Information on Pacific to Atlantic crossovers

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USTropics
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Information on Pacific to Atlantic crossovers

#1 Postby USTropics » Thu May 26, 2022 6:55 pm

Doing some quick research on Pacific to Atlantic crossovers, not a very high sample size here. I have eight recorded instances, so let me know of any that I may have missed. Some interesting facts:

(1) All eight occurred in either the months of June or October (when transitioned to Atlantic), typical months for Central American Gyre (CAG) development
(2) While it’s unreliable to determine if development occurred during an active CAG event pre-1965 satellite era, those that occurred during the satellite era all involved African Easterly Waves (AEW) and interaction with a CAG
(3) From 1840 – 2012, there are 5 recorded instances of Pacific to Atlantic crossovers (1 every 14.4 years); From 2013-2022, there have been 3 recorded Pacific to Atlantic crossovers (2013, 2014, and 2020)
(4) Most development included 3 components: an AEW, a CAG, and the passing of a Kelvin wave

Here are the specific cases I could find for Pacific to Atlantic crossover systems in the past 180 years:


Unnamed --> Hurricane Seven (1842)
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Pacific Information:
The first documented crossover is from 1842. While the Pacific unnamed system isn’t well documented (HURDAT data begins in 1850), a 1922 publication by Stephen Visher, “Tropical Cyclones in The Northeast Pacific, Between Hawaii and Mexico”, listed the crossover and approximate track (highlighted in green below). It’s known to have crossed the Isthmus of Tehuantepec and entered the Bay of Campeche on approximately October 1st or 2nd.

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Atlantic Information:
As mentioned above, HURDAT data does not exist before 1850 but this system was well documented in the Atlantic basin. Most of the data is presented from Michael Chenoweth’s “A Reassessment of Historical Atlantic Basin Tropical Cyclone Activity, 1700–1855”, and included 50 references from newspapers:

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It was first observed on October 3rd, when the steamship Merchant began experiencing extreme gale force winds on its journey from New Orleans to Texas and was lost on October 4th (8 of the passengers were unaccounted for after the storm). The brig Cuba and its 14 passengers were also lost on October 5th off the coast of Florida near Key West. Indications that the storm was potent (and a major hurricane on the current Saffir Simpson scale) include (1) the first documented significant loss of bird life when flocks were caught in the middle of the circulation and perished and (2) inundated streets in Galveston, Texas from surge events as well as building collapses from wind despite the system remaining offshore by several hundred miles (approximately):

A storm brushed by Galveston, flooding the town. Losses were limited to a few houses and the new Trinity Episcopal church. The main thoroughfares were inundated by the storm surge (Block). The schooner Dream foundered between Galveston and New Orleans. All aboard the ill-fated vessel were rescued. – David Roth’s “Texas Hurricane History”.

The storm would go on to batter Florida over the course of several days (October 4th – 6th), moving ashore just north of Cedar Key. The minimum pressure at landfall was estimated to be 955 mb.


Unnamed --> Hurricane Four (1902)
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Pacific Information:
An unnamed tropical depression initially developed in the Pacific Ocean and was documented off the coast of Tapachula, Chiapas on October 3rd, 1902. Neumann et al. (1999) listed the formation of the system in the Gulf of Tehuantepec. The depression moved slowly NNW and made landfall in southeastern Oaxaca on October 4th as a tropical depression.


Atlantic Information:
The system crossed over to the Gulf of Mexico on October 5th and intensified into a tropical storm later that same day. The system reached hurricane strength on October 6th and was later (on reanalysis) classified as Hurricane Four. The storm peaked as a category 2 hurricane with winds of 105 mph and a minimum pressure of 970 mb on October 7th. The system weakened into a tropical storm on October 10th before making landfall near Pensacola, Florida, with winds of 60 mph (95 km/h) and became extratropical on October 11th.



Unnamed --> Hurricane Six (1923)
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Pacific Information:
A tropical wave that was noted by ship reports in the Atlantic Ocean crossed into the eastern Pacific basin on October 12th, 1923. At 12 UTC, HURDAT listed this as a 35 kt tropical storm at 11.9N and 93.8W. The system weakened into a tropical depression on October 13th while crossing Mexico and reemerging into the Gulf of Mexico on October 14th.

Atlantic Information:
The system soon strengthened to hurricane intensity on October 15th, peaking at 80 mph winds at 00z on October 16th. The system made landfall as a minimal hurricane near Cocodrie, Louisiana and subsequently dissipitated over Missouri on October 17th.



