Ignacio (2009)

A tropical depression formed about 600 nautical miles southwest of the southern tip of Baja California on 24 August 2009. It became Tropical Storm Ignacio early on 25 August and moved generally northwestward over the eastern North Pacific. Ignacio was short-lived: it weakened as it moved over cooler water, became a remnant low on 27 August, and dissipated by 29 August.

Ignacio did not make any landfalls. It remained well offshore of Mexico and Baja California during its lifetime, and no watches or warnings were issued.

The storm’s maximum sustained winds reached 45 knots (about 52 mph) with a minimum central pressure of 999 mb at 1200 UTC 25 August. At peak intensity Ignacio was a moderate tropical storm (no hurricane strength).

There were no reported storm surge measurements or notable rainfall totals tied to Ignacio in the report, and no damage or casualties were reported. Because the cyclone stayed over open water, coastal flooding and heavy rainfall impacts were not documented.

Forecasts first identified the disturbance on 22 August, about 66 hours before formation; the system was upgraded to a high chance of development about 24 hours before genesis. Track forecast errors for this short-lived storm were generally larger than recent averages, while intensity forecast errors were smaller than the five-year means.