HISTORICAL CLIMATOLOGY SERIES 6-5

TROPICAL CYCLONES OF THE EASTERN NORTH PACIFIC BASIN, 1949-2006

Eric S. Blake, Ethan J. Gibney1, Daniel P. Brown, Michelle Mainelli, James L. Franklin and Todd B. Kimberlain
National Hurricane Center

Gregory R. Hammer
National Climatic Data Center

Asheville, NC
June, 2009

Prepared by the National Climatic Data Center, Asheville, NC, in cooperation

with the National Hurricane Center, Miami, FL

1 I.M. Systems Group at the National Hurricane Center

 Contents Page
1. Introduction........................................................................ 1

2. Motivation.......................................................................... 3

3. Classifications of Eastern Pacific Tropical Cyclones......... 4

3.1 Tropical Cyclones........................................................ 4
3.2 Subtropical Cyclones................................................... 5
3.3 Extratropical Cyclones................................................ 5
4. Data Sources....................................................................... 6

5. Accuracy of Tracks and Intensity Classifications............... 7

6. Eastern North Pacific Tropical Cyclone Tracks................. 8

7. Frequency of Eastern North Pacific Tropical Cyclones..... 9

7.1 Monthly and Annual Frequencies................................ 9
7.2 Daily Frequencies........................................................ 13
7.3 Areas of Formation...................................................... 17
7.4 Mainland Tropical Cyclone Landfalls......................... 18
7.5 Coastal Variation of Hurricane Threat......................... 19
7.6 Hurricane Damage Potential........................................ 23
8. Acknowledgments and other Comments............................ 27
9. List of Acronyms and Abbreviations.................................. 28
10. References........................................................................ 29

Appendix A (Chart Series A)............................................. 32

Appendix B (Chart Series B)............................................. 134
 Tropical Cyclones of the Eastern North Pacific Basin, 1949-2006
1. INTRODUCTION

This book is a compilation of facts, figures and tracks for tropical cy- Pacific tropical cyclone activity, with a figure that displays some cyclone tracks
clones of the eastern North Pacific basin between 1949 and 2006. The eastern before 1900. Mariner reports form the basis of the early part of the record be-
North Pacific basin is defined as the Pacific Ocean area north of the equator fore 1956.
bounded by 140°W and the west coast of the Americas. Over the 58-year period
of record, a total of 769 tropical cyclones of tropical storm strength or greater A compilation of tracks and data for the Atlantic tropical cyclones
have been documented; an average of about 13 systems per year. The formation has long been available (McAdie et al. 2009), but a similar book has never
of these storms, and possible intensification into mature hurricanes, takes place been prepared for the eastern Pacific, perhaps because of the offshore nature of
over warm tropical waters. Eventual dissipation, averaging less than a week most of the tropical cyclone tracks. Numerous publications, technical and non-
later, typically occurs over the colder waters of the eastern North Pacific, or technical, do describe global and regional tropical cyclone climate on various
when the storms move over land and away from the sustaining marine environ- scales, including the eastern Pacific. One useful study on global tropical cy-
ment. clone activity is a comprehensive World Meteorological Organization (WMO)
text (Elsberry 1995). The technical document contains charts describing tropi-
Figure 1 shows the areal extent of the eastern North Pacific tropical cal cyclone frequency and motion characteristics over the various global ba-
cyclone basin along with the tracks of the 769 tropical cyclones. The eastern sins. In addition, the document presents an instructive and more theoretical
North Pacific tropical cyclone basin produces the most tropical cyclones per treatment of global tropical cyclone climatology, including a discussion of the
square mile of any basin worldwide. It is one of seven in the world; others in the conditions associated with tropical cyclone development. Many studies on in-
Northern Hemisphere are the Atlantic basin, the western North Pacific and the dividual basins (or even portions of basins such as for Mexico alone [Servicio
northern Indian Ocean. The Southern Hemisphere basins are the southwest- Meteorologico Nacional 1981]) can be found in meteorological libraries.
ern Indian Ocean, the Australia/southeastern Indian Ocean and the Australia/
southwest Pacific Ocean. Two large tropical oceanic areas are virtually devoid Collection and dissemination of global tropical cyclone data is the
of tropical cyclone occurrence--the South Atlantic and the eastern portion of responsibility of the National Climatic Data Center (NCDC), Asheville, NC.
the South Pacific. On rare occasions, tropical cyclones cross from the Atlantic Data are obtained in an agreed-upon format from WMO-designated Regional
basin to the Pacific basin. An example is Hurricane Cesar (1996) which moved Specialized Meteorological Centers (RSMCs), and other global meteorologi-
westward across Central America as a tropical storm and then became Hurri- cal services. In the United States, the National Hurricane Center (NHC), in
cane Douglas over the eastern North Pacific. Miami, Florida, serves as an RSMC, with responsibility for both the North
Atlantic and eastern North Pacific basins.
Tropical cyclones have always been a concern to shipping, and are oc-
casionally documented over remote oceanic areas, even in the 19th century and For the eastern North Pacific, tropical cyclone tracks have gener-
earlier. Hurd (1929), for example, presents a twenty-year summary of eastern ally been published within annual summaries. From 1953 to 1956, yearly

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 Figure 1. The tracks of the 769 known eastern North Pacific tropical cyclones reaching at least tropical storm intensity, 1949-2006.
Figure 1. The tracks of the 769 known eastern North Pacific tropical cyclones reaching at least tropical storm intensity, 1949-2006.

