Kristy fizzles in Eastern Pacific after becoming powerful Category 5 hurricane last week
Large swells generated by the former Kristy will continue to affect portions of the west coast of Mexico's Baja California Peninsula on Sunday.
Hurricane Kristy continues its downward trajectory in strength this weekend
Kristy had reached Category 5 status earlier this week, but is rapidly losing strength and is expected to fall under hurricane status this weekend.
Kristy reached the top rung of the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale as a very powerful Category 5 hurricane on Thursday before rapidly weakening over the open waters of the Eastern Pacific, eventually fizzling out on Sunday morning.
Kristy was born from the remnants of former Tropical Storm Nadine, which reorganized into a new storm last Monday after crossing Mexico and reaching the Eastern Pacific Ocean. Since this was not Nadine's original circulation, the NHC assigned it the next name on that basin's naming list.
Nadine had made landfall near Belize City, Belize, last Saturday afternoon, packing sustained winds of 60 mph. After moving inland over Central America and Mexico, the storm weakened and dissipated the next day before its remnants emerged off the Pacific coast of southern Mexico.
(FOX Weather)
What's the forecast for Kristy?
Kristy fizzled out over the open Eastern Pacific waters on Sunday morning.
WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A TROPICAL DEPRESSION, TROPICAL STORM AND HURRICANE?
However, large swells generated by the former Kristy will continue to affect portions of the west coast of Mexico's Baja California Peninsula on Sunday.
"These swells are likely to cause life-threatening surf and rip current conditions," the NHC warned.
(FOX Weather)
Editor’s note: A push alert from the FOX Weather app noted that Kristy was the eighth Category 5 hurricane on record for October in the Eastern Pacific. Two of those hurricanes were found to not have reached Category 5 status until entering the Central or Western Pacific Basin, making Kristy only the sixth for the Eastern Pacific Basin in October.