Norman (2006)

A tropical depression formed near 0000 UTC on 9 October 2006 about 665 nautical miles southwest of Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, from a tropical wave that had crossed the Atlantic. It strengthened to Tropical Storm Norman 12 hours later and moved slowly north-northwestward. Norman reached its peak early on 10 October, then became strongly sheared and weakened to a depression on 10 October and degenerated to a low by 11 October. The low moved eastward and interacted with broader disturbed weather near southwestern Mexico, briefly regenerating into a tropical depression around 0000 UTC 15 October about 175 n mi south-southeast of Manzanillo before dissipating late on 15 October roughly 20 n mi south of Manzanillo.

Norman did not make any confirmed landfalls as a tropical cyclone. Satellite imagery suggested the center might have moved inland east of Manzanillo on 15 October, but surface observations did not support a landfall; the official best estimate is that the center dissipated over water just offshore of Manzanillo on 15 October.

The storm’s maximum sustained winds reached 45 knots (about 52 mph) early on 10 October, and the lowest central pressure was 1000 mb. At peak intensity Norman was well below hurricane strength and was a modest tropical storm.

Norman produced locally heavy rain over portions of southwestern Mexico, but the report gives no detailed storm surge measurements and notes there were no reports of tropical-storm-force winds. No specific rainfall totals for cities or counties are listed in the report.

There were no reported deaths and no reports of damage associated with Norman. The areas most affected by rainfall were parts of southwestern Mexico near the coast of Colima and surrounding states as the system approached Manzanillo.

Noteworthy items include the storm’s brief dissipation and later reformation near the Mexican coast, uncertainty about the exact location of the low-level center on 15 October, and generally larger-than-average track forecast errors for this system because models had previously predicted a quicker northeast motion toward Baja California that did not occur. Forecasts did anticipate both the original genesis and the later reformation well in advance.