Amanda (2020)

A broad area of low pressure south of Guatemala and El Salvador organized into a tropical depression by 1800 UTC on 30 May 2020 about 100 nautical miles south of Puerto San José, Guatemala. The system strengthened to Tropical Storm Amanda by 0600 UTC 31 May while roughly 30 nmi south-southwest of the Guatemala–El Salvador border. Amanda moved north-northeastward, made landfall that morning, and its center dissipated over the mountains of Guatemala before 1800 UTC 31 May. Its remnants helped seed the formation of Atlantic Tropical Storm Cristobal on 1 June.

Amanda made a single confirmed landfall near Las Lisas, Guatemala, at about 1000 UTC on 31 May 2020. At landfall it was a tropical storm with maximum sustained winds of 35 knots (40 mph) and a minimum central pressure of 1003 mb. The center of circulation dissipated later that day over Guatemala’s rugged interior.

The storm’s peak intensity was 35 kt (40 mph) with a minimum pressure of 1003 mb, making it a minimal tropical storm at its strongest. No stations reported tropical-storm-force winds from land or marine observing sites during Amanda’s brief life.

The greatest impacts were from extremely heavy rain rather than wind. Selected rainfall during Amanda (through 31 May) included 22.70 inches (576.7 mm) at Volcán Conchagua and 20.43 inches (519.0 mm) at Volcán de San Miguel in eastern El Salvador; Ilopango International Airport near San Salvador measured 19.60 inches (497.8 mm). In Guatemala, Jutiapa reported 11.80 inches (299.7 mm) from 30–31 May, with other coastal/volcanic-chain totals of 15–16 inches at sites like Puerto San José, San Marcos, and Santa Teresa over the multi-day event. In Belize and Chiapas, Mexico, totals locally exceeded 11–15 inches over related periods. The report did not document large measured storm surge values at specific locations.

Amanda and the related heavy rains (including effects from the Central American gyre and later Cristobal) caused widespread flooding and landslides across El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Belize, and portions of southeastern Mexico. The combined events resulted in 40 reported deaths in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras. El Salvador reported 30 fatalities and extensive damage: about 119,000 people affected, nearly 30,000 families impacted, almost 700 landslides, roughly 3,000 houses damaged or destroyed, more than 3,000 hectares of crops damaged, and an estimated $200 million (USD) in damage. Guatemala reported over 520,000 people affected and more than 1,000 homes with moderate to severe damage; Honduras reported several deaths and hundreds of affected families.

Noteworthy aspects include Amanda being only the second known tropical storm to make landfall on Guatemala’s Pacific coast (after Agatha in 2010) and its very short life span—forming late on 30 May and dissipating on 31 May. NHC forecasts generally anticipated the storm’s formation with useful lead time, and the limited official 12-h forecasts had track and intensity errors slightly below recent 5-year averages.