Hurricane Jova was a very powerful
tropical cyclone that became the first
Pacific hurricane to reach
Category 5 strength on the
Saffir-Simpson scale since
Willa in
2018
File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...
. Jova was also one of the fastest–intensifying tropical cyclones on record in the Eastern Pacific
tropical cyclone basin. Jova was the tenth named storm, seventh hurricane, fifth major hurricane and first Category 5 hurricane of the
2023 Pacific hurricane season
The 2023 Pacific hurricane season was an active and destructive Pacific hurricane season. In the eastern Pacific basin (east of 140°W), 17 named storms formed; 10 of those became hurricanes, of which 8 strengthened into major hu ...
.
Jova originated from a
tropical wave
A tropical wave (also called easterly wave, tropical easterly wave, and African easterly wave), in and around the Atlantic Ocean, is a type of atmospheric trough, an elongated area of relatively low air pressure, oriented north to south, which ...
that entered the Pacific Ocean on September 1. The system briskly organized and became a tropical depression the following day. After brief inhibition by wind shear, Jova explosively organized over the next two days. It formed a prominent
central dense overcast on September 5 and nascent
eye feature, signaling its intensification into a hurricane. In a 24-hour period ending early on September 7, Jova's
maximum sustained winds increased by 90 mph (150 km/h) to its peak of 160 mph (260 km/h) and its central pressure fell 67
mbar (
hPa; 1.89
inHg
Inch of mercury (inHg and ″Hg) is a non- SI unit of measurement for pressure. It is used for barometric pressure in weather reports, refrigeration and aviation in the United States.
It is the pressure exerted by a column of mercury in heigh ...
) to its minimum of 926 mbar (hPa; 27.43 inHg).
This made it a Category 5 hurricane and was one of the five-fastest periods of intensification on record in the basin. Thereafter, an eyewall replacement cycle and decreasing sea surface temperatures caused the storm to steadily weaken. It fell below major hurricane status on September 8 and further weakened to a tropical storm on September 9. The total collapse of convection on September 10 marked its degeneration into a
remnant low. The system later dissipated on September 12 as it opened up into a
trough
Trough may refer to:
In science
* Trough (geology), a long depression less steep than a trench
* Trough (meteorology), an elongated region of low atmospheric pressure
* Trough (physics), the lowest point on a wave
* Trough level (medicine), the l ...
.
Jova's expansive cloud shield led to some rainfall in western states of Mexico with minor flooding occurring in
Baja California Sur
Baja California Sur (; 'South Lower California'), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California Sur ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California Sur), is the least populated state and the 31st admitted state of the 32 federal ent ...
. Large waves and rip currents affected coastal areas from
Sinaloa
Sinaloa (), officially the Estado Libre y Soberano de Sinaloa ( en, Free and Sovereign State of Sinaloa), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the Administrative divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. It is d ...
northward to the
San Francisco Bay Area in
California. Flooding in
Arizona inflicted $250,000 in damage.
Meteorological history
On August 31, 2023, the
National Hurricane Center
The National Hurricane Center (NHC) is the division of the United States' NOAA/National Weather Service responsible for tracking and predicting tropical weather systems between the Prime Meridian and the 140th meridian west poleward to the 3 ...
(NHC) began forecasting the possibility of
tropical cyclogenesis off the southwest coast of Mexico. The following day, a
tropical wave
A tropical wave (also called easterly wave, tropical easterly wave, and African easterly wave), in and around the Atlantic Ocean, is a type of atmospheric trough, an elongated area of relatively low air pressure, oriented north to south, which ...
crossed into the Pacific Ocean near
El Salvador
El Salvador (; , meaning " The Saviour"), officially the Republic of El Salvador ( es, República de El Salvador), is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south b ...
. Environmental conditions favored development and the NHC assessed a high likelihood of the system becoming a tropical cyclone within seven days.
