Hurricane John came back as a 'zombie' storm
What exactly is a "zombie storm" and how do they form during the Atlantic hurricane season?
Hurricane John was declared dead Tuesday by the National Hurricane Center as it no longer had tropical characteristics. The storm had made landfall on the Pacific Mexico coast as a Category 3 hurricane Monday evening. But John's story wasn't over yet.
On Wednesday afternoon, the NHC made the storm active again, back out over water. John will come ashore once more, making an encore visit to the same area of the Mexico coast as the first round did. This time, torrential rainfall and dangerous flooding will be the greatest threats to lives and property, AccuWeather meteorologists warn.
In 2020, the National Weather Service coined the unofficial term "zombie storm" to describe these kinds of systems that regenerate.
Satellite, past track (gray) and current location of Zombie Storm (Tropical Storm) John.
At AccuWeather, we refer to trackable tropical features as tropical rainstorms once they have lost wind intensity and are no longer designated as a named tropical system by the NHC. This unique designation helps to keep the public’s focus on the impacts the system can still bring.
Many storms that the NHC considers to have weakened or no longer qualify to be named still can bring heavy rain that can lead to flooding, especially in higher elevations. If wind will still be a significant factor, the term “tropical wind and rainstorm” may be used. AccuWeather may also use the term "rainstorm" to alert the public before a storm is named by the NHC.
Jon's complicated path, from Tropical Depression on Sept. 22 to Category 3 hurricane at landfall on Sept. 24, then death, then reemergence, current location and future track.
Other examples of zombie storms include Tammy 2023, which, appropriately, became a zombie storm the week of Halloween, and Paulette 2020. These storms all became zombies over the Atlantic, but one infamous storm looped around to hit the Gulf of Mexico twice -- the only storm known to do so.
Twenty years ago this month, Hurricane Ivan hit the Gulf Coast, moved northeast and became a zombie storm off the mid-Atlantic coast. It then looped back over Florida and hit the Gulf coast again as a tropical storm. As the term "zombie storm" didn't exist at the time, AccuWeather colloquially called the second act of the storm "The Ghost of Ivan."
Hurricane Ivan was a "zombie" storm. After it tracked into Maryland, it was declared dead by the NHC, but then looped around back into the Gulf of Mexico, where it was revived as a tropical storm.
