Hurricane season officially began June 1, and the 2020 season is already breaking records. According to the weather experts at Accuweather, Tropical Storm Cristobal made weather history as the earliest tropical storm to form in the Atlantic. It hit southern Mexico on June 3, 2020 bringing with it heavy rainfall and flooding. Although some experts thought it could break up, it continued its path reaching Florida and Louisiana. (1)
Chance Hurricane Will Die Down
“There is a small chance the system will break up over southern Mexico late this week, but the more likely scenario is for the storm to survive, move back out over the warm waters of the central Gulf of Mexico, reorganize, strengthen and turn northward toward the U.S. from Friday night to Sunday night,” Accuweather’s Dan Kottlowski said. (1)
Cristobal regained its Tropical Storm status and hit Central America with heavy rainfall, causing flooding in the streets from the state of Tabasco to the Yucatan Peninsula. In this area, 20.61 inches of rain was recorded. (2)
Rated A “1” On Hurricane Scale
“Cristobal continued to pull in moisture from the East Pacific Ocean into northern areas of Central America, drenching the region with heavy, tropical rainfall even a week after Tropical Storm Amanda made landfall,” says Rob Miller, AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist. The damage caused by the storm rated Cristobal a “1” on AccuWeather’s RealImpact Scale™. (2)
Third Tropical Storm Of Hurricane Season
Cristobal is the third tropical system of the 2020 Atlantic hurricane season so far. The storm formed in the Bay of Campeche, and hit Mexico at about 8:30 a.m. near Atasta, Mexico. Winds at the time were reported at 60 mph. (2)
Cristobal Hits Louisiana
Although Cristobal was downgraded to a Tropical Depression, it regained power and was regraded as a Tropical Storm again. It made landfall on the Gulf Coast sustaining winds of 50 mph. The storm conditions hit the coastlines of Mississippi and Alabama, while sending heavy rain across the Florida Panhandle. (2)
Cristobal caused issues including tornadoes in Florida, coming dangerously close to Orlando. (2)
Cristobal Not A Hurricane
Despite fears that the storm might strengthen into a hurricane, it maintained its status as a Tropical Storm. Tropical storms have a rating system based on four stages: (3, 4)
- Disturbances
- Depressions
- Storms
- Hurricanes
In the case of Cristobal, the storm bounced between a depression and a storm, never quite reaching hurricane status.
“RealImpact” Hurricane Scale
While Accuweather did rate it a 1, their rating system is based on different criteria. “There’s been a long-standing understanding within the weather community and elsewhere that we need better, more effective ways to communicate hurricane risks to the public and to businesses so that they can make better decisions,” says Jonathan Porter, AccuWeather’s Vice President of Business Services and General Manager of Enterprise Solutions “At the end of the day, that’s what we’re here to do.” (2, 5)
Cristobal Hits Louisiana
Cristobal made landfall near Grand Isle, Louisiana bringing a five-foot surge in some areas as far as Mississippi. New Orleans experienced gusting winds and rainfall, leading to a voluntary evacuation for those living near levee systems. The areas with the heaviest rainfall spanned between Tallahassee and Jacksonville in Florida. (3)
Along the coast at southeast Louisiana and Mississippi, winds reached from 40 to 60 mph. The storm could continue to cause damage traveling north through Arkansas and as far as Missouri, Illinois, and the Great Lakes. If it continues to the west, it could break another record as the furthest westerly post-tropical system. (3)
