Jova — 2023

A tropical depression formed over the eastern North Pacific on 4 September 2023 from an African easterly wave that crossed Central America. The system strengthened to Tropical Storm Jova on 5 September and moved generally northwestward over open water. Jova underwent an impressive period of rapid intensification between 5 and 7 September, reached peak strength on 7 September, then steadily weakened as it continued northwest and then northward before dissipating well east of Hawaii in mid-September. Jova did not make landfall. It remained over the open eastern and central Pacific for its entire life, and no coastal watches or warnings were required. The hurricane’s maximum sustained winds peaked at 140 knots (approximately 161 mph) at 0000–0600 UTC 7 September, with an estimated minimum central pressure of 926 millibars. At peak strength Jova was equivalent to a Category 5 hurricane on the Saffir–Simpson scale. Because Jova stayed well offshore, there were no reports of storm surge or rainfall impacts at land stations tied to the hurricane. No ship or buoy reports of tropical-storm-force winds were received, and the report lists no specific surge heights or heavy-rainfall totals for named cities or counties. There were no reports of damage or casualties associated with Jova; the official report notes no direct fatalities. The regions closest to the storm remained unaffected because the cyclone stayed away from land. Noteworthy items include the unusually rapid intensification—Jova strengthened from a 30‑kt depression at 0000 UTC 5 September to 140 kt at 0000 UTC 7 September—and that the NHC’s intensity forecasts underpredicted that rapid strengthening and subsequent weakening. Track forecasts were generally better than recent averages, while some statistical guidance (for example LGEM and DSHP) captured the rapid intensity change more accurately than many dynamical models.