Joyce (2012)

A tropical cyclone formed from a tropical wave that moved off West Africa on 19 August 2012. A well-defined surface low formed late on 21 August, and the system became a tropical depression at 0600 UTC 22 August about 600 nautical miles west‑southwest of the Cape Verde Islands. Steered west‑northwest by a subtropical ridge, it slowly organized and reached tropical storm strength around 1200 UTC 23 August while about 1,050 nmi west of the Cape Verde Islands. Dry air and increasing wind shear soon disrupted the storm, it weakened to a depression around 0000–0600 UTC 24 August, became a remnant low about 1200 UTC 24 August, and dissipated by 24–27 August southeast of Bermuda.

Joyce did not make any landfalls. The entire life cycle of the system occurred over the open eastern and central North Atlantic and no coastal watches or warnings were required.

The maximum sustained winds were estimated at 35 knots (40 mph) at 1200 and 1800 UTC 23 August, with a minimum central pressure near 1006 mb at the time of peak intensity. At its peak Joyce was a minimal tropical storm (below hurricane strength).

There were no observations of storm surge or reports of rainfall impacts on land associated with Joyce, since the cyclone remained well offshore and did not affect inhabited areas.

No deaths or damage were reported. The storm’s impacts were limited to the open ocean, and no ships, buoys, or land stations reported tropical‑storm‑force winds.

Noteworthy aspects include the relatively accurate early prediction of Joyce’s genesis by NHC’s outlooks (the system was flagged as having a high chance of formation about 18 hours before genesis), and the difficulty forecasting its quick weakening — most official forecasts expected a stronger storm that would persist longer than it did, illustrating limits in intensity forecasting for short‑lived systems.