Kristy — 2024

Kristy formed from the remnants of Atlantic Tropical Storm Nadine that crossed southern Mexico into the eastern Pacific. A well-defined surface center developed by 1200 UTC 21 October about 200 nautical miles south of Acapulco, Mexico, and the system became a tropical depression then quickly strengthened into a tropical storm and hurricane. Kristy moved generally west-northwestward from 21–27 October 2024, reaching major hurricane strength on 23 October and then weakening to a remnant low by 29 October after moving well away from the Mexican coast. There were no landfalls associated with Kristy and no coastal watches or warnings were issued. The storm remained over the open eastern Pacific and did not make landfall on any Mexican state or other land areas during its lifetime. Kristy reached a peak intensity of 140 knots (160 mph) with an estimated minimum central pressure of 926 millibars at 1800 UTC 24 October. At peak it was classified as a Category 5 hurricane on the Saffir–Simpson scale, maintaining that peak intensity from 1800 UTC 24 October through 0000 UTC 25 October before gradually weakening. Because Kristy stayed over open water, there were no reports of storm surge or rainfall impacts for coastal cities or counties in the NHC report. No ship reports of tropical-storm-force winds were received, and no coastal tide or rainfall measurements tied to the storm were documented in the report. There were no reported deaths—direct or indirect—and no reports of damage associated with Kristy. The storm primarily affected oceanic areas and did not produce casualties or known destruction on land. Noteworthy items include that Kristy developed more rapidly and eastward of many expected genesis areas, so its formation was not forecast well in advance; the system was introduced into the 7-day Tropical Weather Outlook only four days before genesis and high 2-day genesis probabilities were issued about 18 hours before formation. NHC track forecasts performed better than recent averages, while intensity forecasts had larger errors at short lead times, likely because of Kristy’s rapid intensification.