🌀 Keith · Category 4 · 140 mph

Thursday, September 28, 2000 · 6:00 PM – 12:00 PM

Hurricane Keith was a powerful tropical cyclone that formed in September 2000, it caused extensive damage in Central America, especially in Mexico and Belize. It was the fifteenth tropical cyclone, eleventh named storm, and seventh hurricane of the 2000 Atlantic hurricane season. Keith developed as a tropical depression from a tropical wave in the western Caribbean Sea on September 28. The depression gradually strengthened, and became Tropical Storm Keith on the following day. As the storm tracked westward, it continued to intensify and was upgraded to a hurricane on September 30. Shortly thereafter, Keith began to rapidly deepen, and peaked as a Category 4 hurricane less than 24 hours later. Keith then began to meander erratically offshore of Belize, which significantly weakened the storm due to land interaction. By late on October 2, Keith made landfall in Ambergris Caye and Caye Caulker, Belize as a minimal hurricane. It quickly weakened to a tropical storm, before another landfall occurred near Belize City early on the following day. While moving inland over the Yucatán Peninsula, Keith weakened further, and was downgraded to a tropical depression before emerging into the Gulf of Mexico on October 4. Once in the Gulf of Mexico, Keith began to re-strengthen and was upgraded to a tropical storm later that day, and a hurricane on the following day. By late on October 5, Keith made its third and final landfall near Tampico, Tamaulipas, Mexico as a moderately strong Category 1 hurricane. The storm quickly weakened inland and dissipated as a tropical cyclone by 24 hours after landfall. Category 4 hurricane: peak winds of 140 mph (120 knots), lowest pressure 939 mb. September 28 – October 6, 2000. Landfalls: October 2 at 75 mph, 17.9°N 88.0°W; October 3 at 70 mph, 17.9°N 88.2°W; October 5 at 90 mph, 22.6°N 97.9°W. Accumulated cyclone energy: 12.2. Wiki link Track: NOAA National Hurricane Center, HURDAT2 best track AL152000 (public domain).

🌀 Keith · Category 4 · 140 mph