Ileana (2006)

A tropical depression formed about 300 nautical miles south-southwest of Acapulco, Mexico on 21 August 2006. It moved generally northwestward over warm waters, became a tropical storm within about 6 hours, reached hurricane strength on 22 August, and weakened to a remnant low by 27 August before dissipating on 29 August. The storm passed roughly 50 n mi south of Socorro Island on 23 August while near its peak.

There were no reported landfalls of Ileana on the Mexican mainland or any other landmass. The closest approach with measured impacts was Socorro Island on 23 August, where hurricane-force gusts were recorded.

Ileana’s maximum sustained winds peaked at 105 knots (about 120 mph) at 1200 UTC 23 August, with a minimum central pressure of 955 mb. At that time it was a Category 3 major hurricane on the Saffir–Simpson scale; it held that peak intensity through the rest of 23 August before gradual weakening.

Measured storm effects were limited. A Mexican Navy site on Socorro Island reported 15-minute sustained winds of 51 kt (gusts to 67 kt) and a pressure of 999.8 mb on 23 August. Ship reports from the Cosco Panama noted winds near 41 kt and pressures near 1007 mb, though some satellite data suggested those wind values were overestimated. No storm surge heights or notable rainfall totals at named cities or counties were reported in the official observations.

There were no reported deaths, injuries, or damage attributed to Ileana. The storm remained mainly over open ocean, and impacts were confined to Socorro Island and a few maritime observations.

Forecasting of Ileana’s track was unusually good: official track errors through 96 hours were among the lowest on record for the eastern North Pacific. However, the initial rapid intensification up to 23 August was not well predicted by the official forecasts, contributing to larger early intensity errors.