Gil (2013)

A tropical depression formed from a tropical wave on 30 July 2013 about 890 nautical miles south-southwest of the southern tip of the Baja California peninsula. The system quickly strengthened to a tropical storm later that day and became a hurricane on 31 July. Gil moved generally west to west-southwest, crossing the 140°W meridian into the central Pacific basin on 6 August and degenerated into an open trough by 7–8 August.

Gil did not make any landfalls during its life. It remained well south of Mexico and the Hawaiian Islands and therefore did not require coastal watches or warnings.

The maximum sustained winds reached 75 knots (about 86 mph) and the lowest central pressure was 985 mb, making Gil a Category 1 hurricane at peak intensity on 1–2 August 2013.

Because Gil stayed over open water, there were no reports of storm surge impacts or measured coastal surge heights associated with the cyclone. Rainfall and surge impacts were not reported for populated locations since the storm remained far offshore.

There were no confirmed deaths or reports of damage tied to Gil. The storm’s small size and remote track limited any direct effects on land.

Notable aspects include the rapid early intensification from formation to hurricane strength within about 24 hours and that the storm’s genesis was poorly anticipated—forecasters only increased the development probability to high at the time of genesis. Official track forecasts for Gil were better than recent averages, while intensity forecasts tended to be too strong after peak because the storm weakened sooner than expected.