Hurricane Marco (1996)

Hurricane Marco (1996)

Hurricane Marco caused significant flooding in the Greater Antilles and Central America, despite remaining well offshore. The thirteenth tropical cyclone, thirteenth named storm, and ninth hurricane of the 1996 Atlantic hurricane season, Marco developed in the western Caribbean Sea on November 16 after the interaction of a cold front and several tropical waves. Initially a tropical depression, it remained weak as it tracked southwestward and eventually southward. By November 19, the depression strengthened into Tropical Storm Marco, shortly before slowly curving in a general eastward direction. Marco briefly became a hurricane on November 20, though upper-level winds caused it to weaken back to a tropical storm later that day. The storm then tracked northeastward toward Hispaniola, but later become nearly stationary and curve eastward, then doubled-back to the west.

After weakening to a tropical depression on November 23, Marco re-strengthened to a tropical storm on the following day. Marco tracked northwestward while fluctuating in intensity before finally weakening and dissipating on November 26. Despite not making landfall, Marco produced heavy rainfall in Cuba, Hispaniola, Central America, and Jamaica, which caused significant flooding in some areas. In Honduras, 4,000 homes were destroyed, 40 bridges washed away, nearly 50,000 acres of banana and fruit plantations flooded, and nine deaths were reported. Flooding also effected other Central American countries, albeit effects were less severe. Heavy rainfall was reported in Cuba, although flood damage is unknown. Marco contributed to an ongoing flood in Jamaica and caused three additional fatalities in the Dominican Republic. Overall, Marco caused 15 fatalities and approximately $8.2 million (1996 USD) in damage.