page_title: Hurricane Katia (2017)
section_title: Meteorological history
hierarchical_section_title: Hurricane Katia (2017) / Meteorological history
caption_attribution_description: English: Track map of Hurricane Katia of the 2017 Atlantic hurricane season. The points show the location of the storm at 6-hour intervals. The colour represents the storm's maximum sustained wind speeds as classified in the Saffir–Simpson scale (see below), and the shape of the data points represent the nature of the storm, according to the legend below. Saffir–Simpson scale Tropical depression≤38 mph≤62 km/h Category 3111–129 mph178–208 km/h Tropical storm39–73 mph63–118 km/h Category 4130–156 mph209–251 km/h Category 174–95 mph119–153 km/h Category 5≥157 mph≥252 km/h Category 296–110 mph154–177 km/h Unknown Storm type Tropical cyclone Subtropical cyclone Extratropical cyclone / Remnant low / Tropical disturbance / Monsoon depression
context_page_description: Hurricane Katia was the most intense hurricane in the Bay of Campeche since Karl in 2010. The eleventh named storm and sixth hurricane of the unusually active 2017 Atlantic hurricane season, Katia originated on September 5, out of a broad low-pressure area that formed in the Bay of Campeche. Located in an area of weak steering currents, Katia meandered around in the region, eventually intensifying into a hurricane on September 6. The nascent storm eventually peaked as a 105 mph Category 2 hurricane on the Saffir–Simpson scale while it began to move southwestward. However, land interaction began to weaken the hurricane as it approached the Gulf Coast of Mexico. Early on September 9, Katia made landfall near Tecolutla at minimal hurricane intensity. The storm quickly dissipated several hours later, although its mid-level circulation remained intact and later spawned what would become Hurricane Otis in the Eastern Pacific.
  At least 53 municipalities in Mexico were affected by Katia. Heavy rainfall left flooding and numerous mudslides, with 65 mudslides in the city of Xalapa alone. Although damage estimates were unknown, preliminary reports indicated that 370 homes were flooded.
context_section_description: On August 24, a tropical wave emerged into the Atlantic Ocean from the west coast of Africa. Although a concentrated area of deep convection accompanied the wave, thunderstorm activity soon diminished, and the wave progressed westward across the Atlantic and Caribbean Sea with little development for more than a week. The system subsequently interacted with a mid-level trough over the eastern Gulf of Mexico on September 3, and the National Hurricane Center (NHC) began monitoring it for potential tropical cyclogenesis, despite largely unfavorable environmental conditions. Situated over the Yucatán Peninsula and adjacent Bay of Campeche, the system produced disorganized shower and thunderstorm activity. Over subsequent days, conditions became more conducive for development. A well-defined surface circulation formed on September 5, and thus, the system became a tropical depression at 12:00 UTC about 40 mi (65 km) east of the Tamaulipas–Veracruz state line. The NHC initiated advisories on Tropical Depression Thirteen at 21:00 UTC, after ASCAT data indicated a well-defined circulation and winds of 35 mph (56 km/h).
  Located in an area of weak steering currents, the depression drifted slowly eastward. With gradually decreasing wind shear and warm sea surface temperatures, the system intensified into Tropical Storm Katia on September 6, as the convection became better organized. An aircraft reconnaissance flight into the storm later on September 6 found a partial eyewall and surface winds of 76 mph (122 km/h); on that basis, the NHC upgraded Katia to hurricane status. The convection organized into a central dense overcast as the system stalled. With Irma and Jose also being hurricanes at the same time as Katia, it was the first occurrence of three simultaneous hurricanes in the Atlantic basin since Igor, Julia, and Karl in 2010. On September 7, a developing ridge over the northern Gulf of Mexico caused Katia to turn west-southwestwards as it continued to slowly strengthen. The cyclone intensified into a Category 2 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson scale at 12:00 UTC on September 8; this marked only the second time on record – the other being 1893 – that three hurricanes of at least Category 2 intensity existed simultaneously in the Atlantic basin. Six hours later, Katia reached peak intensity with maximum sustained winds of 105 mph (165 km/h) and a minimum pressure of 972 mbar (hPa; 28.70 inHg).
  Thereafter, while Katia approached the coast of Veracruz, its circulation began to interact with land, causing it to quickly weaken. Around 03:00 UTC on September 9, Katia made landfall in Tecolutla with winds of 75 mph (120 km/h). Crossing the rugged terrain of eastern Mexico, the system rapidly weakened and dissipated around 18:00 UTC. Katia's remnants traveled across Central America and later emerged over the Pacific Ocean, where they contributed to the development of Tropical Depression Fifteen-E. This new system later strengthened into Hurricane Otis about a week later.
caption: Map plotting the track and the intensity of the storm, according to the Saffir–Simpson scale
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