2
summaries and occasional tracks of the basin were reported in the annual sum- book. In addition, the Atlantic best track book served as a guide to the struc-
mary of Climatological Data. Since 1957, yearly summaries have been includ- ture of this book, but there are some differences between the two publications,
ed in Mariner’s Weather Log articles along with a small figure of the tracks. In which will discussed in the text.
1968, storm tracks and summaries were included in Monthly Weather Review,
and have continued to present day. Leftwich and Brown (1981) compiled tracks Section 2 discusses the motivation for the book and other important
from 1949-1979, and in many ways this book updates and adds to their work. works regarding eastern Pacific tropical cyclones. Section 3 introduces readers
to relevant definitions related to a tropical cyclone and the typical lifecycle of a
This book is also a compilation of data from various sources and pres- cyclone. Data sources are discussed in Section 4 and the accuracy and preci-
ents the tracks and data of eastern Pacific tropical cyclones in an easy-to-under- sion of these data are covered in Section 5. Section 6 considers the details on
stand format that is useful for the general public. It is notable that the eastern how the tracks were produced, and Section 7 covers statistics related to the
North Pacific basin is sometimes shortened to the term eastern Pacific in this tracks, in addition to hurricane landfalls in Mexico.

2. MOTIVATION

Together with related statistical summaries, this study presents annual The motivation of this book was to prepare a track book, similar to
tropical cyclone tracks for the period 1949-2006 for the eastern Pacific basin. the Atlantic track compilation, to be a comprehensive source of eastern Pacific
For more detailed data on individual cyclones, readers are referred to publica- track and statistical data. There has been a dearth of information published
tions that deal specifically with analysis of eastern Pacific tropical cyclones. since Leftwich and Brown (1981) and, since that time, the dataset has increased
These include the official summaries published in Climatological Data, Month- by 27 years. This document was made more difficult to prepare because three
ly Weather Review and Mariner’s Weather Log, along with works by Smith different government agencies have had forecast responsibilities for the eastern
(1986), Warner (1992) and Court (1980) that specifically deal with tropical cy- Pacific basin, sometimes with limited references of the procedures of that sta-
clone effects across the southwestern United States. tion. These agencies included the United States Navy before 1970, the Eastern
Pacific Hurricane Center (National Weather Service office in Redwood City,
Other important works in eastern Pacific climatology include Allard California) from 1970-1987, and the NHC from 1988-present.
(1984), and Renard and Bowman (1976). Finally, the NHC Internet web site:
http://www.nhc.noaa.gov also contains a large amount of information on cur- The NHC annually receives hundreds of requests for tropical cyclone-
rent and historical tropical cyclones. Information at that site can be used to related information from both official and non-official sources. One of the
update this text until additional editions are issued. Also available on the NHC goals of this publication is to provide readily available, correct, and consistent
web site are the digitized tracks of all eastern Pacific tropical cyclones since answers to some of these queries. Knowledge of climatology is important in
1949 in a standard format. Charts presented in Chart Series A and B are based the forecast process and this publication also provides Hurricane Specialists at
on these data. the NHC with a reliable source of reference material on eastern Pacific tropical
cyclones.

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 3. CLASSIFICATIONS OF EASTERN PACIFIC TROPICAL CYCLONES

It is beyond the scope of this book to discuss the fine details of tropical ern Pacific as compared to the Atlantic basin because of the Mexican mainland.
cyclone characteristics and structure. A few comments and definitions are nec- The relatively cool water at low latitudes compared to the Atlantic basin also
essary, however, for proper interpretation of the material presented. The reader probably inhibits the formation of subtropical systems in the eastern Pacific.
is referred to Miller (1967) or Anthes (1982) for further detailed information on
tropical cyclones. Texts by Dunn and Miller (1964), Simpson and Riehl (1981), “Remnant low” is a relatively new term (introduced in 2002) that de-
Pielke and Pielke (1997) and Emanuel (2005) are devoted entirely to that topic. scribes a former tropical cyclone that has lost central convection but is still
Certain specialized topics, such as the operational forecasting of tropical cy- a well-defined low pressure system. Before 2002, these systems were usually
clone motion and intensity are discussed by Rappaport et al. (2009) and Sheets characterized as weak tropical depressions in the best track database (McAdie,
(1990). personal communication). The remnant low phase is rather common for many
eastern Pacific tropical cyclones to enter immediately after their demise as trop-
In the course of their lifecycle, tropical cyclones, like other atmospher- ical cyclones but before the dissipation of the low pressure area. The remnant
ic weather systems, pass through stages of genesis, intensification, maturity, low stage typically occurs due to the cold waters present north of 20°N west of
and decay or modification. Avila (1991) and Avila and Pasch (1992) specifically 115°W.
address the issue of eastern Pacific cyclogenesis, finding that the majority of
tropical cyclones come from tropical waves crossing Central America from the Some tropical cyclones, after moving out of the tropical environment,
Atlantic basin. The relationship between these waves and eastern Pacific and may lose their tropical characteristics and become extratropical. While the
Atlantic tropical cyclones has been studied by a number of researchers, one of primary purpose of this publication is to discuss tropical systems, it is neces-
the earliest published by Simpson et al. (1968). Molinari et al. (1997) present sary, for completeness, to discuss extratropical cyclones as well. It is worth
theoretical aspects on the issue of eastern Pacific cyclogenesis. noting that extratropical transition happens much less frequently in the eastern
Pacific than the Atlantic basin, probably because low-latitude Pacific tropical
However, not all tropical cyclones come from waves in the eastern cyclones less frequently interact with the middle-latitude westerlies, reducing
Pacific. Other initiation mechanisms have been theorized, including the In- any chance of extratropical or hybrid storm formation.
tertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) breaking down (Ferreira and Schubert
1997) and genesis due to terrain influences of the Sierra Madre mountains of 3.1 Tropical Cyclones
Mexico (Mozer and Zehnder 1996). These mechanisms are not thought to be
important in Atlantic basin cyclogenesis. In other basins, however, atmospheric Any closed circulation, in which the winds rotate counterclockwise in
conditions which initiate tropical cyclones may be quite different. the Northern Hemisphere or clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere, is called
a cyclone. Tropical cyclones are technically defined as warm-core, non-fron-
One important difference between the Atlantic and eastern Pacific ba- tal, synoptic-scale2 cyclones, originating over tropical or subtropical waters,
sins is that subtropical cyclones have not been observed to form in the eastern with organized deep convection and a closed surface wind circulation about
Pacific. This may be due to the limited poleward area of formation in the east-
2
  Synoptic-scale refers to large-scale weather systems as distinguished from local systems such
as thunderstorms.

