Meteorological History
A weak tropical wave was first discovered near Cape Verde in mid-September. After heading westward, a weak tropical disturbance noted by Air France and Iberia by September 21, although because the tropical wave was so weak that the National Hurricane Center was unable to detect it. It organized into a tropical storm on September 21 east of the Lesser Antilles.
However, as a tropical cyclone, Janet was operationally not discovered until it attained hurricane status on September 21. Janet was a small hurricane, and rapidly intensified on September 22, becoming a Category 3 hurricane near Barbados, completely skipping category 1 and 2 intensity. Becoming a category 3, Janet passed very close to the island of Barbados, having a 30 mi (37 km) wide eye and a very small wind field. Passing through the Grenadines on the following day, Janet entered a region of unfavorable conditions, and rapidly weakened on September 23. Heading westward across the Caribbean Sea, conditions began more favorable, and Janet quickly re-intensified into a category 2 hurricane. Janet eventually reaching a peak of 175 mph (280 km/h) winds in the western Caribbean Sea.
On September 26, the Hurricane Hunter mission Snowcloud Five was lost in the storm taking with it seven crew members. This is the only Hurricane mission lost in the Atlantic.
Janet remained a Category 5 hurricane, and hit near the city of Chetumal, Mexico near the border of Quintana Roo and British Honduras (modern-day Belize) on September 28. Wind gusts at landfall were measured at 175 mph (280 km/h) before instruments were destroyed, and the central pressure in Chetumal was measured at 914 mbar (hPa; 26.99 inHg). At the time this was the strongest recorded mainland landfall of any Atlantic hurricane, and second overall only behind the 1935 Labor Day Hurricane.
As it crossed the Yucatán Peninsula, the hurricane's winds weakened to 100 mph (160 km/h). Over the Bay of Campeche, it did not have much time to restrengthen, and struck mainland Mexico between Veracruz, Veracruz and Nautla on September 29 as a Category 2 hurricane. Janet dissipated the next day over Mexico.
Read more about this topic: Hurricane Janet
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