Unnamed --> 1949 Texas hurricane (1949)
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Pacific Information:
A tropical depression was introduced on September 27th, 1949 just off the coast of Guatemala in the Pacific basin. It made landfall the next day and crossed over southeastern Mexico before emerging into the Gulf of Mexico on October 1st near Ciudad del Carmen.

Atlantic Information:
On October 2nd, the system was upgraded to hurricane strength and reached peak intensity on October 3rd with winds of 110 mph (peak category 2). The system, later named the Texas Hurricane of 1949, would make landfall near Freeport, Texas with a central pressure of 965 mb on October 4th.





Hurricane Cosme --> Tropical Storm Allison (1989)
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Pacific Information:
This was the first year of reliable satellite data that featured a Pacific to Atlantic crossover system. We can definitively pinpoint the origins of this system to an African Easterly Wave (AEW) and interaction with a June Central American Gyre (CAG) development. Hurricane Cosme developed from an unusually large wave envelope, with multiple vorticities embedded in a larger circulation. The system attained tropical depression status on June 18th, 1989. The system displayed improved outflow and banding on June 19th and was upgraded to Tropical Storm Cosme at 00z on June 20th. Weak steering flow and relaxed shear allowed the system to be upgraded to Hurricane Cosme on June 21st, before a passing trough accelerated Cosme to the north. Hurricane Cosme made landfall on the Mexican coast, just east of Acapulco, with maximum sustained winds of 85 mph and a minimum pressure of 979 millibars.

Atlantic Information:
The remnants of Cosme drifted over the WGOM waters on June 24th, interacting with a secondary tropical wave. The system was upgraded to a tropical storm on June 26th as it slowly drifted northward. The system reached peak intensity of 50 mph with a minimum pressure of 999 mb. The slow-moving nature of the system resulted in copious rainfall in Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi. In total, 11 people were killed with an estimated damage of $0.5 billion.


Hurricane Barbara --> Tropical Storm Andrea (2013)
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Pacific Information:
The origins of Hurricane Barbara can be traced back to an AEW that departed the west coast of Africa on May 16th. The AEW eventually crossed Central America and into the Pacific basin on May 24th. A noted CAG was also present at the time, and on May 25th an area of low pressure developed just southwest of Nicaragua. While the system remained rather large and poorly consolidated, a passing Kelvin wave helped invigorate convection around the low pressure, and a tropical depression formed on May 28th SSE of Puerto Angel, Oaxaca. Due to low shear and warm water temperatures, Barbara rapidly intensified into a hurricane on May 29th, exhibiting a CDO with eyewall features on radar. The system then accelerated northward, and Hurricane Barbara officially made landfall on the coast of Tonala, Chiapas at 1950 UTC with maximum sustained winds of 80 mph and a central pressure of 983 mb. It was downgraded to a tropical depression before emerging into the Bay of Campeche.

Atlantic Information:
With the remnants of Hurricane Barbara embedded in the CAG, an inverted trough developed on the northern edge (over the BOC) on June 2nd. A secondary AEW triggered the formation of an area of low pressure on June 3rd, however the relative location of an upper trough created a hostile environment initially. While the system slowly moved towards the NE, the environment became less hostile and the NHC initiated advisories for Tropical Storm Andrea on June 5th. Due to strong west to east flow across most of the GOM, deep convection remained offset to the east of Andrea, which significantly hindered intensification. Tropical Storm Andrea would reach peak intensity of 65 mph and a minimum pressure of 992 mb. As dry air became increasingly entrained into the circulation, Tropical Storm Andrea weakened slightly before making landfall in Dixie County, Florida on June 6th at 2200 UTC. As a result of the displaced nature of the convection, south Florida exhibited the highest rainfall total and subsequent flash flooding. Turbulent flow aloft also spawned 10 tornados. While the system became extratropical 24 hours after landfall, the remnants would drape much of the east coast and northeast states, also creating flash flood issues.




Tropical Storm Trudy --> Tropical Storm Hanna (2014)
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Pacific Information:
On October 8th, a low amplitude AEW fractured with the northern edge becoming embedded in a CAG. Convection remained disorganized as an area of low pressure became more concentrated just off the coast of Costa Rica. While conditions remained marginal for development, convergence increased due to a passing Kelvin wave, with a noted increase in convection on October 15th. Satellite presentation drastically improved on October 17th, and a tropical depression was introduced by the NHC later that day. After a low-level circulation became established, the system quickly intensified to Tropical Storm Hanna on October 18th, reaching max intensity of 65 mph and a central pressure of 998 mb as the system made landfall just southeast of Marquelia, before the system’s circulation became disrupted over the mountainous terrain of Central America and Mexico.