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a well-defined center (OFCM 2009). Further classification depends upon the A unique feature of more intense tropical cyclones is the central “eye”,
maximum wind speed near the center of the system. The terms “tropical de- which commonly has a diameter of 10 to 50 miles across. This central region
pression,” “tropical storm,” or “hurricane” are assigned depending whether the area of the storm is typically associated with light winds, minimal cloud cover
sustained winds are, respectively, less than 34 knots, 34 to 63 knots or greater and lowest sea-level pressure. The eye (note the distinct eye of Hurricane Linda
than 63 knots. Tropical cyclones are not named unless they reach at least tropi- on the book’s cover) provides a convenient visual and physical entity that can be
cal storm strength. tracked with the aid of aircraft, satellite or radar.

The term, “sustained wind,” as used in the United States hurricane 3.2 Subtropical Cyclones
program, refers to the highest near-surface (10-meter) wind averaged over
1-minute associated with the cyclone circulation. Shorter period gusts or lulls A subtropical cyclone is defined as a non-frontal low pressure system
in the wind, perhaps only a few seconds duration, can be much higher or lower that has characteristics of both tropical and extratropical cyclones. In compari-
than the sustained wind. In some other countries, the averaging period defining son to tropical cyclones, such systems have a relatively broad zone of maxi-
a sustained wind can be longer than 1-minute, and is usually near a 10-minute mum winds that is located farther from the center, and typically have a less
average in accordance to WMO standards. The wind criteria separating the symmetric wind field and distribution of convection (OFCM 2009). Although
various stages of tropical cyclones are rigidly defined, but the ability to mea- no subtropical cyclones have been noted in the eastern Pacific basin, a subtropi-
sure the winds with the precision implied by the definitions seldom exists. In cal formation was noted in the central Pacific basin in 1975 (Burtt and Haller
practice, a maximum sustained wind is assigned by the hurricane analyst after 1976). For more information on subtropical cyclones, see McAdie et al. (2009),
considering all available evidence. Hebert (1973) or Hebert and Poteat (1975).

Tropical cyclones, with their energy derived from the latent heat of 3.3 Extratropical Cyclones
condensation of water vapor, are generally smaller in extent than extratropi-
cal cyclones and typically range from 100 to 600 nautical miles in diameter at During the final stages of their life cycle, eastern Pacific tropical cy-
maturity. Winds normally increase radially inward near the center of tropical clones are infrequently classified as extratropical. These cyclones which typi-
cyclones with sustained speeds sometimes exceeding 100 knots. Occasionally, cally form outside of the Tropics have structures, energetics, and appearances
sustained winds exceeding 140 knots may occur in well-developed systems. (when viewed from weather satellites or radar) that are different from tropical
Apart from the wind, other destructive features of tropical cyclones include cyclones. They derive their energy primarily from large-scale horizontal con-
torrential rains over a large area, and coastal storm tides of 15 to 30 feet above trasts of temperature and are typically associated with cold and warm fronts.
normal in extreme cases. Coastal inundation from the storm surge and extreme The transformation from a tropical cyclone to an extratropical cyclone is a
rainfall has been primarily responsible for deaths and damages from storms gradual process: the size of the circulation usually expands, the speed of the
across the world. Landsberg (1960) and Emanuel (2005) pointed out that these maximum wind typically decreases, and the distribution of winds, rainfall, and
storms may be a major factor in maintaining the atmospheric heat and moisture temperatures around the center becomes increasingly asymmetric.
balance between the Tropics and the higher latitudes; they may be thought of as
providing a kind of “safety valve” that limits the continued buildup of heat and While these characteristic features develop, some tropical features,
energy in tropical regions. such as a small area of strong winds near the center, the remnants of an eye, and
extremely heavy rainfall may be retained for a considerable time. Extratropical

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 cyclones are relatively rare in the eastern Pacific, with only three noted in the There are no wind speed criteria associated with the term extratropi-
database (Kevin 1991, Guillermo and Ignacio, 1997). Cold waters west of Baja cal and such systems may indeed have hurricane-force winds. Usually, when
California, as well as the limited poleward extent of the basin, are thought to storms move out of the Tropics, wind speeds near the center of a storm gradu-
limit extratropical transitions to only rare cases. ally subside. In some cases, however, re-intensification of the system may occur
when mechanisms conducive to extratropical development predominate.

4. DATA SOURCES

For the early part of the NHC best track record, 1949-1975, the best during that six year period, and the works of Hansen (1972), Baum and Rausch
tracks were obtained from the U.S. Navy at 12 hour intervals (Leftwich and (1975) and Renard and Bowman (1976) provided more data for inclusion or
Brown 1981) and interpolated to 6 hour intervals based on Akima (1970). These modification of the best tracks.
early period tracks appear to be closely based on advisories issued by the Unit-
ed States Navy Fleet Weather Center in Alameda, California up to 1970. Dur- The lack of specific intensity documentation before 1970 should not be
ing that era, Rosendal (1962) provided data and discussion on hurricanes from interpreted as a complete lack of knowledge about these early storms. Indeed,
1947-1961, some of which were included in the final best track. portions of many of these tracks were well documented if they were associated
with disasters either ashore or at sea. For example, the category five hurri-
Intensity values in the early part of the record have been assigned in cane of October 1959 (number 12), which brought devastation to southwestern
multiple ways. Before 1954, only the maximum intensity of a storm is used for Mexico, is described in Crooks (1959). Persons seeking specific information on
the entire track of the storm, similar to the 1886-1898 years of an older version this, and on other hurricane events occurring in later years, should consult the
of the Atlantic track book (Neumann et al. 1999). Between 1954 and 1964, references given in Section 10.
some wind information was found in Mariner’s Weather Log, Monthly Weather
Review, and Climatological Data and was incorporated into the best-track file, The best track database from 1976-1987 was based on advisories is-
along with advisory information from the U.S. Navy. These wind data increased sued by the Eastern Pacific Hurricane Center in Redwood City, California.
in 1965 with more detailed summary information and more observational capa- Some in-house modification of tracks and intensities was performed by Arthur
bility in 1966 with the launch of geostationary satellites. However, for most of Pike after the NHC assembled the best track database in 1976 (Neumann, per-
the systems prior to 1970, cyclones were categorized as a tropical depression, sonal communication). Other best track files were modified and extended based
tropical storm or hurricane, and given average intensities of 25, 45, or 75 kt on a study by Court (1980). Operational responsibility for the eastern Pacific
respectively. was assumed by the NHC in 1988, and the NHC has maintained the best tracks
database to present day. Annual summaries of storms issued by the NHC and
From 1970-1975, advisories were issued by the Eastern Pacific Hur- published in Monthly Weather Review are the definitive source of information
ricane Center, part of the National Weather Service (NWS) office in San Fran- since 1988. However, there have been few recent official summary publications
cisco, California. Advisories/warnings were issued in coordination with the on tropical cyclone tracks over the eastern Pacific. Baum and Rausch (1975)
United States Navy Fleet Weather Center in Alameda and the Air Force Hur- digitized tropical cyclone track data from 1961-1974. Brown and Leftwich
ricane Liaison Officer at McClellan Air Force Base in California (D. Roberts, (1982) provided a short summary of eastern Pacific data, along with a compos-
personal communication). The NWS advisories formed the basis of best tracks ite of all tropical cyclones observed in the basin.