Convective activity began organizing on September 3 as a broad
area of low pressure
In meteorology, a low-pressure area, low area or low is a region where the atmospheric pressure is lower than that of surrounding locations. Low-pressure areas are commonly associated with inclement weather (such as cloudy, windy, with possible ...
coalesced. On September 4, the system developed a well-defined surface circulation accompanied by a prominent
banding feature to its west. Based on the improved organization, the NHC assessed the formation of Tropical Depression Eleven-E at 21:00 UTC. The environment ahead of the cyclone proved exceptionally conducive to
rapid intensification with ample low-level moisture, low
wind shear, and high
sea surface temperatures. A deep-layer
ridge
A ridge or a mountain ridge is a geographical feature consisting of a chain of mountains or hills that form a continuous elevated crest for an extended distance. The sides of the ridge slope away from the narrow top on either side. The line ...
anchored over northern Mexico steered the depression on a west to west-northwest course and would remain the dominant steering factor throughout the cyclone's duration. While initially hampered by moderate wind shear early on September 5, strengthening began later that day as upper-level
outflow
Outflow may refer to:
*Capital outflow, the capital leaving a particular economy
*Bipolar outflow, in astronomy, two continuous flows of gas from the poles of a star
*Outflow (hydrology), the discharge of a lake or other reservoir system
* Outflow ...
improved and deep convection blossomed over the system's center. Concurrent with the improved structure, the NHC estimated the system to have reached tropical storm intensity at 09:00 UTC, and the storm received the name Jova.
Rapid intensification ensued later on September 5 as a
central dense overcast developed with tops reaching . Imagery from the
GPM Microwave Imager depicted the beginnings of a mid-level
eyewall. This trend continued into September 6 as cloud tops deepened to and Jova's eye became more defined on infrared and visible satellite imagery. Following this, the NHC upgraded Jova to a hurricane at 09:00 UTC. Dramatic intensification continued throughout September 6 into the early hours of September 7. A well-defined wide pinhole eye formed within a symmetrical convective mass. Extensive
lightning was detected within the eyewall by the
GOES-16
GOES-16, formerly known as GOES-R before reaching geostationary orbit, is the first of the GOES-R series of Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites (GOES) operated by NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration&n ...
Geostationary Lightning Mapper. Jova's intensification culminated at 03:00 UTC when it reached Category 5 hurricane status.
Jova's
maximum sustained winds peaked at and its central pressure fell to 926
mbar (
hPa; 27.43
inHg
Inch of mercury (inHg and ″Hg) is a non- SI unit of measurement for pressure. It is used for barometric pressure in weather reports, refrigeration and aviation in the United States.
It is the pressure exerted by a column of mercury in heigh ...
). Within a 24-hour period Jova's winds increased by 90 mph (150 km/h), ranking it among the top six fastest intensification episodes in the Eastern Pacific basin on record.
Upon reaching its peak on September 7, Jova began an
eyewall replacement cycle (ERC) whereby its small eye was replaced by a larger one.
Its convective structure became less symmetric as convective bursts occurred along the south side of its center and overall cloud tops warmed. By the latter half of the day weakening ensued with the hurricane's inner core collapsing as the ERC progressed and its eye becoming obscured by clouds. The hurricane's structure steadily degraded with the inner and outer cores fragmenting as dry air was pulled into the circulation. Jova weakened below major hurricane status by 09:00 UTC on September 8. Later that day, Jova crossed a sharp sea surface temperature gradient, with temperatures ahead of the hurricane dropping substantially. Banding features surrounding the hurricane began breaking apart at this time. Early on September 9, Jova's eye completely disappeared and deep convection became limited to the western half of the storm, soon after, the system was downgraded to a tropical storm. Jova's movement shifted northwest as it reached the edge of the ridge that had been steering it west-northwest. Throughout September 9 convection pulsated as Jova's weakening trend briefly reprieved, however, the storm's convection continued its collapse on September 10 as Jova traversed waters. With the complete loss of convective activity later that day, Jova degenerated into a
remnant low by 21:00 UTC marking the cessation of it being a tropical cyclone. The remnants of Jova turned west-southwest and dissipated as it opened up into a
trough
Trough may refer to:
In science
* Trough (geology), a long depression less steep than a trench
* Trough (meteorology), an elongated region of low atmospheric pressure
* Trough (physics), the lowest point on a wave
* Trough level (medicine), the l ...
on September 12.