Atlantic Information:
While the low-level circulation of Tropical Storm Trudy no longer existed, the mid-to-upper-level circulation emerged into the BOC on October 19th, redeveloping a new surface circulation over the course of the next 24-48 hours. The system reached tropical depression strength on October 22nd, but soon degenerated into a remnant low the next day due to increasing shear and dry air intrusion from a nearby frontal boundary. As the frontal system began to weaken, the remnants of the depression became better defined as it moved southeast under the influence of a high pressure are to the north. As the high pressure began to break down and the circulation moved westward, a scatterometer pass indicated a closed circulation and the NHC once again upgrade the system the Tropical Storm Hanna at 0600 UTC. Nearly 10 hours later, Hanna made landfall over northeastern Nicaragua and weakened back into a depression before dissipating over Guatemala on October 29th. A total of 28 fatalities occurred in Nicaragua due to flash flooding and landslides.

Tropical Storm Amanda --> Tropical Storm Cristobal (2020)
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Pacific Information:
On May 24th, an AEW that had departed the coast of Africa on May 19th began to interact with a recent CAG development off the coast of El Salvador. Favorable conditions were further introduced by a passing Kelvin wave and the presence of a mid-to-upper-level low off the coast of Mexico. On May 30th, a well-defined low-level circulation formed, and a tropical depression subsequently was introduced by the NHC. On May 31st, the system further strengthened into Tropical Storm Amanda. The system would make landfall at 1000 UTC that same day near Las Lisa, Guatemala. The low-level circulation dissipated later that day at 1800 UTC, but not before creating torrential rainfall and numerous landslides. On June 1st, the remnants of Amanda crossed over the Yucatan Peninsula and emerged into the BOC.

Atlantic Information:
A tropical depression was introduced in the Atlantic basin at 2100 UTC on June 1st, and over the course of the next 3-4 days, the system would make a counterclockwise loop (in large part to being embedded within the larger CAG circulation). On June 2nd, the NHC upgraded the system to Tropical Storm Cristobal, and the system would make landfall the next day with maximum sustained winds of 60 mph and a central pressure of 994 mb. After it became buried southeast into Campeche, the system lost most of it’s convective activity and was subsequently downgraded to a tropical depression. Despite still being situation over land on June 5th, Cristobal intensified into a tropical storm as it slowly lifted northward back into the GOM. However, the time over land had broadened the circulation of Cristobal, and dry air intrusion as well as the interaction with an upper-level trough to the east displaced the deepest convection well to the east of the center of circulation. Tropical Storm Cristobal made landfall in southeast Louisiana on June 7th, with maximum sustained winds of 50 mph and a minimum pressure of 992 mb. The system would be shunted westward by a blocking high-pressure are to the northeast, before accelerating northward over Arkansas and Missouri. Cristobal’s remnants would eventually mover over Wisconsin, setting an all-time record for lowest pressure in Green Bay for the month of June (986 mb).
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Re: 2022 Global Model Runs Discussion (Out thru day 16)

#2 Postby AlphaToOmega » Thu May 26, 2022 7:08 pm

USTropics wrote:Doing some quick research on Pacific to Atlantic crossovers, not a very high sample size here. I have eight recorded instances, so let me know of any that I may have missed. Some interesting facts:

<snipped>



It seems as if aside from Hanna (2014), most crossover EPac-to-NAtl storms make landfall in the Gulf of Mexico. While we do have an African Easterly Wave, Central American Gyre, and CCKW present, we need to see where steering would take this potential system.
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Re: Information on Pacific to Atlantic crossovers

#3 Postby 404UserNotFound » Fri May 27, 2022 11:37 am

USTropics wrote:Doing some quick research on Pacific to Atlantic crossovers, not a very high sample size here. I have eight recorded instances, so let me know of any that I may have missed. Some interesting facts:

...


You missed Hermine 2010:
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Please note: Never take any statements I make about forecasts at face value, as I am nowhere near professional at that.

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Re: Information on Pacific to Atlantic crossovers

#4 Postby Yellow Evan » Fri May 27, 2022 2:07 pm

Barbara and Andrea probably shouldn’t be on the list because Barbara became re-embedded in the gyre before spawning Andrea. Alma-Arthur 2008 have more in common.
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