Hurricane Kenna
Category 5 Pacific hurricane in 2002
Hurricane Kenna was the third-most intense Pacific hurricane to make landfall on the Pacific coast of Mexico. Kenna was the sixteenth tropical depression, thirteenth tropical storm, seventh hurricane, sixth major hurricane, and third Category 5 hurricane of the 2002 Pacific hurricane season. After forming on October 22 to the south of Mexico from a tropical wave, forecasters consistently predicted the storm to strengthen much less than it actually did. Moving into an area of favorable upper-level conditions and warm sea surface temperatures, Kenna rapidly intensified to reach maximum sustained winds of 165 mph (270 km/h) on October 25, making it as a Category 5 hurricane, while located about 255 mi (410 km) southwest of Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco. Weakening as it turned to the northeast, the hurricane made landfall near San Blas, Nayarit, as a Category 4 hurricane, with sustained winds of 140 mph (225 km/h), before dissipating over the Sierra Madre Occidental mountains on October 26.
Hurricane Kenna caused US$101 million in damage and four deaths. In Mexico, the worst of the hurricane's effects occurred between San Blas in Nayarit and Puerto Vallarta in Jalisco, where over 100 people were injured, and thousands of homes and businesses were damaged or destroyed. 95% of the buildings in San Blas were damaged, and hundreds of buildings were destroyed along coastal areas of Puerto Vallarta. The remnants of Kenna produced rainfall in the south-central United States, peaking at 0.562 in (14.28 mm) in Beaumont, Texas, where a driver was killed by floods. A month after the storm, floodwaters from Kenna caused a dengue fever outbreak in western Jalisco that killed two people.
The public source identifies “Hurricane Kenna” as category 5 Pacific hurricane in 2002. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Hurricane, Kenna and Category.
Why this record matters
A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Hurricane Kenna”, the useful work is to connect “category 5 Pacific hurricane in 2002” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.
Named sources, stable identifiers and responsible institutions provide the strongest route from overview to verifiable evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 23, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q1638662. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 2002.
Overview language is designed for orientation and should not be treated as a substitute for the evidence cited beneath it. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
- Search vocabulary
- Locating named sources
The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Hurricane Kenna”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Hurricane Kenna primary sources, Hurricane Kenna archive and Hurricane research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Hurricane Kenna”?
- Which institution is responsible for the underlying evidence?
- What terminology or title could unlock a more precise catalogue search?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Hurricane Kenna” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.