June 16, 2018 - Tropical Storm Bud

Tropical Storm Bud

Hurricane Bud formed on Saturday, June 9 around 5 p.m. EDT as Tropical Depression Three-E. By 11 p.m. EDT that day, the storm strengthened into a tropical storm and was named Bud. Bud formed close enough to southwestern Mexico to trigger the National Hurricane Center (NHC) to post a Tropical Storm Watch from Manzanillo to Cabo Corrientes, Mexico.

The storm moved towards the northwest, taking aim on Baja California, Mexico as it strengthened. By June 12, Hurricane Bud reached Category 4 status, carrying maximum sustained winds of 132 mph (213 km/h). Fortunately, the strong storm had lost its punch by the time it made landfall near Los Cabos, Mexico on the evening of June 14. According to the NHC, Bud’s maximum sustained winds were near 45 mph (75 km/h) shortly before landfall.

At 2100 UTC (5 p.m. EDT) on June 15, the NHC issued their last report on Bud. At that time the system was a post-tropical cyclone with maximum sustained winds of about 35 mph (56 km/h). Although Bud was expected to dissipate on June 16 the associated remnant moisture plume is expected to spread northward and northeastward into northwestern Mexico and the southwestern United States. Significant rainfall in these areas could trigger flash flooding.

The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) aboard NASA’s Terra satellite acquired a true-color image of Tropical Storm Bud as it spun towards Los Cabos on June 14.

Image Facts
Satellite: Terra
Date Acquired: 6/14/2018
Resolutions: 1km (1.6 MB), 500m (4.6 MB), 250m (4.1 MB)
Bands Used: 1,4,3
Image Credit: Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC