Tropical Storm Julio was a

tropical storm A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system with a low-pressure area, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depending on its lo ...

that made

landfall Landfall is the event of a storm moving over land after being over water. More broadly, and in relation to human travel, it refers to 'the first land that is reached or seen at the end of a journey across the sea or through the air, or the fact ...

on the southern tip of

Baja California Sur Baja California Sur, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California Sur, is a state in Mexico. It is the 31st and last state to be admitted, in 1974. It is also the second least populated Mexican state and the ninth-largest state by ...

in August 2008. The eleventh named storm of the

2008 Pacific hurricane season The 2008 Pacific hurricane season was a near-average Pacific hurricane season which featured seventeen Tropical storm naming, named storms, though most were rather weak and short-lived. Only seven storms became hurricanes, of which two intensified ...

, it developed from a

tropical wave A tropical wave (also called easterly wave, tropical easterly wave, and African easterly wave), in and around the Atlantic Ocean, is a type of atmospheric trough, an elongated area of relatively low air pressure, oriented north to south, which ...

on August 23 off the coast of Mexico. It moved parallel to the coast, reaching peak winds of 50 mph (85 km/h) before moving ashore and weakening. On August 26 it dissipated in the

Gulf of California The Gulf of California (), also known as the Sea of Cortés (''Mar de Cortés'') or Sea of Cortez, or less commonly as the Vermilion Sea (''Mar Vermejo''), is a marginal sea of the Pacific Ocean that separates the Baja California peninsula from ...

. Julio was the third tropical cyclone to make landfall in the Eastern Pacific

tropical cyclone basin Traditionally, areas of tropical cyclone formation are divided into seven basins. These include the North Atlantic Ocean, the eastern and western parts of the North Pacific Ocean, the Southwest Pacific, the Southwest and Southeast Indian Oceans, ...

during the season, after Tropical Storm Alma, which struck

Nicaragua Nicaragua, officially the Republic of Nicaragua, is the geographically largest Sovereign state, country in Central America, comprising . With a population of 7,142,529 as of 2024, it is the third-most populous country in Central America aft ...

in May, and Tropical Depression Five-E, which moved ashore along southwestern Mexico in July. The storm brought locally heavy rainfall to southern Baja California, killing one person and leaving several towns isolated. Moisture from Julio reached

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

, producing thunderstorms, including one which damaged ten small planes in Chandler.

Meteorological history

On August 20, a

became discernible about 800 miles (1300 km) off the coast of

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

, which in the next day developed a large area of

convection Convection is single or Multiphase flow, multiphase fluid flow that occurs Spontaneous process, spontaneously through the combined effects of material property heterogeneity and body forces on a fluid, most commonly density and gravity (see buoy ...

, or thunderstorms. Initially, conditions were unfavorable for

development Development or developing may refer to: Arts *Development (music), the process by which thematic material is reshaped * Photographic development *Filmmaking, development phase, including finance and budgeting * Development hell, when a proje ...

, due to strong upper-level

wind shear Wind shear (; also written windshear), sometimes referred to as wind gradient, is a difference in wind speed and/or direction over a relatively short distance in the atmosphere. Atmospheric wind shear is normally described as either vertical ...

. Tracking northwestward parallel to the Mexican coast, the system became better organized on August 22, though later that day its structure deteriorated. On August 23, a strong area of convection developed and persisted near a circulation center, despite strong wind shear. With banding features becoming more prominent, the

National Hurricane Center The National Hurricane Center (NHC) is the division of the United States' NOAA/National Weather Service responsible for tracking and predicting tropical weather systems between the IERS Reference Meridian, Prime Meridian and the 140th meridian ...

