Marie (2008)

A tropical wave that moved off Africa in early September reached the eastern North Pacific and developed into Tropical Depression Fourteen-E at 0600 UTC on 1 October 2008, about 510 nautical miles southwest of the southern tip of Baja California, Mexico. The system became Tropical Storm Marie at 1200 UTC that day and moved generally west-northwestward and then westward. Marie strengthened rapidly on 3 October, becoming a hurricane by 1800 UTC, then weakened as it moved over cooler waters and into a more stable atmosphere. The storm degenerated to a remnant low on 7 October and its circulation lingered over the central Pacific before being absorbed into the Intertropical Convergence Zone on 19 October.

Marie never made landfall and remained well offshore during its entire lifetime; no tropical cyclone watches or warnings were issued for any land areas. After weakening from hurricane strength, the system became a tropical storm late on 4 October, a depression by 1200 UTC on 6 October, and a remnant low by 0000–0600 UTC on 7 October as it was located several hundred to more than 800 nautical miles west-southwest of Baja California.

The storm’s maximum sustained winds peaked at 70 kt (80 mph) with a minimum central pressure of 984 mb, making Marie a Category 1 hurricane at its strongest on 4 October. The best-track positions show the peak intensity centered near 17.7°N, 122.2°W on 4 October.

There were no reports of storm surge or significant rainfall impacts to land because Marie remained over open water. The only surface report of strong winds came from the ship Jo Spruce around 0600 UTC 5 October, which reported a sustained easterly wind of 35 kt and a pressure of 1009.0 mb. No coastal tide or rainfall measurements on land were associated with Marie in the report.

No deaths or damage were reported in association with Marie. Because the cyclone stayed over the ocean, regions along the Mexican Pacific coast and Baja California experienced no direct effects from the storm. Forecast performance was mixed: official track forecasts were better than many models at short range but were poorer than average at some longer ranges, while official intensity forecasts were generally better than long-term averages.