Tropical Storm Chris 3
the U.S. Air Force Reserve Command. Data and imagery from NOAA polar-orbiting satellites including the Advanced Microwave Sounding Unit (AMSU), the NASA Global Precipitation Mission (GPM), the European Space Agency’s Advanced Scatterometer (ASCAT), and Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) satellites, among others, were also useful in constructing the best track of Chris.
There were no ship reports of winds of tropical storm force associated with Chris.
Winds and Pressure
Chris’s estimated peak and landfall intensity of 40 kt at 0300 UTC 1 July is based on a combination of aircraft data and objective satellite intensity estimates. Although the second Air Force Reserve reconnaissance flight could not reach Chris’s center or fly at a lower altitude due to flight restrictions near the coast of Mexico, the plane did report a peak 700-mb wind of 49 kt at 0308 UTC and credible SFMR readings (with relatively low rain rates) around 40 kt just before 0300 UTC. In addition, objective ADT satellite estimates reached as high as T2.8/39 kt around the time of landfall. Chris’s estimated minimum pressure of 1005 mb at landfall is based on an extrapolated pressure of 1005.7 mb from the reconnaissance aircraft at 0259 UTC.
Chris made landfall in a data-sparse region of the state of Veracruz between the cities of Veracruz and Tuxpan, and since it was a relatively small storm, there were no sustained tropicalstorm-force winds reported in the area. A gust to 35 kt was measured in Perote, Veracruz, in the mountains at an elevation of 7,941 feet at 0930 UTC 1 July.
Rainfall and Flooding
Chris produced more than five inches (~125 mm) of rain across portions of the Mexican states of Tamaulipas, Veracruz, San Luis Potosí, Querétero, and Puebla during the period from 29 June to 1 July (Fig. 4). The highest rainfall amounts reported were 14.21 inches (361 mm) at Acatlán, Veracruz; 12.52 inches (318.1 mm) at Ballesmi, San Luis Potosí; and 12.28 inches (312 mm) at Naolinco, Veracruz. These rains caused flooding and mudslides across portions of eastern and southeastern Mexico.
CASUALTY AND DAMAGE STATISTICS
Chris caused five direct fatalities2 in Mexico. Four police officers from Tepetlán, Veracruz, died when their vehicle was swept away by the flooded Río Seco while conducting patrols after
2 Deaths occurring as a direct result of the forces of the tropical cyclone are referred to as “direct” deaths. These would include those persons who drowned in storm surge, rough seas, rip currents, and freshwater floods. Direct deaths also include casualties resulting from lightning and wind-related events (e.g., collapsing structures). Deaths occurring from such factors as heart attacks, house fires, electrocutions from downed power lines, vehicle accidents on wet roads, etc., are considered “indirect” deaths.
