Tropical Storm Hilda Discussion Number 15
NWS National Hurricane Center Miami FL EP082021
200 AM PDT Tue Aug 03 2021
Overnight, Hilda's deep convection has continued to pulse, but
primarily in the southern semicircle of the circulation as 15-20 kt
of northeasterly vertical wind shear continues displacing this
activity downshear. A helpful ASCAT-B pass at 0602 UTC indicated the
center of Hilda was located on the northern edge of the convective
cirrus canopy, with the instrument also indicating a peak wind
retrieval of 53 kt. The most recent microwave imagery concurs with
this assessment and also indicates the earlier eyewall is no longer
well-defined. While the 0600 UTC subjective Dvorak estimates from
TAFB and SAB were both T4.0/65 kt, the most recent objective Dvorak
estimate from UW-CIMSS was down to T3.5/55 kt. Given the devolving
convective structure seen on microwave, the initial intensity has
been reduced to 60 kt, leaning towards the lower intensity
estimates.
Hilda continues to move slowly northwestward, at 315/7 kt as it
remains positioned southwest of a mid-level ridge centered over
southern California. Over the next several days, this ridge is
forecast to build westward over the East Pacific as a short-wave
trough offshore of California lifts out. This synoptic pattern
should allow Hilda to gradually bend to the west-northwest and
increase its forward motion slightly over the forecast period. Hilda
will also become increasingly influenced by low-level ridging,
steering the cyclone more westward as it becomes a weak and shallow
cyclone. The latest NHC track forecast is just a touch south of the
previous forecast track, blending the reliable TVCE and HCCA
consensus aids.
Northeasterly vertical wind shear, related to the remaining
convective outflow of Ignacio, is expected to keep Hilda on a
weakening trend over the next day or so. Even though this shear is
expected to subside thereafter, Hilda will also be crossing the 25
degree Celsius sea-surface temperature isotherm in 24 hours. Thus,
continued weakening is expected. The latest NHC intensity forecast
follows the HCCA consensus aid closely, showing weakening throughout
the forecast period. The tropical cyclone is now expected to
degenerate to a remnant low by Friday, when model guidance suggests
organized deep-convection will cease. The remnant low is then
expected to open up into a trough by the weekend, well east of
Hawaii.
FORECAST POSITIONS AND MAX WINDS
INIT 03/0900Z 17.0N 123.9W 60 KT 70 MPH
12H 03/1800Z 17.6N 124.6W 50 KT 60 MPH
24H 04/0600Z 18.6N 125.5W 45 KT 50 MPH
36H 04/1800Z 19.4N 126.7W 40 KT 45 MPH
48H 05/0600Z 20.2N 128.1W 35 KT 40 MPH
60H 05/1800Z 21.0N 129.9W 30 KT 35 MPH
72H 06/0600Z 21.7N 132.0W 25 KT 30 MPH...POST-TROP/REMNT LOW
96H 07/0600Z 22.4N 136.2W 25 KT 30 MPH...POST-TROP/REMNT LOW
120H 08/0600Z...DISSIPATED
$$
Forecaster Papin/Brown
Visit the Caribbean-Central America Weather Thread where you can find at first post web cams,radars
and observations from Caribbean basin members
Click Here