 Anita approaching the Gulf Coast of Mexico on September 1 | |
| Meteorological history | |
|---|---|
| Formed | August 29, 1977 |
| Dissipated | September 4, 1977 |
| Category 5 major hurricane | |
| 1-minute sustained (SSHWS/NWS) | |
| Highest winds | 175 mph (280 km/h) |
| Lowest pressure | 926 mbar (hPa); 27.34 inHg |
| Overall effects | |
| Fatalities | 11 direct |
| Areas affected | Gulf Coast of the United States, Mexico |
| IBTrACS | |
Part of the 1977 Atlantic and Pacific hurricane seasons | |
Hurricane Anita was a powerful tropical cyclone during the otherwise quiet 1977 Atlantic hurricane season, and the latest first named storm on record since tropical cyclones were first named in 1950. The first tropical cyclone of the season, Anita developed from a tropical wave on August 29 in the north-central Gulf of Mexico. It tracked westward into an area with conditions favorable for further development, and quickly intensified into a hurricane by late on August 30. Initially, Anita was forecast to strike Texas, though a building ridge turned it to the west-southwest. The hurricane rapidly strengthened to attain peak winds of 175 mph (280 km/h), and on September 2 Anita made landfall in eastern Tamaulipas as a Category 5 hurricane. It quickly weakened as it crossed Mexico, and after briefly redeveloping into a tropical depression in the eastern Pacific Ocean, Anita dissipated on September 4 to the south of the Baja California Peninsula. Anita was the first major hurricane to form in the Gulf of Mexico since Hurricane Ethel of 1960.
The hurricane produced light rainfall and high tides along the Gulf Coast of the United States. Some low-level flooding was reported, but damage was slight. In Mexico, the hurricane caused strong winds and moderate rainfall. The winds caused extensive damage to villages in northeastern Mexico, with about 25,000 people left homeless. The rainfall, reaching over 17.52 inches (445 mm), caused flooding and mudslides which killed eleven people in Tamaulipas.