&sq=Facebook&lang=en&file=File:Lester_1998-10-17_1800Z.png) Hurricane Lester near its closest approach to land, about 70 mi (110 km) south of Puerto Angel, Oaxaca | |
| Meteorological history | |
|---|---|
| Formed | October 15, 1998 |
| Dissipated | October 26, 1998 |
| Category 3 major hurricane | |
| 1-minute sustained (SSHWS/NWS) | |
| Highest winds | 115 mph (185 km/h) |
| Lowest pressure | 965 mbar (hPa); 28.50 inHg |
| Overall effects | |
| Fatalities | 2 total |
| Damage | Unknown |
| Areas affected | Mexico |
| IBTrACS | |
Part of the 1998 Pacific hurricane season | |
Hurricane Lester was a small but powerful tropical cyclone that caused heavy flooding in Central America and southern Mexico in October 1998. Lester was the fifteenth tropical cyclone, twelfth named storm and eighth hurricane of the 1998 Pacific hurricane season. Lester originated from a tropical wave that emerged off the coast of Africa on September 29. Under favorable conditions, the storm was classified as a tropical depression on October 15. The depression was upgraded to a tropical storm later that day and a hurricane on October 16. After undergoing fluctuations in intensity, Lester reached peak winds of 115 mph (185 km/h), a Category 3 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale. After several days, it degenerated into a tropical storm on October 26, and dissipated shortly after. The hurricane made its closest approach to land on October 28, producing moderate winds and heavy rainfall. A mudslide triggered by the precipitation killed two children, although damage is unknown.