(NHC) classified the system as Tropical Depression Eleven-E about 345 miles (555 km) south-southeast of the southern tip of the Baja California Peninsula. The

tropical depression A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system with a low-pressure area, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depending on its locat ...

initially moved northwestward around the southwestern periphery of a

ridge A ridge is a long, narrow, elevated geomorphologic landform, structural feature, or a combination of both separated from the surrounding terrain by steep sides. The sides of a ridge slope away from a narrow top, the crest or ridgecrest, wi ...

over Mexico. Convection continued to develop to the west of the center, and late on August 23, a ship report confirmed the depression intensified Tropical Storm Julio. Initially, the persistent shear left the center partially exposed from the thunderstorm activity, though upper level conditions gradually became more favorable for strengthening. On August 24, Tropical Storm Julio attained peak winds of 50 mph (85 km/h) as intense convection developed near the center. Shortly thereafter, the center became difficult to locate, and late on August 24 the storm moved ashore along the southwestern coast of the Baja California Peninsula. Tropical Storm Julio quickly weakened over land, although it initially maintained strong convection near its center. By early on August 26, however, the low-level and upper-level circulations separated, with the upper-circulation continuing quickly northeastward into mainland Mexico; the low-level circulation slowed as it entered the

, after having been separated from its deep convection. Later in the day, the NHC discontinued advisories after the storm failed to maintain enough organized convection to be considered a tropical cyclone. The remnants of Julio were absorbed by a thermal low over the

Mojave Desert The Mojave Desert (; ; ) is a desert in the rain shadow of the southern Sierra Nevada mountains and Transverse Ranges in the Southwestern United States. Named for the Indigenous peoples of the Americas, indigenous Mohave people, it is located pr ...

on August 27.

Preparations and impact

Shortly before it was named, the government of

issued a

tropical storm watch Tropical cyclone warnings and watches are alerts issued by national weather forecasting bodies to coastal areas threatened by the imminent approach of a tropical cyclone of tropical storm or hurricane intensity. They are notices to the local pop ...

in the state of

, from Santa Fe on the Pacific coast around the peninsula to Buenavista along the

. About 24 hours prior to landfall, the watch was replaced with a warning from Santa Fe to San Evaristo, and the tropical storm watch was extended along both sides of the peninsula. Prior to it making landfall, more than 2,500 families in susceptible areas left their homes. Officials opened several shelters in the area where the storm struck. As Julio made landfall, it produced lightning and locally heavy rainfall, which left more than a dozen communities isolated due to flooding. The flooding damaged several houses and killed two people. Winds were generally light, although strong enough to damage a few electrical poles and small buildings. In nearby

Sinaloa Sinaloa (), officially the (), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, compose the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 18 municipalities, and its capital city is Culiacán Rosales. It is located in northwest Mexic ...

, rainfall from the storm led to an emergency evacuation of 500 residents. Moisture from Julio developed thunderstorms across

, including one near Chandler which produced winds of 75 mph (120 km/h); the storm damaged ten small planes at Chandler Municipal Airport, as well as a hangar. The damages at the airport were estimated at $1 million (

USD The United States dollar (symbol: $; currency code: USD) is the official currency of the United States and several other countries. The Coinage Act of 1792 introduced the U.S. dollar at par with the Spanish silver dollar, divided it int ...

). The storms also dropped heavy rainfall, reaching over 1 inch (25 mm) in Gilbert, which caused flooding on

Interstate 17 Interstate 17 (I-17) is a north–south Interstate Highway located entirely within the US state of Arizona. I-17's southern terminus lies in Phoenix, at I-10/US 60 and its northern terminus is in Flagstaff, at I-40. Most of I-17 is kn ...

. On August 25, 2008, moisture from the remnants of Julio caused minor flooding in parts of the south-western region of the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

References

{{Good article

Julio Julio is the Spanish equivalent of the month July and may refer to: *Julio (given name) * Julio (surname) * Júlio de Castilhos, a municipality of the western part of the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil * ''Julio'' (album), a 1983 compilation al ...

Julio (2008) 2008 in Mexico

Meteorological history

Preparations and impact

See also

References