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Map: Tracking Hurricane Kristy – The New York Times

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Map: Tracking Hurricane Kristy – The New York Times

Kristy is a Category 3 hurricane in the North Pacific, the National Hurricane Center said Wednesday morning in Mexico City.

Kristy emerged from the remnants of Nadine, an Atlantic tropical storm that hit Belize over the weekend and moved across Central America into the Pacific.

The hurricane had sustained winds of 125 miles per hour.

All times on the map are based on Mexican Central Time. From The New York Times

What does the storm look like from above?

Satellite images can help determine the strength, size and cohesion of a storm. The stronger a storm becomes, the more likely an eye is to form in the middle. If the eye looks symmetrical, it often means the storm isn't hitting anything that could weaken it.

Satellite image of the storm.

Kristy is the 11th named storm to form in the Eastern Pacific in 2024.

Storms that form in the Atlantic or Pacific generally move westward, meaning Atlantic storms pose a greater threat to North America. When a storm forms near land in the Pacific, it can bring devastating winds and rain before making its way out to sea.

However, an air mass can sometimes block a storm and push it north or northeast toward the Baja California Peninsula and the west coast of Mexico. Occasionally, a storm can move further north, as Hurricane Hilary did last year, bringing damaging winds and heavy rain to Southern California.

The Eastern Pacific hurricane season began on May 15, two weeks before the start of the Atlantic season. Both seasons run until November 30th.

Another factor for storm watchers this year is the likely development of La Niña, the intermittent, large-scale atmospheric pattern that can affect weather worldwide.

In the Pacific Ocean, La Niña increases wind shear, which is a change in wind speed and/or direction with height. These changes make it more difficult for storms to form. (In the Atlantic, La Niña has the opposite effect, reducing wind shear and increasing the chance of storm formation.)

Sources and notes

Tracking map Tracking data comes from the National Hurricane Center. The map shows probabilities of at least 5 percent. The forecast extends for up to five days, with this period beginning up to three hours before the reported time of the storm reaching its final location. No wind speed probability data is available north of 60.25 degrees north latitude.

Wind arrival table The arrival times are generated from a New York Times analysis of National Hurricane Center data. Geographical locations use data from the US Census Bureau and Natural Earth. Time zones are based on Google. The table shows the predicted arrival times of sustained damaging winds of 58 miles per hour or greater for select cities where such winds are likely to reach. When damaging winds reach a location, the chance of them arriving before the “earliest” time is at most 10 percent and the chance of them arriving before the “most likely” time is 50 percent.

Radar map The radar images come from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration through Iowa State University. These mosaics are created by combining individual radar stations that make up the NEXRAD network.

Storm surge map Storm surge data comes from the National Hurricane Center. Forecasts include only the Gulf and Atlantic coasts of the United States, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The actual areas that could be flooded may differ from those shown on this map. This map takes into account tides, but not waves or flooding caused by rain. The map also includes tidal areas that are regularly flooded during a typical high tide.

Satellite map Images come from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Japanese Meteorological Agency through the Cooperative Institute for Research in the Atmosphere.

precipitation Map Data for multi-day forecasts or observed precipitation amounts come from the National Weather Service. The 1-day forecast comes from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

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