Josephine (2008)

A tropical depression formed from a strong tropical wave about 275 nautical miles south-southeast of Sal in the Cape Verde Islands at 0000 UTC on 2 September 2008. The system strengthened to Tropical Storm Josephine six hours later and moved generally west to west‑northwest under a ridge to its north. Josephine reached its peak on 3 September, then encountered strong upper‑level wind shear associated with a trough near Hurricane Ike and began weakening. Convection waned and the system became a remnant low by 0600 UTC 6 September; the low drifted westward and dissipated early on 10 September about 450 n mi east of Guadeloupe.

Josephine did not make any landfalls during its lifetime. It remained over open waters from formation through dissipation and never approached close enough to land to produce a coastal strike.

The storm’s maximum sustained winds peaked at 55 knots (about 63 mph) with a minimum central pressure of 994 mb on 3 September. At peak intensity Josephine was a moderate tropical storm (below hurricane strength).

No measured storm surge values are reported for Josephine, and no significant rainfall totals affecting land are identified in the available observations. The only ship report of tropical‑storm‑force winds was from the PFC William B. Baugh, which reported 35 kt at 1800 UTC 3 September; most observations of the cyclone come from satellites and remote sensors.

There were no reports of damage or fatalities associated with Josephine. The cyclone’s impacts on populated areas were negligible because it remained over the open eastern Atlantic.

Noteworthy aspects include that Josephine developed rapidly from an African wave and was well monitored by satellite and scatterometer data, but strong shear from the trough near Hurricane Ike caused it to weaken and dissipate sooner than many forecasts anticipated. Official track errors beyond 12 hours were larger than recent averages for this storm, while intensity forecasts were generally lower than average and had a high bias because the system weakened earlier than expected.