September 2002 was a busy month for hurricanes in the Atlantic hurricane season. Eight named storms occurred during that month and Isidore was the fifth storm to strike 11 days before month end.
Path of Hurricane Isidore
Isidore started out as a tropical wave on September 9th off the west coast of Africa and moved across the Atlantic Ocean. By the time it reached Trinidad and Tobago, it had progressed in its formation and was named Tropical Depression Ten.
The first place Isidore made landfall was Venezuela in South America. It lost some strength over the land and was reduced to the status of tropical wave again. The storm traveled northwest over the Caribbean Sea and picked up more strength over the water. It became a tropical depression again when it was 150 miles south of Jamaica.
On September 18th, 2002, Isidore was elevated to a tropical storm again and swept over Jamaica. Then it intensified to hurricane strength as it made its way south of Cuba. The maximum sustained winds were measured at 100 miles per hour when Isidore made a direct hit on the Isle of Youth, located south of Cuba as a Category 1.
On September 20th, 2002, Isidore weakened slightly and crossed over the island of Cabo Frances. The storm was now in the Gulf of Mexico and it slowly moved westward. The warm waters of the gulf caused Isidore to quickly intensify to a Category 3 hurricane.
At this point, the predictions began as to the path that Isidore would take. If Isidore proceeded northward across the Gulf of Mexico, it would reach a Category 4 and make landfall in Louisiana. If Isidore continued southward, it would hit Mexico as a Category 3.
As it turned out, atmospheric conditions prevented Isidore from moving north. It forced it to go southward and made landfall at Telchac Puerto in the Yucatán Peninsula, Mexico as a Category 3 hurricane on September 22nd, 2002. Sustained winds were measured at 125 miles per hour. After battering Mexico for 30 hours as it moved inland, Isidore weakened and headed north towards the Gulf of Mexico.
It was predicted that Isidore would intensify as it crossed over the Gulf of Mexico and make landfall in the U.S. This didn’t happen because Isidore had lost too much strength in its inner core. On September 26th, 2002, Isidore made landfall at Grand Isle, Louisiana as a tropical storm with sustained winds at 65 miles per hour.
Isidore immediately weakened to a tropical depression and headed northeast where it lost more strength. It merged with another storm front on September 27th over the Ohio Valley.
Damage Caused by Hurricane Isidore
Jamaica and the Caymen Islands experienced very heavy rain and storm force winds that caused widespread flooding.
Cuba was hit with torrential rains and a storm surge of 12 feet that wiped out 80 houses. The wind uprooted trees and blew roofs off houses, and which resulted in power outages. Thousands of acres of crops were ruined and a large number of livestock were killed.
Hurricane force winds and heavy rainfall destroyed thousands of homes, highways, fishing boats, crops and livestock in the Yucatan. Oil drilling operations were shut down and there were widespread power outages. The storm surge was recorded as high as 20 feet along the coastal areas.
Some countries in eastern Central America experienced heavy rainfall, landslides and flooding.
The Gulf States in the U.S. were hit with heavy rain that caused flooding. There was minor damage to crops. As a precaution, the drilling platforms in the Gulf of Mexico were shut down. Several tornadoes were triggered by the hurricane.
Based on a report on Hurricane Isidore prepared by the National Hurricane Center, the following deaths occurred:
- There were two indirect deaths in Merida, Mexico. One person was electrocuted by a fallen power line and another died in a weather-related car crash.
- There were four direct deaths in the United States. One person drowned from a rip current. Another person drowned in his vehicle in a parking lot when the storm surge rushed in. One man was killed when a tree fell on top of his car. Another person died after driving his car into ten feet of water.
- There was one indirect death when a man suffered cardiac arrest and couldn’t receive emergency medical attention due to floodwaters blocking the roads.
Eight days later, on October 3rd, 2002, Hurricane Lili made landfall in Louisiana. Most of the areas had not yet recovered from Hurricane Isidore.
At the end of the 2002 Atlantic Hurricane season, the name Isidore was retired and was replaced with the name Ike in the 2008 season. Due to the extensive damage caused by Ike in 2008, it will be replaced with Isaias in the 2014 season.
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