Hurricane Jose at peak intensity nearing the
Leeward Islands on September 8
Hurricane Jose was a powerful, erratic, and long-lived
tropical cyclone, the longest-lived since
Hurricane Nadine in
2012. Jose was the tenth
named storm, fifth hurricane, and third
major hurricane of the
2017 Atlantic hurricane season. Jose developed into a tropical storm on September 5 from a
tropical wave that left the west coast of
Africa nearly a week prior. A period of
rapid intensification ensued on September 6, when Jose reached hurricane intensity. On September 8, it reached its peak intensity as a high-end Category 4 with 1-minute sustained winds of 155 mph. However, due to
wind shear, it weakened over the next few days as it completed an anti-cyclonic loop north of
Hispaniola. Despite weakening to a tropical storm on September 14, Jose managed to regain hurricane intensity the next day as it began to curve northward. Never strengthening above Category 1 status for the remainder of its lifespan, Jose degraded to a tropical storm once again on September 20. Two days later, Jose degenerated into a
post-tropical cyclone as it drifted northeastwards off the coast of
New England. By September 26, Jose's remnants had dissipated off the
East Coast of the United States.
Initially projected to impact
the Antilles already affected by
Hurricane Irma, Jose triggered evacuations in catastrophically damaged
Barbuda, as well as in
Saint Martin. Eventually, as Jose changed its path, its inner core and thus the strongest winds stayed offshore. Nonetheless, Jose still brought tropical storm-force winds to those islands. Later on, Jose brought heavy rain, swells, and rough surf to the East Coast of the United States, causing
beach erosion and some flooding. A woman died after she was caught in a rip current in
Asbury Park. (
Full article...)