Grace became the first major hurricane of the Atlantic season when it strengthened to a category 3 hurricane late Friday, August 21, 2021.

What You Need To Know

  • Grace became the first major hurricane of the 2021 Atlantic season

  • The first landfall was near Tulum, Mexico on August 9

  • Grace made its second landfall near Tecolutla, Veracruz, in mainland Mexico

Grace first received its name on August 14 when it became a tropical storm. Not long after, it weakened to a tropical depression and made landfall on Hispaniola on August 16.


Grace continued west, strengthening into a category 1 hurricane before its second landfall near Tulum, Mexico.

Once in the Bay of Campeche, Grace strengthened and became the first major hurricane of the season, reaching category 3 status late on August 20. With winds peaking at 125 mph, it made landfall near Tecolutla, Veracruz early Saturday morning, where it rapidly weakened shortly after.

Strong winds tore apart houses, and the area saw up to 18 inches of rain and experienced flooding.

Mudslides buried houses and killed several people.

People cleaning debris from Grace in Tulum, Mexico on Aug. 19, 2021. (AP Photo/Marco Ugarte)

Stay prepared

It is always best to stay prepared before a storm moves into your area, especially with an above-average season forecast.

Not every storm will make landfall, but remember, it only takes one to make the Atlantic season a bad one.