THG's Hurricane Jose 2017 (WMHB)

Hurricane Jose (2017) was an extremely powerful Cape Verde-type category five hurricane, which devastated the already catastrophically damaged Lesser Antilles during the month of September, and went on across the Caribbean to. Jose formed from a rigorous disturbance about several hundred miles east of the Leeward Islands, facing very favorable conditions for development on September 4, 2017. A period of rapid intensification ensued, and Jose strengthened from a borderline category one hurricane to a category 5 hurricane in less than 18 hours, becoming one of the fastest intensifications on record. Initially forecast to miss the islands altogether, models failed to predict the intensity of the nearby Azores high to the north, causing mass evacuations in Martinique and Guadeloupe. Thereafter, Jose subsequently destroyed most of the island of Martinique, leaving some 200 unprepared people dead. Jose started to accelerate and kept its intensity on September 7th, traversing west across the Caribbean sea. However, increasing wind shear and some dry air weakened Jose slowly