Cristobal’s historically early organization for a C-named storm was noteworthy in itself, but the storm’s noteworthiness didn’t end at its inception. From its unique formation to its extraordinary 2,000-mile-long track from the Gulf of Mexico to the Midwest, Cristobal gave weather historians plenty to remember.
Since the National Hurricane Center (NHC) started naming storms in 1950, never had a C-named system, or the third-named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season, arrived earlier in the year than Cristobal. With its classification as a tropical storm on June 2, the third named storm of 2020 arrived three days quicker than the system that previously held the record. Tropical Storm Colin had strengthened into a named system on June 5, 2016.
From its very beginning, meteorologists and hurricane experts noted the extreme rarity of Cristobal’s origination. Cristobal developed from the remnants of Tropical Storm Amanda. However, Amanda developed in the Pacific Ocean while Cristobal developed in the Atlantic Ocean, making for a rare crossover storm. After ravaging El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala in the final week of May, Amanda took an unusual track over Guatemala, where its remaining upper level survived and redeveloped over the warm waters in the Bay of Campeche into Tropical Storm Cristobal.
Cristobal’s development was associated with a large counter-clockwise wind pattern referred to as a gyre, AccuWeather Hurricane Expert Dan Kottlowski said. The Central American Gyre (CAG) is more common during the late summer and fall season.
Kottlowski added that the mixture of high water temperatures and particular wind patterns was also uncommon.
You don’t usually see this total connection in late May or early June. Typically, the upper-level pattern creates too much shear (changing winds with altitude) this early in the season,” he said. This setup does not happen but maybe once every five to 10 years and to get a storm to fully develop is even more unusual.
Despite never recording stronger maximum sustained winds than 60 mph, 14 mph less than what is needed to reach hurricane status, Cristobal’s origin and subsequent impacts, spanning from the Pacific Ocean to Canada, won’t be forgotten anytime soon.
2020 AccuWeather, Inc.