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This is a list of notable Pacific hurricanes, subdivided by reason for notability. Notability means that it has met some criterion or achieved some statistic, or is part of a top ten for some superlative. It includes lists and rankings of Pacific hurricanes by different characteristics and impacts.
Contents
- Retired names
- Deadliest tropical cyclones
- Costliest tropical cyclones
- Seasonal activity and records
- Lowest
- Naming history
- Named storms per month
- Off season storms
- Unnamed storms
- Category 5
- Category 4
- Duration records
- From Atlantic to Eastern Pacific
- From Eastern Pacific to Atlantic
- From Eastern Pacific to Western Pacific
- From Western Pacific to Central Pacific
- From Central Pacific to Eastern Pacific
- Per lowest central pressure
- Strongest storm in each month
- California
- Hawaii
- Wettest tropical cyclones
- Worldwide cyclone records set by Pacific storms
- References
Characteristics include extremes of location, such as the northernmost or most equator-ward formation or position of a tropical cyclone. Other characteristics include its central pressure, windspeed, Category on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale, cyclogenesis outside of a normal hurricane season's timeframe, or storms that remain unnamed despite forming after tropical cyclone naming began in 1960. Another characteristic is how long a system went from formation to dissipation. Impacts are what the cyclone did. These include the cost of damage, the number of casualties, as well as meteorological statistics such as rainfall point maxima.
Retired names
Additionally, Adolph and Israel were removed from the list of names during and after the 2001 season due to political sensitivities. Knut was removed from the list in 1988 for unknown reasons. Adele, Iva, and Fefa were also removed in 1970, 1988, and 1991 respectively for unknown reasons. Hazel was replaced in 1965. The name Isis was also pre-emptively removed from the lists of names for 2016 after being deemed inappropriate because of the eponymous militant group in 2015.
Deadliest tropical cyclones
The following tropical cyclones have caused at least 100 deaths.
Costliest tropical cyclones
The following tropical cyclones have caused at least $750 million in damage.
Seasonal activity and records
In the Central Pacific Hurricane Center's (CPHC) area of responsibility (AOR), the season with the most tropical cyclones is the 2015 season with 16 cyclones forming in or entering the region. A season without cyclones has happened a few times since 1966, most recently in 1979.
Lowest
Before 1971 and especially 1966, data in this basin is extremely unreliable. The geostationary satellite era began in 1966, and that year is often considered the first year of reliable tropical records. Intensity estimates are most reliable starting in the 1971 season. A few years later, the Dvorak technique came into use. Those two factors make intensity estimates more reliable starting in that year. For these reasons, seasons prior to 1971 are not included.
Naming history
Naming of tropical cyclones in the eastern north Pacific began in the 1960 season. That year, four lists of names were created. The plan was to proceed in a manner similar to that of the western Pacific; that is, the name of the first storm in one season would be the next unused one from the same list, and when the bottom of one list was reached the next list was started. This scheme was abandoned in 1965 and next year, the lists started being recycled on a four-year rotation, starting with the A name each year. That same general scheme remains in use today, although the names and lists are different. On average, the eastern north Pacific sees about sixteen named storms per year.
Named storms per month
Before 1971 and especially 1966, data in this basin is extremely unreliable. The geostationary satellite era began in 1966, and that year is often considered the first year of reliable tropical records. Intensity estimates are more reliable starting in the 1971 season. A few years later, the Dvorak technique came into use. Those two make intensity estimates more reliable starting in that year. For these reasons, seasons before 1966 are not included in the lowest column.
† Shared by more than five seasons. Source:
Off-season storms
The Pacific hurricane season runs from May 15 to November 30. Only systems that develop or enter during the off-season are included. The earliest off-season storm is Pali in 2016 whilst the latest off-season storm was Nine-C during 2015.
†Entered the basin on this date
Unnamed storms
Tropical cyclones have received official names in the east-central Pacific region since 1960. Since this time, 5 systems that have formed in this area have not received a name, plus another possible unnamed subtropical or tropical system in 2006.
Category 5
Since 1959, only 15 Pacific hurricanes are known to have reached Category 5 and none made landfall while at this intensity.
Category 4
Since 1900, 113 Pacific hurricanes have attained Category 4 intensity, of which four made landfall at that strength.
Duration records
This lists all Pacific hurricanes that existed as tropical cyclones while in the Pacific Ocean east of the dateline for more than two weeks continuously. Hurricanes John and Dora spent some time in the west Pacific before dissipating. John spent eleven days west of the dateline; if that time was included John would have existed for a total of 30 days and 18 hours, a world record, while including Dora's time in the west Pacific would mean that it existed for 18 days. One Atlantic hurricane, Hurricane Joan, crossed into this basin and was renamed Miriam, giving it a total lifespan of 22 days, but not all of that was in the Pacific. 1993's Greg formed from the remnants of 1993's Tropical Storm Bret. Its time as an Atlantic system is excluded.
