Category 1 Hurricane “Lisa” makes landfall in Belize

Hurricane “Lisa” made landfall near the mouth of the Sibun River, Belize — about 15 km (10 miles) SW of Belize City — at 21:20 UTC on November 2, 2022. Lisa had maximum sustained winds of 140 km/h (85 mph), making it a Category 1 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson wind scale and the first November hurricane to make landfall in Belize since 1942.

Lisa brought strong winds, heavy rain, and storm surge to the region, leaving much of the region, including the country’s largest city – Belize City, underwater.

A state of emergency was declared ahead of the landfall, with authorities urging everyone to stay in their homes or shelters until it’s lifted.

Much of Belize City was left without power and drinking water, but there are no reports of major damage or casualties.

Officials are still assessing the damage.

At 06:00 UTC on November 3 (22:00 CDT, November 2), the center of Tropical Storm “Lisa” was located over northeastern Guatemala — about 135 km (85 miles) W of Belize City.¹

It had maximum sustained winds of 80 km/h (50 mph), minimum central pressure of 998 hPa, and was moving W at 19 km/h (12 mph).

This general motion is expected to continue for the next day or so, bringing the center of Lisa across northern Guatemala and southeastern Mexico. After that time, a turn to the northwest and a decrease in forward speed are expected as Lisa moves over the Bay of Campeche.

Rapid weakening is expected to continue due to land interaction and Lisa is forecast to weaken into a tropical depression today.

Even though the cyclone is expected to emerge over the Bay of Campeche in a couple of days, strong southwesterly vertical wind shear will likely prevent intensification, NHC forecasters Bucci and Brown noted.²

Heavy rainfall and flash flooding is expected across portions of Belize, northern Guatemala, and portions of southeastern Mexico during the next day or so.

Water levels are likely to remain elevated in areas of onshore flow along the coast of Belize overnight.

Tropical storm conditions are expected to spread inland over Belize, northern Guatemala, southern portions of the Yucatan peninsula of Mexico overnight.

References:

¹ Tropical Storm Lisa Intermediate Advisory Number 14A – NWS National Hurricane Center Miami FL – 100 AM CDT Thu Nov 03 2022

² Tropical Storm Lisa Discussion Number 14 – NWS National Hurricane Center Miami FL – 1000 PM CDT Wed Nov 02 2022

Featured image: Hurricane “Lisa” at 22:10 UTC on November 2, 2022. Credit: NOAA/GOES-East, RAMMB/CIRA, The Watchers