Josephine (2020)

A tropical depression formed from a tropical wave on 11 August 2020 about 800 nautical miles west‑southwest of the Cabo Verde Islands. The system moved generally west to west‑northwest across the central Atlantic and was a named storm from 13–15 August, then weakened to a depression on 16 August and dissipated later that day about 150 nmi northeast of San Juan, Puerto Rico. Josephine remained well east of the Caribbean islands for its entire life.

Josephine did not make any landfalls. It stayed over open ocean and no coastal watches or warnings were issued.

The storm’s peak intensity was 40 knots (46 mph) with an estimated minimum central pressure of 1004 mb, reached briefly on 13 August and again on 14–15 August. That peak corresponds to a moderate tropical storm (below hurricane strength).

Because Josephine remained over the central Atlantic, there were no reports of storm surge impacts on land. Observations from a NOAA buoy (41044), about 330 nmi northeast of Saint Martin, recorded a peak 1‑minute wind of 31 kt (36 mph) with a gust to 36 kt when the storm passed roughly 175 nmi southwest of the buoy. There were no reported rainfall totals on land associated with Josephine in the report.

There were no confirmed deaths or damage attributed to Josephine. The storm caused no reported casualties and did not produce notable destruction.

Noteworthy items: Josephine became the earliest tenth‑named storm on record in the Atlantic basin (earlier than the previous record set in 2005). Forecast track and intensity errors for this cyclone were generally lower than the recent 5‑year means; however, intensity forecasts had a high bias at longer lead times because Josephine struggled to maintain organization due to dry air and wind shear.