Jose — 2023

Jose formed from a tropical wave that moved off the west coast of Africa on 19 August and became a compact tropical cyclone in the central subtropical Atlantic early on 29 August 2023. It moved generally northward from formation through dissipation, developing a very small, well-defined inner core on 31 August–1 September before weakening and being absorbed by the larger, post-tropical cyclone Franklin by 2 September. The storm existed as a tropical system from 29 August to 1 September. José did not make any landfalls. It remained over the open central Atlantic during its lifetime and there were no coastal watches or warnings issued. The peak intensity is estimated at 55 knots (about 63 mph) with a minimum central pressure of 996 mb, reached at 0000 and 0600 UTC 1 September. Jose was a small tropical storm; tropical-storm-force winds extended only about 30 nautical miles from the center and the radius of maximum winds was very small (around 5 nmi). Because Jose stayed over the open ocean, there were no reported storm surge measurements or rainfall impacts on land in the NHC report. There were also no ship or land reports of tropical-storm-force winds associated with Jose. There were no reported deaths or damage tied to Jose. The regions most affected were limited to the central Atlantic basin where the cyclone remained over water. Noteworthy items: Jose’s very small size made it harder to detect and forecast; genesis was poorly predicted and intensity forecasts had unusually large errors because the storm unexpectedly strengthened in a compact core. Some remote-sensing instruments (SAR and ultra-high-resolution ASCAT) suggested higher peak winds than standard estimates, introducing extra uncertainty in the exact peak intensity.