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 The tropical cyclone tracks presented here are technically referred (Lawrence and Mayfield 1977). These smaller scale motions are transitory and
to as “best-tracks.” They represent the best estimate of the smoothed path are not representative of the more conservative motion of the entire storm enve-
of the circulation center as it moves across the earth’s surface (Jarvinen et al. lope. Storm tracks in Chart Series A and B should therefore be considered as
1984). Smoothing is necessary to remove small-scale oscillatory motions of the the average path of the larger-scale storm circulation center rather than a precise
storm center, which can deviate some 5 to 30 nautical miles from a mean path location of the eye at any given time.

5. ACCURACY OF TRACKS AND INTENSITY CLASSIFICATIONS

Tropical cyclones often traverse thousands of miles but spend most Agencies responsible for determining earlier storm tracks and intensi-
of their lives over the ocean. Before the era of aircraft reconnaissance and ties did not have the benefit of regular satellite data before 1966. In addition, the
weather satellites, the detection of these storms depended on chance encounters observations of a tropical cyclone simply did not exist or were very uncertain in
with shipping or populated land areas. Over the eastern Pacific, the intersection the early years. Consequently, these earlier tracks are subject to considerable
of mean tropical cyclone tracks with shipping lanes is somewhat limited and uncertainties. Today, a widespread network of land stations, ships, aircraft,
major storms could have gone completely undetected before the satellite era. radar, satellites, drifting buoys, etc., along with sophisticated instrumentation
Even with the knowledge of a storm’s presence, however, it is difficult, without and communication, is available for the detection, tracking and understanding
additional observational platforms, to specify the exact location and/or the ex- of tropical cyclones. The reader is referenced to McAdie et al. (2009) that fur-
act intensity. ther details the changing technology involved in tropical cyclone observation.

The first aircraft reconnaissance flights into eastern Pacific tropical One specific problem with the eastern Pacific dataset before 1971 is
storms were made in 1956. Before the operational availability of satellite data the lack of major hurricanes (greater than or equal to Category 3 intensity on
in 1961, these flights proved to be important in the early detection of storms. It the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale, see Table 3), compared to the modern era.
is worth noting that these flights were more sporadic in the eastern Pacific than It is thought that a few factors contribute to this issue, in addition to the lack
the Atlantic basin and were only dispatched after a disturbance was noted. It is of any satellite data before 1961. The first is the small amount of ship traffic
probable that many storms and hurricanes went undetected in the early years and other oceanic data compared to other basins such as the Atlantic and the
of the dataset since most eastern Pacific tropical cyclones remain out to sea and western Pacific. This would reduce the likelihood of a chance encounter with
away from significant shipping lanes. a strong hurricane. The second factor is that regular visible satellite pictures
were not available until the early 1970s over the eastern Pacific, with improved
After the introduction of continuous weather satellite surveillance in picture quality. This upgraded quality and quantity allowed the forecaster, us-
the late 1960s, there was a high probability that the location of a storm was ing techniques developed for Atlantic tropical cyclones (Velden et al. 2006), to
determined with a reasonable degree of accuracy. Since the storm tracks for accurately diagnose higher intensities. Another possible reason for the data dis-
the 1966 through 2006 eastern Pacific hurricane seasons were prepared with parity is that the official agency that prepared the best tracks changed in 1970.
the benefit of geostationary satellite imagery (as well as some aircraft recon-
naissance typically near land and other conventional data), the track accuracy Thus, the intensity data are quite suspect for the early years (see also
should be good, considering the scale of the maps and the large-scale of the Section 4) and little attention should be paid to the exact intensities in the best
motion depicted. track in the early part of the record, especially before 1966. Although there are

7
 still some questions about the accuracy of data in the 1970s, the year 1971 is In addition to observational deficiencies, it is known that large-scale
considered a good starting point for more reliable records. Around that year, atmospheric conditions such as El Niño or variations in sea-surface tempera-
consistent, quality satellite imagery was also available for analysis and better tures, in general, can influence tropical cyclone frequency and intensity. La
satellite intensity estimation techniques were in use by forecasters by that time, Niña generally diminishes tropical activity in the eastern Pacific Ocean, and
e.g. Dvorak (1973). El Niño typically enhances tropical cyclone activity. Some of these factors are
discussed by Gray (1984).

