User:Cyclone1/Tropical Depression Eleven (1999)

Tropical Depression Eleven was a short lived tropical depression that did not officially reach tropical storm status. It caused unknown, possibly huge damage, and in combination with a trough of rain, caused over 400 deaths.

It formed in the Gulf of Mexico in early October and eratically made its way across the Bay of Campeche. It never made landfall as it lost its circulation, the remnants moved over Mexico and brought more floods to the already flooded Mexican states of Puebla, Tabasco, and Veracruz.

Storm History
The beginning of Tropical Depression Eleven was a tropical wave moved off the coast of Africa on September 22. It did not develop until it reached the western Carribean, where it became a stronger, more developed wave. It neared the coast of the Yucatan. The wave crossed the Yucatan before getting a chance to form. It formed into Tropical Depression Eleven on October 4 in the Bay of Campeche. Due to very weak steering currents, it took a very eratic and slow path. TD11 trudged southward, its strength being stunted by a large trough that dipped well into the Gulf, and then trudged westward towards Mexico. While this was happening, the low pressure trough continued to drop huge torrents of rain in the already previously flooded Mexico. The huge, moisture laden depression continued to moved towards Mexico and merged with the trough.

The circulation disappeared before making landfall, but the remnants were still there. An interesting note; as the cyclone disappated, tropical storm force winds were reported. However, this turned out to be simply a wind front moving over the Gulf. It was not related to the tropical depression. The combination of the previous floods and the torrential rain from the trough and the large depression as they fused over Mexico created a deadly situation.

Impact
Impact on Mexico was horrendous. Tropical Depression Eleven was the deadliest tropical cyclone of the year. It helped kill over four hundred in Mexico, in combination with the trough of low pressure. Damage estimates are unknown, but it's possible that flood damage could have been extreme. It is unsure how much the remnants of the depression helped in killing the 400 people, but if the previous flooding hadn't occurred, Tropical Depression Eleven would have likely killed only few. It the depression never formed, its likely the floods wouldn't have killed as many.

The tropical depression was obviously not named and thus, no name was retired. If it had reached Tropical Storm status, It would have been Tropical Storm Irene. If this were the case, the death toll may have been sufficient enough for the name Irene to be requested for retirement, however it is near impossible to tell. Especially when you look at Hurricane Gordon in 1994, which killed thousands and wasn't retired.