Gil (2019)

A small disturbance near Central America developed into a broad low several hundred miles southwest of southern Mexico on July 31. The low moved west-northwest and became better organized on August 2–3; a tropical depression formed around 0600 UTC August 3 about 780 nautical miles southwest of the southern tip of the Baja California peninsula. The system moved generally westward, briefly became a tropical storm on August 3, weakened back to a depression on August 4, became a remnant low by 0000 UTC August 5, and dissipated by about 0600 UTC August 6. Its lifespan as a tropical cyclone was about 36 hours.

Gil did not make landfall. It remained well over the open eastern Pacific and no coastal watches or warnings were required.

The storm’s maximum sustained winds were 35 knots (40 mph) and its estimated minimum central pressure at peak was 1006 mb. At its peak intensity Gil was a minimal tropical storm.

There were no measured storm surge values associated with Gil because it stayed offshore, and no significant rainfall totals were reported in coastal towns or counties in the official record. Observations used to analyze the system came from satellites and the ASCAT scatterometer rather than coastal measurements.

No deaths or damage were reported in association with Gil. The storm produced no known impacts on land.

Gil’s development was difficult to forecast: NHC’s Tropical Weather Outlook underestimated genesis timing, and dynamical models generally showed the system struggling to develop because of unfavorable upper-level winds. Official track errors were slightly larger than recent averages (based on a very small sample), while official intensity errors were smaller than recent averages.