Hurricane Genevieve intensified to Category 5 on the Saffir-Simpson Scale on Sunday night as it moved over the Eastern North Pacific Ocean south of Baja California. At 5:00 a.m. EDT on Monday the center of Hurricane Genevieve was located at latitude 15.5°N and longitude 112.2°W which put the center about 530 miles (855 km) south-southwest of southern tip of Baja California. Genevieve was moving toward the northwest at 13 m.p.h. (21 km/h). The maximum sustained wind speed was 160 m.p.h. (260 km/h) and there were wind gusts to 190 m.p.h. (305 km/h). The minimum surface pressure was 925 mb.
Hurricane Genevieve intensified to Category 5 on Sunday night. A circular eye with a diameter of 23 miles (37 km) was at the center of Genevieve’s circulation. The eye was surrounded by a ring of thunderstorms and the strongest winds were occurring in that ring of storms. Bands of showers and thunderstorms were revolving around the core of Genevieve’s circulation. Storms near the core of Genevieve generated strong upper level divergence that pumped large amounts of mass away from the hurricane. The removal of large amounts of mass caused the surface pressure to decrease rapidly.
The distribution of wind speeds in Hurricane Genevieve became more symmetrical on Sunday night. Winds to hurricane force extended out 45 miles (75 km) from the center of Genevieve’s circulation. Winds to tropical storm force extended out 195 miles (315 km) from the center of Hurricane Genevieve.
The Hurricane Intensity Index (HII) for Hurricane Genevieve was 35.0. The Hurricane Size Index (HII) was 16.5 and the Hurricane Wind Intensity Size Index (HWISI) was 51.5. Hurricane Genevieve was similar in size and intensity to Hurricane Michael when Michael hit Northwest Florida in 2018.
Hurricane Genevieve will move into an environment that will become slighyly less favorable for an intense hurricane during the next 24 hours. Genevieve will move over water where the Sea Surface Temperatures are near 28°C. It will move through a region where the upper level winds are weak and there will be little vertical wind shear. However, Genevieve will start to move into a region where the air is a little drier later today. Hurricane Genevieve is likely to start to weaken when it moves into the region of drier air.
Hurricane Genevieve will move around the southwestern part of a high pressure system that is over the Southwest U.S. The high pressure system will steer Genevieve toward the northwest during the next 24 hours. On its anticipated track, Hurricane Genevieve will move parallel to the coast of Baja California.
Elsewhere, Hurricane Fausto continued to weaken slowly as it moved over the Central North Pacific Ocean east of Hawaii. At 5:00 a.m. EDT on Monday the center of Hurricane Fausto was located at latitude 20.4°N and longitude 144.8°W which put the center about 670 miles (1080 km) east of Hilo, Hawaii. Fausto was moving toward the west-northwes at 14 m.p.h. (24 km/h). The maximum sustained wind speed was 80 m.p.h. (130 km/h) and there were wind gusts to 95 m.p.h. (150 km/h). The minimum surface pressure was 988 mb.