Matthew (2010)

A tropical cyclone developed from a tropical wave that left Africa on 11 September and organized into a tropical depression by 1200 UTC on 23 September 2010 in the central Caribbean Sea, about 490 nautical miles east of Cabo Gracias a Dios (the Nicaragua/Honduras border). It strengthened to a tropical storm later that day and tracked generally west to west-northwest at about 15–20 kt. Matthew reached its peak intensity late on 24 September, moved ashore near the Nicaragua/Honduras border, crossed northern Honduras into the Gulf of Honduras, and then made a final landfall in southern Belize before weakening inland and dissipating over Mexico on 26 September.

Matthew made two primary landfalls. The first occurred about 1900 UTC 24 September in extreme northern Nicaragua, roughly 20 nautical miles south of Cabo Gracias a Dios, when the storm had peak strength. The second landfall was around 1500 UTC 25 September about 10 nautical miles north-northeast of Monkey River Town, Belize, when Matthew was a minimal tropical storm. After the Belize landfall the system weakened to a tropical depression and moved into northern Guatemala and southern Mexico before becoming a remnant low and dissipating.

The storm’s maximum sustained winds peaked at about 50 kt (approximately 58 mph flight-level peak corresponding to 51 kt surface measurement), with the best-track peak surface wind listed as 50 kt (about 58 mph). The lowest central pressure at peak was 998 mb. At peak intensity Matthew was a moderate tropical storm (below hurricane strength).

Storm surge and heavy rain were the primary hazards. Reported storm surge and tide observations include a 1.62 ft tide at Puerto Lempira, Honduras, and a 1.02 ft storm tide at Belize City (Philip Goldson Int’l Airport). Rainfall totals were substantial in parts of Central America and Mexico: La Ceiba, Honduras recorded 5.04 inches; Puerto Barrios and Flores in Guatemala reported about 6.4 and 6.1 inches, respectively; and Mexico saw the highest totals, with Acayucan, Veracruz recording 16.73 inches (425 mm). Numerous other Mexican locations reported totals in the 8–20 inch range across Veracruz, Chiapas, and Oaxaca.

Media and government reports attributed 78 fatalities to Matthew: 65 deaths in Nicaragua, 4 in Honduras, 8 in Mexico, 1 in El Salvador, and additional missing persons reported. Impacts included damaged and destroyed homes (over 1,000 homes damaged in Guatemala; 172 in Honduras), damaged or destroyed bridges and roads in Honduras, ruined crops (rice, banana, sugarcane, corn, and beans), and evacuations of roughly 15,000 people across Nicaragua, Guatemala, and Honduras. Heavy rains from the remnant system contributed to a deadly landslide in Santa Maria Tlahuitoltepec, Oaxaca, that killed four and left 12 missing per media reports.

Noteworthy details: Matthew never reached hurricane strength but underwent a brief period of peak intensity offshore of northern Honduras. Forecasts captured genesis well, but official track forecasts had larger-than-average errors compared with recent years, largely because models and forecasts had a slow bias in predicting Matthew’s forward speed; however, intensity forecasts were relatively good at short lead times. No reliable monetary damage estimate was available in the reports.