6. EASTERN NORTH PACIFIC TROPICAL CYCLONE TRACKS

The tracks of all recorded eastern Pacific tropical cyclones for each in mainland Mexico and the track of the cyclone ends at hurricane strength just
year from 1949 through 2008 are presented in Chart Series A (Appendix A). inland. A full reanalysis needs to be done to correct this problem in the eastern
Extremely active years are separated into two or three charts for legibility. Pacific database.
These tracks come exclusively from the best track database (HURDAT), as
currently maintained by the NHC in November 2007. To be included on these Before 1960, there was no formal nomenclature for the identification
charts, a tropical cyclone had to reach tropical storm status within the eastern of cyclones. Noteworthy storms were informally designated by such descrip-
Pacific, or be initially classified as a depression in the eastern Pacific and be- tive terms as “Great Hurricanes”. Female names were first given to storms in
come a tropical storm or hurricane in the Central Pacific waters east of 150°W. the eastern Pacific in the 1960 season. Unlike today, the names in the early
An example of the latter case is Hurricane Iniki of 1992. 1960s were used sequentially, such that if the last storm of a year was the “H”
storm, then the first storm of the next year would be the “I” storm. This process
The objective of the charts was to depict accurately, throughout their was continued until the 1966 season, when four lists of names were created.
existence, the position and intensity of each tropical cyclone that formed in the These names were rotated every year until 1978, when six new annual lists of
eastern Pacific basin, and attained storm strength east of 150°W. Unfortunately, names replaced the previous four lists, and incorporated both male and female
the quality of some of the data prevented full realization of this goal; many po- names.
sitions and intensities, particularly for the earlier years, are estimates, reflecting
consideration of various data sources. In Chart Series A, certain storms lack names, even after the formal
naming of tropical cyclones began. Some of these storms were found after
For the years 1949-1964, the data are rather fragmented, and for most the season due to late-arriving ship reports that confirmed their presence (e.g.
cases, the assigned track intensity is assumed to be the maximum attained by Storm 1 of 1956 [Quinn 1956] or Storms 4 and 8 of 1962 [Benkman 1962]).
the system at some point along the track. Intensity and classification criteria In a few cases, the storms were thought to have developed west of 140°W and
were given in Section 3. were given names from the Central Pacific, but the start of the tracks were later
extended eastward into the eastern Pacific (e.g. Kanoa of 1957).
One specific problem with the tracks in the eastern Pacific prior to
1988 is the premature termination of some tracks at landfall. One example of Chart Series B provides storm tracks according to selected intrasea-
this problem is Hurricane Paul of 1982 (page 78). This hurricane made landfall sonal periods. This series is similar to work presented by Leftwich and Brown

8
(1981) and the Atlantic track book (McAdie et al. 2009). These charts are pre- a tropical cyclone. Additional labels would clutter the chart and detract from
sented for months May through December and for 10- (or 11-) day periods, May their main purpose: the identification of spatial and temporal shifts in tropical
through November. Figure 1, illustrating the entire storm sample, can also be cyclone occurrence.
considered as part of Series B. This rendition of the entire 769 storm sample
shows the bounds of the eastern North Pacific tropical cyclone basin. The rela- All tracks were drawn by means of a computer interpolation routine
tive frequency of storms in any given area can be roughly identified by the track using GIS technology and the 6-hourly storm positions in the best track file.
density. With these positions as anchor points, a reasonably faithful rendition of a hand-
drawn track can be expected. In a few cases, however, the 6-hourly points are
The tracks in Chart Series B are presented without regard to identi- insufficient to define tight loops or sudden changes in direction.
fication other than they are assigned to the period in which they first became

7. FREQUENCY OF EASTERN NORTH PACIFIC TROPICAL CYCLONES

7.1 Monthly and Annual Frequencies

Tables 1, 2 and 3 present monthly and annual frequencies of recorded weakening steering currents late in the year. The maximum duration noted in
eastern Pacific tropical cyclones, excluding the tropical depression stage (if the eastern Pacific is far below the Atlantic basin, which has had tropical cy-
any). Storm counts are determined by the date a particular status was first clones almost lasting a month (e.g. Ginger of 1971). Many tropical storms have
attained: for example, a storm reaching tropical storm strength on August 31, been observed to last less than a day in the eastern Pacific, most recently Rosa
reaching hurricane strength on September 5 and dissipating on September 10, of 2006.
would be counted as an August tropical storm but as a September hurricane.
The number of storms occurring in any given year varies widely. Fre-
Based on all eastern Pacific tropical cyclone tracks east of 140°W from quency distributions of tropical storms and hurricanes are presented in Figure
1949 through 2006, the average duration of a tropical cyclone was 4 days, but 3 and 4, with a year-by-year summary in Figure 5. Only four tropical storms
as shown in Figure 2, may vary from less than 1 to as many as 18 full days (i.e., were documented in 1953, while 24 storms occurred in 1992. Only one storm
a storm which begins at 0600 UTC on one day and ends 0600 UTC on the next reached hurricane strength in 1964 and 1965 while 16 hurricanes occurred in
would be assigned a duration of 1 day rather than 2). The ability to detect tropi- 1990. A number of hurricane seasons has never observed a major hurricane
cal cyclones has improved in recent years such that the distribution shown in (last noted in 2003), while 8 major hurricanes occurred in 1983, 1992 and 1993.
Figure 2 may be somewhat biased toward higher values. Note that the minimum activity records are in question before the age of con-
tinuous satellite imagery. Since 1971, the minimum number of tropical storms
Long duration tropical cyclones include Tina of 1992, Trudy of 1990, and hurricanes observed in a year is 8 and 4, respectively, in 1977. Only twice,
and Kevin of 1991, all of which lasted longer than two weeks. These systems in 1977 and 2003, have no major hurricanes been noted in the geostationary
formed at low-latitude east of 100°W, and travelled slowly westward due to satellite era.

9
 Table 1. Number of recorded eastern Pacific tropical cyclones that reached tropical storm intensity in specified month and year,
1949-2006. Refer to Table 4 for summaries of these data. Data are probably incomplete before 1966.

Year May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec All Year May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec All
1949 0 2 0 0 4 0 0 0 6 1978 1 3 4 6 2 2 0 0 18
1950 0 1 2 2 0 1 0 0 6 1979 0 2 2 2 1 2 1 0 10
1951 1 2 1 2 2 0 1 0 9 1980 0 3 5 2 2 2 0 0 14
1952 1 1 2 0 2 1 0 0 7 1981 1 1 3 4 2 4 0 0 15
1953 0 0 0 1 2 1 0 0 4 1982 1 1 6 5 3 3 0 0 19
1954 0 1 3 0 5 2 0 0 11 1983 1 1 6 3 4 4 1 1 21
1955 0 2 1 0 1 2 0 0 6 1984 2 3 3 4 4 1 1 0 18
1956 2 2 2 1 3 1 0 0 11 1985 0 5 7 4 4 2 0 0 22
1957 0 0 1 2 4 3 0 0 10 1986 1 2 3 5 5 1 0 0 17
1958 0 2 4 1 3 2 0 0 12 1987 0 1 6 5 3 3 0 0 18
1959 0 2 3 3 2 2 0 0 12 1988 0 2 6 3 1 1 0 0 13
1960 0 2 1 2 1 1 0 0 7 1989 0 3 4 6 4 0 0 0 17
1961 0 1 3 1 1 2 2 0 10 1990 1 4 4 3 5 3 0 0 20
1962 0 1 1 3 3 1 0 0 9 1991 1 3 2 2 3 2 1 0 14
1963 0 1 2 0 3 1 0 0 7 1992 0 3 6 5 5 5 0 0 24
1964 0 0 3 1 1 0 0 0 5 1993 0 2 3 5 3 1 0 0 14
1965 0 4 0 3 3 0 0 0 10 1994 0 3 4 4 5 1 0 0 17
1966 0 1 0 4 6 2 0 0 13 1995 0 1 3 3 3 0 0 0 10
1967 0 3 4 3 3 3 0 0 16 1996 1 2 2 0 4 0 0 0 9
1968 0 1 4 8 3 3 0 0 19 1997 0 3 4 3 5 1 1 0 17
1969 0 0 3 2 4 1 0 0 10 1998 0 2 3 3 2 3 0 0 13
1970 1 3 6 4 1 2 1 0 18 1999 0 1 2 3 2 1 0 0 9
1971 1 1 6 5 2 2 1 0 18 2000 1 2 2 5 4 2 1 0 17
1972 0 1 1 6 2 1 1 0 12 2001 1 1 3 1 5 4 0 0 15
1973 0 3 4 1 3 1 0 0 12 2002 1 1 3 3 2 2 0 0 12
1974 1 3 3 6 2 2 0 0 17 2003 1 2 3 4 3 3 0 0 16
1975 0 2 4 5 3 1 1 0 16 2004 1 0 3 4 2 2 0 0 12
1976 0 2 4 3 4 1 0 0 14 2005 1 2 2 4 6 0 0 0 15
1977 1 1 1 1 3 1 0 0 8 2006 1 0 4 6 2 3 2 0 18

10
Table 2. Number of recorded eastern Pacific tropical cyclones that reached at least hurricane intensity in specified month and year,
1949-2006. Refer to Table 4 for summaries of these data. Data before 1971 are probably incomplete.
Year May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec All Year May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec All
1949 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 2 1978 1 2 3 3 2 1 0 0 12
1950 0 1 2 1 0 1 0 0 5 1979 0 1 1 2 1 1 0 0 6
1951 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 2 1980 0 2 1 3 1 0 0 0 7
1952 0 0 1 0 1 1 0 0 3 1981 0 1 1 3 1 2 0 0 8
1953 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 2 1982 0 0 4 3 3 1 0 0 11
1954 0 0 2 0 1 1 0 0 4 1983 1 1 2 1 3 3 0 1 12
1955 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 2 1984 1 3 2 2 4 0 0 0 12
1956 1 2 1 1 2 0 0 0 7 1985 0 2 1 2 4 2 0 0 11
1957 0 0 1 1 1 3 0 0 6 1986 1 1 2 1 2 2 0 0 9
1958 0 1 2 0 2 0 0 0 5 1987 0 0 2 2 4 1 0 0 9
1959 0 0 0 0 2 1 0 0 3 1988 0 0 2 3 1 0 0 0 6
1960 0 0 1 2 1 1 0 0 5 1989 0 2 2 2 3 0 0 0 9
1961 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 2 1990 1 2 4 3 4 2 0 0 16
1962 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 2 1991 0 2 2 1 2 2 1 0 10
1963 0 1 2 0 0 1 0 0 4 1992 0 1 4 2 5 2 0 0 14
1964 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 1993 0 1 3 4 2 0 0 0 10
1965 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 1994 0 1 2 2 2 1 0 0 8
1966 0 1 0 3 2 0 0 0 6 1995 0 1 2 1 3 0 0 0 7
1967 0 1 0 2 1 2 0 0 6 1996 0 2 1 0 1 1 0 0 5
1968 0 0 0 3 2 1 0 0 6 1997 0 0 3 2 2 1 1 0 9
1969 0 0 1 1 1 1 0 0 4 1998 0 1 2 2 1 3 0 0 9
1970 0 1 1 1 0 1 0 0 4 1999 0 1 1 2 2 0 0 0 6
1971 1 1 4 3 2 1 0 0 12 2000 1 1 1 2 1 0 0 0 6
1972 0 1 0 6 0 1 0 0 8 2001 1 0 1 1 3 1 1 0 8
1973 0 1 3 0 1 2 0 0 7 2002 1 0 2 2 0 1 0 0 6
1974 0 2 2 4 2 1 0 0 11 2003 0 0 0 2 2 3 0 0 7
1975 0 1 2 3 1 1 0 0 8 2004 0 0 2 1 3 0 0 0 6
1976 0 2 1 2 2 1 0 0 8 2005 1 0 0 2 4 0 0 0 7
1977 0 0 1 1 1 1 0 0 4 2006 0 0 3 4 1 1 1 0 10

11
 Table 3. Number of recorded eastern Pacific tropical cyclones that reached major hurricane intensity (≥ category 3) in specified
month and year, 1949-2006. Refer to Table 4 for summaries of these data. Data before 1971 are considered suspect.

