August 28, 2019 - Tropical Storm Ivo

Tropical Depression 10E formed in the Eastern Pacific Ocean on August 21, 2019 and quickly strengthened to tropical storm strength, earning the name Tropical Storm Ivo a few hours later. According to the National Hurricane Center (NHC), at 1500 UTC (11:00 a.m. EDT) on August 21 the newly-formed depression was located near latitude 15.4 degrees north and longitude 107.3 west, or about 545 miles (875 km) south-southeast of the southern tip of Baja California.

Tropical Storm Ivo reached peak strength the afternoon of August 22 as it moved north-northwestward roughly paralleling the Baja California peninsula. At 2100 UTC (5:00 p.m. EDT) maximum sustained winds reached 65 mph (102 km/h). Ivo was moving north-northwest at 9 mph (15 km/h) and was located about 495 mi (800 km) southwest of the southern tip of Baja California.

Ivo began to weaken on August 23 and on August 25 at 2100 UTC (5:00 p.m. EDT) the NHC issued its last advisory on the system. Although not a strong storm, Tropical Storm Ivo and the remnants brought heavy rains and flooding to parts of Mexico on August 25-26. According to Mexico Daily News, the storm “left two dead and communities across the country ravaged by floods, sinkholes, hailstorms and damaged infrastructure”. In addition, it was reported that the affected municipalities of Gusave, Elota, Mocorita, El Rosaria and Mazatlán were under a state of emergency.

The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on board NASA’s Aqua satellite acquired a true-color image of Tropical Storm Ivo on August 25. Bands of thunderstorms can be seen affecting the peninsula of Baja California.

Image Facts
Satellite: Aqua
Date Acquired: 8/25/2019
Resolutions: 1km (2.2 MB), 500m (6.3 MB), 250m (5 MB)
Bands Used: 1,4,3
Image Credit: MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC