07/22/2008 9:58 AM MDT Tropical Storm Fausto is fading away about 710 miles west of Cabo San Lucas. Tropical Storm Fausto is expected to dissipate in the next 48hrs.

Fausto has diminished and passed beyond the threat window to Baja. No further updates will be issued here. Automated information below and graphics right will be continually updated from the NHC as available.

TS Fausto is located near 20.9N 120.8W movement is 280° a 11kts. Central barometric pressure is estimated at 1006Mb and winds are 35kts with gusts to 45kts, making it just barely a tropical storm.

Fausto is forecast to move to the WNW through mid-week and become a tropical storm later today and be dissipated by the end of the week.

Type	Category	Pres(mb)	Winds (knots)	Winds (mph)
Dep	TD	-----	< 34	< 39
Tropical Storm	TS	-----	34-63	39-73
Hurricane	1	> 980	64-82	74-95
Hurricane	2	965-980	83-95	96-110
Hurricane	3	945-965	96-113	111-130
Hurricane	4	920-945	114-135	131-155
Hurricane	5	< 920	>135	>155

The name Hurricane Fausto can raise the hair on long time Baja residents. Hurricane Fausto cut across Baja Sur in early August of 1996. A year with relatively few hurricanes, Fausto was a Category 2 Hurricane when it moved across the peninsula on Aug 12-14. Hurricane Fausto did relatively little damage, but provided several days of significant rainfall, and seemed to stall for nearly a day over La Paz.

More below...

The 1996 Hurricane Fausto was born in relatively the same location as the current storm, but that is where the similarities end. This is a few weeks earlier in the hurricane season, and a few weeks can make all the difference in the key ingredients of a hurricane landfall. The waters SSW of Baja Sur are still below the critical 26°C mark and the air mass over Baja is still relatively dry.

Tropical Depression 7E formed into the early morning hours of July 16. The system gathered energy rapidly and was upgraded to Tropical Storm Fausto at 9AM MDT 07/16/08. At 9AM MDT on 7/18/08 Fausto was upgraded to a Category 1 Hurricane. Fausto maintained hurricane strength through 7/20, falling just short of achieving Category 2 status. Fausto was downgraded to a tropical storm on July 21 as it moved over cooler waters.

Automated Information from the NHC

This information is automatically updated as soon as it is released from the National Hurricane Center in Miami, Florida.

Storm Specific Information for Fausto