Year May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec All Year May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec All
1949 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1978 0 2 3 0 1 0 0 0 6
1950 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1979 0 0 1 2 0 1 0 0 4
1951 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1980 0 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 3
1952 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1981 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1
1953 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1982 0 0 2 0 1 1 0 0 4
1954 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1983 0 1 1 0 3 3 0 0 8
1955 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1984 0 1 2 1 1 1 0 0 6
1956 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1985 0 1 2 0 3 1 0 0 7
1957 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 1986 0 0 1 1 0 1 0 0 3
1958 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1987 0 0 0 1 2 1 0 0 4
1959 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 1988 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1
1960 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1989 0 0 0 2 2 0 0 0 4
1961 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1990 0 0 2 1 2 1 0 0 6
1962 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1991 0 1 0 1 2 1 0 0 5
1963 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1992 0 1 3 0 2 2 0 0 8
1964 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1993 0 0 2 3 3 0 0 0 8
1965 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1994 0 0 1 1 2 0 0 0 4
1966 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1995 0 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 3
1967 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 1996 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 2
1968 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1997 0 0 2 2 2 1 0 0 7
1969 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1998 0 1 1 3 0 1 0 0 6
1970 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1999 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 2
1971 0 0 2 1 2 1 0 0 6 2000 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 2
1972 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 3 2001 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 2
1973 0 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 3 2002 1 0 1 2 0 1 0 0 5
1974 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 2 2003 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
1975 0 0 2 0 1 1 0 0 4 2004 0 0 1 0 2 0 0 0 3
1976 0 1 0 2 1 1 0 0 5 2005 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1
1977 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2006 0 0 2 2 1 0 0 0 5

12
 Another record of interest is the maximum number of hurricanes in Long-term upward or downward trends in the frequency of tropical
consecutive years. The data are found in the annual totals given in Table 2: cyclones, if not accounted for, make the average frequency a function of the
period of record. To illustrate, Table 4 uses data from Tables 1-3 averaged over
26 hurricanes were observed in 1990-1991 (2 consecutive years); two periods: 1949-2006 and 1971-2006. The first period contains years with se-
40 hurricanes were observed in 1990-1992 (3 consecutive years); rious observational deficiencies in addition to a lack of regular satellite pictures.
50 hurricanes were observed in 1990-1993 (4 consecutive years); The final period begins with the introduction of regular, high-quality satellite
59 hurricanes were observed in 1989-1993 (5 consecutive years). pictures. Note the extreme differences in major hurricanes and hurricanes be-
tween the two periods, suggesting that the early part of the best tracks database
The area of the eastern Pacific basin experiencing the maximum amount is severely lacking information. The substantial differences in the figures for
of activity is near 17°N, 108°W (approximately 240 nautical miles southwest of the final two periods appear in Table 4. The period 1971 through 2006 probably
Manzanillo, Mexico). Tropical cyclones (hurricanes) have passed within 60 best represents eastern Pacific tropical cyclone frequencies as they currently
nautical miles of this location 133 (59) times from 1949 through 2006. exist.

7.2 Daily Frequencies

Figure 6 illustrates the daily frequency of tropical cyclones over the

eastern Pacific basin for the 8-month period that tropical cyclones have been
observed. This plot has been smoothed using a 9-day moving average, elimi-
nating much of the noise inherent in the raw data, yet preserving the larger-
scale intraseasonal cycles.

The daily frequencies in Figure 6 help define seasonal fluctuations in

tropical cyclone frequency over the eastern Pacific. These intraseasonal chang-
es include a slight maximum around mid-June, followed by a slight decline
until early July. This decline is followed by a steep increase in frequency until
mid-July, then a substantial drop in activity is noted through mid-August. It is
interesting that forecasters from the 1960s often said that August brings a lull
in tropical storm activity (Gustafson 1969). A rapid increase in activity occurs
by the third week in August, attaining a level a little higher than the July peak.
The frequency remains relatively steady until the end of September, where it
trails off rapidly, save a slight increase in activity in the third week of October.
In general, the season starts a few weeks earlier than the Atlantic basin, but also
ends a few weeks earlier. It is also of note that the hurricane and major hur-
ricane frequency from early July to late September is rather steady, except for
Figure 2. Distribution of the duration of tropical cyclones east the large drop in activity from late July to mid-August. Figure 6 is somewhat
of 140°W, excluding depression stage, 1949-2006.

13
 Figures 3 and 4. Distribution of the annual number of tropical storms and hurricanes (left) and hurricanes
only (right), 1949-2006. Data derived from Tables 1 and 2.

similar to one presented by Leftwich and Brown (1981) using limited data, and This counting methodology needs to be considered when making in-
still shows the mid-season minimum in activity during late July and early Au- terpretations of these data. It should be noted on Figures 7 and 8 that multiple
gust. storm and hurricane occurrences on a single day are reasonably common dur-
ing a large portion of the middle of hurricane season.
It is noted in Figures 6-8 that the storm frequency on any given day
is specified in units of estimated number of storms per 100 years. This unit of The maximum multiple occurrence event depicted on these figures is
measurement is convenient for comparing eastern Pacific storm frequencies the “at least three” category for tropical storms and the “at least two” category
with similarly normalized charts for other basins having dissimilar periods of for hurricanes. The maximum number of simultaneous tropical storm occur-
record. In preparing these figures, multiple storm occurrences on single days rences on a single day over the eastern Pacific is four although such an event
were included in the overall totals. Thus, the occurrence of three storms on a is quite rare; in fact, it has only been observed in one year. This 4-storm event
given date in a single year and none on that day during the next two years, for occurred in 1974 when four tropical storms or hurricanes were in existence
example, would yield the same average as a single storm on the same date for during the periods from August 23-24 and August 26-27. Ione, Joyce, Kirsten
each of three successive years. and Lorraine were observed in the first period, and Joyce, Kirsten, Lorraine
and Maggie were active simultaneously during the second period. The only

14
 Figure 5. Eastern North Pacific basin tropical storms, hurricanes and major hurricanes by year, 1949-2006.

other time that the eastern Pacific basin was close to having four storms active Insofar as hurricanes alone are concerned, there were only two years
at once was on September 18, 2005, when Jova, Kenneth, Lidia and Max were (1974, 1992) when 3 hurricanes existed simultaneously. Hurricanes Ione,
all active, but Lidia weakened into a tropical depression at the same time that Kirsten, Joyce were active on August 23-24 for twelve hours, and 18 years later
Max became a tropical storm. the record was matched by Roslyn, Seymour and Tina.

