emphasis added
The article at The NY Times has since been corrected:
It was the first time that a Category 2 storm had made landfall in the eastern Pacific in the month of May, said Dan Pydynowski, a senior meteorologist at AccuWeather.
emphasis added
Thanks to those in comments who picked up on the correction.
Correction:
May 30, 2022
An earlier version of this article described incorrectly the status of Hurricane Agatha. It was the first Category 2 storm to make landfall in the eastern Pacific in the month of May, not the first such storm to ever make landfall there.
And here’s an incidental that will no doubt give the climate-denying Republican Party a bonus: anti LGBTQ talking points for the evangelical community fans of divine punishment.
The storm made landfall just west of Puerto Angel, a small fishing town in the Mexican state of Oaxaca. Nearby, the beach town Zipolite has become an increasingly popular tourism destination, particularly for the L.G.B.T.Q. community.
emphasis added
What is Mexico in for?
Oaxaca could get as much as 16 inches of rain, the National Hurricane Center warned on Monday, with isolated amounts of 20 inches and extremely dangerous storm surge and coastal flooding. Agatha was expected to lose strength as it moved inland, according to the National Hurricane Center, weakening to a tropical storm later Monday evening.
Heavy rain was expected to continue into Tuesday as the storm moved northeast
The region is heavily dependent of tourism; this is not going to be good.
Home to surfing hot spots, the coast of Oaxaca has long attracted tourists from around the world who are drawn to the golden sand beaches and laid back vibes of the Pacific region.
The industry has been an important driver for the state’s economy. In 2019, before the pandemic decimated tourism in the region, more than 200,000 foreign tourists traveled to Oaxaca State, largely visiting the colonial capital city of Oaxaca. But more than 80,000 foreigners also chose the beaches of Huatulco and Puerto Escondido.
Hurricanes just don’t rack up big bills from the damage they do. The disruption they cause to normal economic activity also needs to be figured into the tally. It’s about more than damaged buildings and infrastructure, not to mention the loss of life.
The industry generated more than 159,000 jobs that year, according to government figures, and yielded more than $29 million in income across those three destinations, an important economic boost for one of the poorest states in Mexico.
This year is expected to be an above normal hurricane season in the Atlantic; President Biden had an interagency briefing earlier this month. (There were no black sharpie graphics on display, and no mention of nukes being prepped to take out storms.)
Here is the NOAA Atlantic 2022 hurricane season forecast. The headline describes it as “above normal”. It would be news if the season was expected to be milder. It would perhaps be reasonable to consider that above normal is not entirely accurate. Bigger and badder is the new normal — a more apt phrasing would be the season is expected to exceed historic norms. We are increasingly in uncharted territory.
The Republican response is likely to continue unchanged.
There have always been storms.
The climate has always been changing.
God has a plan.
Climate change is a hoax.
It’s just the liberal media creating hysteria.
The grim reality is that we need to be prepared for both short term weather events that are increasingly severe, and long terms shifts away from historic climate patterns. We need to do this both as individuals AND by making sure we have government that is up to the job at all levels.
UPDATE: From the AP via AOL
PUERTO ESCONDIDO, Mexico (AP) — Hurricane Agatha made history as the strongest hurricane ever recorded to come ashore in May during the eastern Pacific hurricane center, making landfall on a sparsely populated stretch of small beach towns and fishing villages in southern Mexico.
The storm came ashore in Oaxaca state Monday afternoon as a strong Category 2 hurricane, with maximum sustained winds of 105 mph (165kph), then it quickly lost power as it moved inland over the mountainous interior.
Agatha was downgraded to a tropical storm late Monday, its sustained winds down to 70 mph (110 kph). The U.S. National Hurricane Center said the storm should dissipate overnight, but warned that the system’s heavy rains still posed a threat of dangerous flash floods for Mexico's southern states.
...Agatha formed only on Sunday and quickly gained power. It was the strongest hurricane on record to make landfall in May in the eastern Pacific, said Jeff Masters, meteorologist with Yale Climate Connections and the founder of Weather Underground.
He said the region’s hurricanes typically get their start from tropical waves coming off the coast of Africa.
“Since the African monsoon typically does not start producing tropical waves until early- or mid-May, there simply aren’t enough initial disturbances to get many eastern Pacific hurricanes in May,” Masters wrote in an email. “In addition, May water temperatures are cooler than they are at the peak of the season, and wind shear is typically higher.”