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Hurricane Erick makes landfall along the Pacific coast of Mexico

By Scott Bachmeier •

1-minute GOES-19 Visible (0.64 µm) and Infrared (10.3 µm) images, from 1800 UTC on 18 June to 0053 UTC on 19 June [click to play animated GIF]

1-minute Mesoscale Domain Sector GOES-19 (GOES-East) Visible and Infrared images (above) showed Hurricane Erick as it intensified from a Category 2 storm at 1800 UTC on 18 June to a Category 3 storm by 0000 UTC on 19 June 2025. The eye became a bit more defined during that time period — and convective bursts within the eyewall occasionally exhibited cloud-top infrared brightness temperatures of -80ºC or colder (violet pixels embedded within brighter white regions).

Erick was moving through an environment characterized by low values of deep-layer wind shear (below) — a factor that favored further intensification.

GOES-19 Infrared images, with an overlay of deep-layer wind shear at 0000 UTC on 19 June

A DMSP-18 Microwave image at 2154 UTC on 18 June (below) displayed a large outer eyewall (and hints of a partial inner eyewall), suggesting that an eyewall replacement cycle might soon occur.

DMSP-18 SSMI/S Microwave (85 GHz) image at 2154 UTC on 18 June [click to enlarge]

1-minute GOES-19 Infrared images (below) showed the period where Erick continued its rapid intensification, becoming a Category 4 storm just before 0600 UTC on 19 June. The hurricane weakened somewhat to Category 3 intensity shortly before making landfall in far western Oaxaca, Mexico around 1200 UTC on 19 June (and the eye became ill-defined closer to the time of landfall). Convective bursts west of the eyewall occasionally reached -90ºC (yellow pixels embedded within darker purple areas).

1-minute GOES-19 Infrared (10.3 µm) images, from 2100 UTC on 18 June to 1301 UTC on 19 June [click to play animated GIF]

Deep-layer wind shear remained very low in the vicinity of Erick (below), maintaining a favorable environment for intensification — and the hurricane also traversed very warm Sea Surface Temperatures during its period of rapid intensification.

GOES-19 Infrared images, with an overlay of deep-layer wind shear at 0900 UTC on 19 June

A DMSP-18 Microwave image at 1030 UTC on 19 June (below) suggested that landfall might have occurred a bit earlier than 1200 UTC.

DMSP-18 SSMI/S Microwave (85 GHz) image at 1030 UTC on 19 June [click to enlarge]

Deep-later wind shear, DMSP and Sea Surface Temperature images were sourced from the CIMSS Tropical Cyclones site.

The mp4 animation below (created using geo2grid from CSPP Geo) shows a broader-scale view of Erick during its intensification prior to landfall. Very cold cloud tops initially surround the strengthening center. Subsequently, an extensive region of even colder cloud tops develops well southwest of the storm center.

GOES-East Mesoscale Sector Two imagery, 0000 – 1400 UTC on 19 June 2025

Categories: DMSP, GOES-19, Satellite winds, Tropical cyclones