Hurricane “Kristy” peaks at Category 5, threatens significant swells for Baja California this weekend
Kristy rapidly intensified into a Category 5 hurricane on the Saffir Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale and peaked at 21:00 UTC on Thursday, October 24, 2024, about 1 565 km (970 miles) SW of the southern tip of Baja California.
Satellite image of Category 5 Hurricane "Kristy" at 21:00 UTC on October 24, 2024. Credit: NOAA/GOES-West, RAMMB/CIRA, The Watchers
- There are no coastal watches or warnings in effect and Kristy will dissipate without affecting land, but swells generated by the storm are expected to affect portions of the west coast of the Baja California peninsula on Friday and Saturday, October 25 and 26.
- These swells are likely to cause life-threatening surf and rip current conditions.
Tropical Cyclone “Kristy” formed from the remnants of Tropical Storm “Nadine” on October 21, 2024. Nadine made landfall in Belize on October 19, moved over northern Guatemala and then over southern Mexico, flooding over 1 200 homes in 20 municipalities of the state of Chiapas and leaving at least 3 people dead.
Kristy continued intensifying after exiting into the Pacific Ocean and on Thursday, October 24, it rapidly intensified into a Category 5 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale.
Kristy’s peaked at 21:00 UTC on October 24, with maximum sustained winds of 260 km/h (160 mph) about 1 565 km (970 miles) SW of the southern tip of Baja California.
The system continued moving west at a speed of 26 km/h (16 mph) with a minimum estimated central pressure of 926 hPa.
By 03:00 UTC on October 25, Kristy’s maximum sustained winds dropped to 250 km/h (155 mph), making it a Category 4 hurricane.
The system is moving toward the west near 22 km/h (14 mph) and is forecast to turn west-northwestward and then northwestward through Friday, followed by a slowdown over the weekend.
Some fluctuations in intensity are expected, with rapid weakening expected to begin by Friday night (LT) as the environment quickly becomes hostile with strong wind shear, drier air and cooler sea surface temperatures along the forecast track.
Swells generated by Kristy will affect portions of the west coast of the Baja California peninsula late this week and over the weekend.
These swells are likely to cause life-threatening surf and rip current conditions.
References:
1 Hurricane Kristy Advisory Number 14 – NWS/NHC – Issued at 03:00 UTC on October 25, 2024
2 Tropical Weather Discussion – NWS/NHC – Issued at 22:05 UTC on October 24, 2024
I'm a dedicated researcher, journalist, and editor at The Watchers. With over 20 years of experience in the media industry, I specialize in hard science news, focusing on extreme weather, seismic and volcanic activity, space weather, and astronomy, including near-Earth objects and planetary defense strategies. You can reach me at teo /at/ watchers.news.
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