Kenneth (2017)

A low pressure area formed about 530 nautical miles southwest of Manzanillo, Mexico on 17 August 2017 and became a tropical depression by 0600 UTC 18 August about 585 nmi south-southwest of the southern tip of Baja California. The system strengthened to Tropical Storm Kenneth on 19 August and moved generally westward and then northwestward over the open eastern North Pacific. Kenneth rapidly intensified beginning 1800 UTC 19 August, became a hurricane by 1200 UTC 20 August, reached peak strength on 21 August, then weakened as it moved over cooler water and under increased wind shear. It became a post-tropical low on 23 August and the remnant low dissipated by 28 August about 1,095 nmi west of Punta Eugenia, Mexico.

Kenneth did not make landfall. It remained well offshore of Mexico and the U.S. west coast throughout its life, and no coastal watches or warnings were issued.

The storm’s maximum sustained winds peaked at 115 knots (132 mph) and the best-estimate minimum central pressure was 951 millibars at 0600–1200 UTC 21 August 2017, corresponding to a Category 4 hurricane on the Saffir–Simpson scale.

Because Kenneth stayed far from land, there were no storm surge observations associated with the hurricane and no reports of tropical-storm-force winds at land or on ships. Rainfall and surge impacts were not reported for cities or counties since the cyclone did not approach the coast.

There were no reported deaths or damage related to Kenneth. The primary impacts were confined to the open ocean; no casualties or property losses were recorded.

Noteworthy aspects include Kenneth’s relatively rapid 36-hour intensification into a major hurricane and its rapid subsequent weakening as it encountered cooler waters and increasing shear. The storm’s formation was not well forecast in timing: genesis probabilities were sometimes lowered or removed in forecasts before the system redeveloped, and official intensity forecasts had larger-than-normal errors during Kenneth’s fast intensification and weakening phases. Official track forecasts performed better than recent averages and were notably accurate at longer lead times.