Preparations and impact
Mexico
Mexico's
Servicio Meteorológico Nacional warned of heavy rains in
Baja California Sur
Baja California Sur (; 'South Lower California'), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California Sur ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California Sur), is the least populated state and the 31st admitted state of the 32 federal ent ...
,
Colima,
Jalisco
Jalisco (, , ; Nahuatl: Xalixco), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Jalisco ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Jalisco ; Nahuatl: Tlahtohcayotl Xalixco), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 Federal En ...
,
Nayarit, and
Sinaloa
Sinaloa (), officially the Estado Libre y Soberano de Sinaloa ( en, Free and Sovereign State of Sinaloa), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the Administrative divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. It is d ...
stemming from Jova's immense cloud shield. Waves of were expected along the coasts of Colima, Jalisco, Nayarit and Sinaloa. Four beaches in
Los Cabos closed due to dangerous conditions. Heavy rains in Baja California Sur swelled small streams, flooded roads, and caused some vehicles to become stranded.
Southwestern United States
Moisture associated with Jova was pulled into the Southwestern United States by upper-level southwesterly flow, reaching California on September 10. This led to increased humidity in coastal areas. Minimal rainfall was recorded that day in the mountains of southern California. While
Doppler weather radar
Weather radar, also called weather surveillance radar (WSR) and Doppler weather radar, is a type of radar used to locate precipitation (meteorology), precipitation, calculate its motion, and estimate its type (rain, snow, hail etc.). Modern wea ...
returns showed rain in the region, dryer low- to mid-level air
evaporated the rainfall before it reached the ground. Additional moisture reached far northwestern
Arizona and southern portions of the
Great Basin
The Great Basin is the largest area of contiguous endorheic basin, endorheic watersheds, those with no outlets, in North America. It spans nearly all of Nevada, much of Utah, and portions of California, Idaho, Oregon, Wyoming, and Baja California ...
in
Nevada. In the former, flash floods along Short Creek in
Colorado City forced the closures of all crossings and damaged the Hildale Street crossing with losses totaling $250,000. In Nevada, some roads were covered with debris when the
Meadow Valley Wash flooded. Waves of and
rip currents were forecast for south-facing beaches in
Los Angeles and
Ventura Counties as well as the
Channel Islands. This prompted a
high surf advisory for the region. The
San Francisco Bay Area farther north faced similar risks with rip currents and
breaking waves up to . Five people were rescued in
Ocean Beach, San Francisco
Ocean Beach is a beach on the west coast of San Francisco, California, United States, bordering the Pacific Ocean. It is adjacent to Golden Gate Park, the Richmond District, and the Sunset District. The Great Highway runs alongside the beach, ...
, after being pulled to sea by rip currents on September 10.
See also
*
Weather of 2023
The following is a list of weather events that occurred on Earth in the year 2023. The year saw a transition from La Niña to El Niño, with record high global average surface temperatures. The several weather events which had a significant imp ...
*
Tropical cyclones in 2023
The following is a list of tropical cyclones by year. Since the year 957, there have been at least 12,791 recorded tropical or subtropical cyclones in the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans, which are known as basins. Collectively, tropica ...
*
Timeline of the 2023 Pacific hurricane season
The 2023 Pacific hurricane season was a fairly active Pacific hurricane season. In the eastern Pacific basin (east of 140°W), 17 named storms formed; 10 of those became hurricanes, and 8 further intensified into major hurricanes ...
*
List of Category 5 Pacific hurricanes
**
Hurricane Linda (1997) – a category 5 hurricane that followed a similar path to Jova
**
Hurricane Marie (2014)
Hurricane Marie is tied as the seventh-most intense Pacific hurricane on record, attaining a barometric pressure of 918 mbar (hPa; ) in August 2014. The fourteenth named storm, ninth hurricane, and sixth major hurricane of the season, Marie ...
– a category 5 hurricane that also followed a similar path to Jova
Notes
References
External links
*The National Hurricane Center'
advisory archive on Hurricane Jova
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jova (2023)
2023 Pacific hurricane season
2023 in California
2023 natural disasters in the United States
September 2023 events in the United States
Category 5 Pacific hurricanes
Hurricanes in California
Hurricanes in Baja California
Hurricanes in Baja California Sur
Hurricanes in Sinaloa