Hurricane Eugene (2017)

Hurricane Eugene was the first northern hemisphere tropical cyclone to reach category 3 status in 2017, and did so besides unfavourable conditions. Eugene originated from a tropical disturbance that developed on July 4. Moving quickly to the northwest, the system slowly organised, and became a tropical depression during the afternoon of July 7. Moving northeast into a very favourable environment consisting of very warm waters and very low shear, Eugene took meteorologists by surprise and began to undergo rapid intensification, peaking at 120 mph on July 9 before encountering decreasing sea surface temperatures and drier air. By July 1, shear also began to increase over the system, and Eugene weakened to a tropical storm, and then a tropical depression the following day. After becoming post tropical, Eugene milled around in the open Pacific, eventually bringing some moisture into California as the system dissipated.