All of these systems except Trudy, Olaf, and Connie existed in both the east and central Pacific, and all except Olaf were hurricanes. Hurricane Trudy of 1990 is thus the longest lived eastern Pacific hurricane to stay in the eastern Pacific. Tropical Storm Olaf of 1997 is hence the longest-lived eastern Pacific tropical cyclone not to reach hurricane intensity.
No known tropical cyclone forming in the central north Pacific lasted for longer than 14 days without crossing into another basin. The tropical cyclone forming in the central Pacific that spent the most time there was 2014's Hurricane Ana at 12.75 days from formation to extratropical transition.
Before the weather satellite era began, the lifespans of many Pacific hurricanes may be underestimated.
From Atlantic to Eastern Pacific
This includes only systems which stayed a tropical cyclone during the passage or that maintained a circulation during the crossover.
It used to be that when a Pacific named storm crossed North America and made it to the Atlantic (or vice versa), it would receive the next name on the respective basin's list. This policy has since been changed to a tropical cyclone keeping its name if it remains a tropical cyclone during the entire passage. Only if it dissipates and then re-forms does it get renamed.
From Eastern Pacific to Atlantic
This includes only systems which stayed a tropical cyclone during the passage or that maintained a circulation during the crossover.
In addition to those, there are apparently two additional ones. One existed before 1856 and made it to the Gulf of Mexico. Another Pacific tropical cyclone crossed over central Mexico and also made it to the Gulf sometime after September 9, 1924.
From Eastern Pacific to Western Pacific
Neither eastern Pacific tropical cyclones passing 140°W, nor central Pacific tropical cyclones crossing the dateline, are notable events. However, very few eastern Pacific proper cyclones that enter the central Pacific make it to the dateline.
† System ceased to be a tropical cyclone before crossing the dateline and subsequently reforming.
‡ Hurricane/Typhoon Li formed in the eastern Pacific, right at the boundary with the central, but was not named until it crossed into the central Pacific.
In addition, hurricanes Enrique of 1991 and Jimena of 2003 are recognized per NHC, CPHC and JTWC as storms that existed in all three areas of responsibility, but aren't recognized by the JMA as official western Pacific tropical cyclones.
From Western Pacific to Central Pacific
Tropical cyclones crossing from the western Pacific to the central Pacific are fairly rare, and this has happened only seven times before. Of those seven times, five of them were storms which crossed the dateline twice; from the western to the central pacific and back (or vice versa). No tropical cyclone from the western Pacific has ever made it past 140°W.
† System crossed the dateline twice.
* Hurricane/Typhoon John formed in the eastern Pacific.
In addition, Typhoon June of 1958 and Tropical Storm Wene of 2000 are recognized per CPHC as basin-crosser storms, but aren't recognized as such by the JMA. Also, Tropical Storm Moke of 1984 isn't recognized as official western Pacific tropical cyclones by either the JMA or the JTWC.
From Central Pacific to Eastern Pacific
Tropical cyclones crossing from the eastern Pacific to the central Pacific are routine; ones going the other way are not. That event has happened thrice.
System crossed 140°W more than once.
It was previously believed that an Unnamed Hurricane of 1975 crossed 140°W and is still included in the NHC as such, but according to a reanalysis made by the CPHC the storm became extratropical before doing so. In addition, an unofficial cyclone formed on October 30, 2006 in the central Pacific subtropics. It eventually developed an eye-like structure. Its track data indicates that it crossed from the central to the east Pacific because it formed at longitude 149°W and dissipated at 135°W. NASA, which is not a meteorological organization, called this system a subtropical cyclone, and the Naval Research Laboratory Monterey had enough interest in it to call it 91C. The system has also been called extratropical. This cyclone is unofficial because it is not included in the seasonal reports of either Regional Specialized Meteorological Center.
Per lowest central pressure
The apparent increase in recent seasons is spurious; it is due to better estimation and measurement, not an increase in intense storms. That is, until 1988, Pacific hurricanes generally did not have their central pressures measured or estimated from satellite imagery.
* Estimated from satellite imagery
Measured and adjusted
Measured
~ Pressure while East of the International Dateline
Strongest storm in each month
Intensity is measured solely by central pressure unless the pressure is not known, in which case intensity is measured by maximum sustained winds.
This tropical cyclone is the strongest to form in its month by virtue of its being the only known system.
California
Hawaii
Wettest tropical cyclones
All of these values are point maxima.