Amanda (2014)

A tropical depression formed about 550 nautical miles south-southwest of Manzanillo, Mexico, around 1800 UTC on 22 May 2014 from a tropical wave that had moved into the eastern North Pacific on 16 May. The system moved slowly west-northwest to north-northwest under a subtropical ridge and strengthened to a tropical storm by 1800 UTC 23 May. Amanda underwent rapid intensification from 23–25 May, reached peak strength on 25 May, then gradually weakened as it moved northward and encountered cooler waters, stronger wind shear, and drier air. The circulation became ill-defined and Amanda dissipated late on 29 May about 400 nautical miles south of the southern tip of Baja California.

Amanda remained well offshore of the Mexican coast throughout its life; no coastal watches or warnings were required and the storm made no landfalls. All of Amanda’s lifetime positions and intensity estimates place it over the open eastern Pacific; it did not cross any coastline.

Peak intensity occurred around 1200 UTC 25 May with maximum sustained winds of 135 knots (155 mph) and an estimated minimum central pressure of 932 mb. At peak it was a high-end Category 4 hurricane on the Saffir–Simpson scale. It maintained near-peak intensity for about 6 hours before weakening.

Storm surge and rainfall impacts were negligible for land areas because Amanda stayed far offshore. There were no ship reports of tropical-storm-force winds, and no specific storm-surge heights or significant rainfall totals were recorded for coastal cities or counties in the official observations.

There were no reports of casualties or damage associated with Amanda. Regions most affected in a meteorological sense were only portions of the open eastern North Pacific; no direct or indirect deaths were attributed to the cyclone.

Noteworthy items: Amanda became the strongest eastern North Pacific hurricane in May in the satellite era, surpassing Hurricane Adolph (2001). Amanda’s rapid intensification was not well anticipated, which led to larger-than-average intensity forecast errors during that phase, while official track forecasts were considerably more accurate than recent averages.