High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! Hurricane Lester was the fifteenth tropical cyclone, twelfth named storm and eighth hurricane of the 1998 Pacific hurricane season. Lester originated from a tropical wave that emerged off the coast of Africa on September 29. Under favorable conditions, the storm was classified as a tropical depression on October 15. The depression was upgraded to a tropical storm later that day and a hurricane on October 16. After undergoing fluctuations in intensity, Lester reached peak winds of 115 mph (185 km/h), a Category 3 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale. After several days, it degenerated into a tropical storm on October 26, and dissipated shortly after. The hurricane made its closest approach to land on October 18, producing moderate winds and heavy rainfall. A mudslide triggered by the precipitation killed two children, although damage is unknown.