Sandra (2021)

A low-pressure disturbance south of eastern Mexico organized into a tropical depression on 7 November 2021 about 590 nautical miles south-southwest of Cabo San Lucas. It became Tropical Storm Sandra later that day and moved generally west-northwestward and then westward over open water. The storm remained short-lived: it weakened back to a depression on 8 November, became a remnant low by 9 November about 850 nautical miles southwest of Cabo San Lucas, and opened into a trough on 10 November.

Sandra did not make any landfalls and produced no watches or warnings for coastal areas. The cyclone remained well offshore of mainland Mexico throughout its life and did not affect land.

The storm’s peak intensity was 35 knots (40 mph) with an analyzed minimum central pressure of 1005 millibars, corresponding to a minimal tropical-storm-strength system at its strongest.

There were no reports of storm surge or rainfall impacts from Sandra, and no ship reports of tropical-storm-force winds were received. Because the system remained over open water and weak, no specific surge heights or rainfall totals were recorded for cities or counties.

No damage or casualties were reported in association with Sandra. The regions closest to the storm—southwestern Mexico—experienced no reported effects from this system.

Forecasts anticipated Sandra’s development well in advance: the National Hurricane Center mentioned the potential genesis in outlooks up to 132 hours before formation, and its official forecasts accurately predicted the storm would be short-lived and decay into a remnant low. Overall track and intensity forecast errors were comparable to or better than recent averages for the limited number of cases.