NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Olivia Weakening Rapidly

Similar to the quick demise of Norman, tropical storm Olivia was just barely a tropical cyclone by the morning of Thurs., Oct. 12. Forecasters noted that her thunderstorms were dissipating and growing smaller in size. With only one major thunderstorm cell remaining, she was downgraded to a tropical depression. Olivia is expected to weaken further as she encounters strong upper level winds and dry air. As she continues traveling eastward, her remnants may become part of a larger weather disturbance south of Mexico by Fri., Oct. 13.

At 8:00 a.m. PDT (1500 UTC) on Thurs., Oct. 12, tropical depression Olivia was located near 17.7 degrees north latitude and 121.1 degrees west longitude. Maximum sustained winds were near 25 knots (29 mph) with gusts to 35 knots (40 mph). Olivia was traveling east-southeast near 8 knots (9 mph) with an estimated central pressure of 1008 millibars

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Twin Tropical Storms Form in the Eastern Pacific

Hurricane season in the eastern Pacific Ocean marches on. The week of Oct. 9 saw the birth of two more tropical cyclones, Norman and Olivia. Both are headed east toward Mexico.


Click image to enlarge
This image was created from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) Geostationary Environmental Operational Satellite (GOES) on Oct. 10 at 6:45 a.m. PDT (1345 UTC).

Tropical Storm Olivia

Tropical Storm Olivia trails to the west-southwest of Tropical Storm Norman, as seen in this satellite image. Olivia was named on Oct. 10 as she became a tropical storm with maximum sustained winds of 40 knots (46 mph).

At 8:00 a.m. PDT (1500 UTC), Olivia's center was located near 14.6 north latitude and 127.5 west longitude. She's moving toward the north near 5 knots (6 mph). Her estimated minimum central pressure was 1000 millibars.

The NHC expects only a little more development or strengthening in Olivia because the winds from the south are forecast to shift from the southwest and increase after 24 hours, which will weaken the storm. Further, Olivia will be moving into cooler waters in the next 36-72 hours, so by Oct. 13, Olivia is expected to dissipate.

Rob Gutro
Goddard Space Flight Center
(from NHC Reports)