began to encounter cooler sea surface temperatures. The hurricane rapidly weakened to tropical storm status while approaching the coast of Mexico; within a six-hour period, the winds diminished from to. By late on September 22, Odile made landfall about northwest of Zihuatanejo, with winds of. Less than six hours later, at 0000 UTC on September 23, Odile ceased to exist as a tropical cyclone. While its surface circulation rapidly weakened over the mountains of western Mexico, the remnants of Odile moved northwest, passing east of Manzanillo before weakening as it re-curved towards Texas.
Preparations and impact
Heavy rainfall was recorded across Southern Mexico, with the maximum rainfall totals in Costa Azul and Acapulco, where it caused of rainfall. In all, Odile and a few other systems brought the heaviest rains to the region since 1978. Acapulco Mayor Alfonso Arugdin Alcaraz reported that flooding damaged roughly 900 homes, inundated of highways, triggered an evacuation of 7,000 people, and left 20,000 families without water service. However, these reports were not confirmed because telephone circuits between Acapulco and Mexico City were down. Commercial flights in Acapulco were suspended on September 21, only to be resumed on September 23, though the airline terminal remained flooded by more than of water. Cites such as Zihuatanejo along the coast were left without electricity since the hurricane had knocked down two high-tension towers. A total of 44 riverbanks and 30,000 residents were isolated due to flooding. Eighteen passengers and three crewman drowned on the Atoyac River. In addition, tourism resorts in Acapulco and Ixtapa-Zihuatenejo suffered severe damage. Officials estimated that hotels were only 5% full.