15
 Table 4. Total and average number of tropical storms, hurricanes and major hurricanes beginning each month
in two periods.
19 49 - 2 0 0 6
MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC YEAR

TROPICAL STORMS 25 104 177 177 172 98 15 1 769

AVERAGE OVER PERIOD 0.4 1.8 3.1 3.1 3.0 1.7 0.3 * 13.3

HURRICANES 11 48 84 95 96 56 5 1 396
AVERAGE OVER PERIOD 0.2 0.8 1.4 1.6 1.7 1.0 0.1 * 6.8

MAJOR HURRICANES 2 14 37 32 38 23 0 0 146

AVERAGE OVER PERIOD * 0.2 0.6 0.6 0.7 0.4 0.0 0.0 2.5

19 71 - 2 0 0 6
MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC YEAR

TROPICAL STORMS 20 72 131 134 115 67 11 1 551

AVERAGE OVER PERIOD 0.6 2.0 3.6 3.7 3.2 1.9 0.3 * 15.3

HURRICANES 10 36 69 79 76 39 4 1 314
AVERAGE OVER PERIOD 0.3 1.0 1.9 2.2 2.1 1.1 0.1 * 8.7

MAJOR HURRICANES 2 14 37 32 38 20 0 0 143

AVERAGE OVER PERIOD * 0.4 1.0 0.9 1.1 0.6 0.0 0.0 4.0

Note: Data have been summarized from Tables 1-3. Asterisk (*) indicates less than 0.05 storms

The official eastern Pacific hurricane season extends from May 15 to median (50% cumulative percentage frequency) starting date is June 2 while
November 30. Very rarely does the season begin or end outside of those dates, the median ending date is October 24.
unlike the Atlantic basin. Figure 9 presents a cumulative percentage frequency
distribution (Burlington and May 1957) of the beginning and ending dates of There is a modest negative correlation between the beginning and
the eastern Pacific tropical cyclone season. The figure shows that only about ending dates of a season (r = -0.39). Seasons that begin early tend to end late,
3% of activity occurs out of the hurricane season. Figure 9 also shows that the and vice versa. As might be expected, there is also a moderate correlation

16
 Figure 6. Intraseasonal variations in the 100-year expectancy of tropical cyclone occurrence, based on data
from 1949-2006. The blue bar is for tropical storms, the red bar is for hurricanes and the black bar is for
major hurricanes. The data has been smoothed by a 9-day running mean.

between starting date and the number of storms. Seasons that begin early tend 7.3 Areas of Formation
to have more storms than those that begin late. The linear correlation coeffi-
cient (-0.47) indicates that the starting date explains about 23% of the variance Seasonal shifts in the formation areas in the eastern Pacific are gener-
in the number of tropical storms. ally more subtle than those documented in the Atlantic basin (Neumann et al.
1999). Chart Series B shows the monthly tracks of all of the tropical cyclones.

17
 Figure 7. Intraseasonal variation in the expected 100-year frequency of Figure 8. Same as Figure 7 except for hurricanes.
tropical storms.

Some distinguishing characteristics can be noted. Tropical cyclone develop- 7.4 Mainland Tropical Cyclone Landfalls
ment in May and June generally occurs in the eastern part of the basin, south
of Mexico. June cyclones form at a slightly higher latitude than May, probably Of the 769 tropical cyclones of at least storm strength that have been
due to the northward seasonal migration of the Intertropical Convergence Zone recorded over the eastern Pacific tropical cyclone basin, 1949-2006, a total of
(ITCZ). 151 or about 20% are estimated to have caused at least tropical storm force
winds along the Mexican coastline. For marginal cases, or those systems that
The area of tropical cyclone formation expands greatly westward in brushed the coast, a review of the data along with the tropical cyclone reports or
July, with a large area of formations noted from July through September, reach- published seasonal summaries in Monthly Weather Review was used to make a
ing the highest latitude in September. The genesis area retreats eastward some- determination of the maximum wind speeds that likely occurred on the coast.
what in September, with both the latitude of formation and number of cyclones
significantly diminishing in October. May and November formation areas are Tropical storms affecting land areas other than Mexico in the eastern
similar to one another. Many additional features relating to temporal and spa- Pacific basin are quite rare. In fact, there are only four tropical storms that have
tial variations in storm frequency can be identified by careful analysis of Chart affected areas of the Pacific coast of Central America (Simone 1968, Olivia
Series B. It is often helpful to consider these charts in conjunction with Figures 1971, Miriam 1988, Adrian 2005). Two of these systems, Olivia and Miriam,
6 and 7, depicting the daily frequencies.

18
 Figure 9. Cumulative percentage frequency distribution of beginning and ending dates of eastern
Pacific tropical cyclone season, 1949-2006. (Dates are of first and last recorded position with at least
tropical storm strength.)
were former Atlantic hurricanes that quickly redeveloped after entering the either September or October. In terms of major hurricanes, October is by far
eastern Pacific. the most dangerous month for Pacific coastal residents of Mexico, with 8 out
of 10 recorded systems observed in that month. These systems have tended to
Seventy-one hurricane strikes (a hurricane strike is defined as a hur- approach Mexico from the south or southwest as the mid-latitude westerlies dip
ricane that is estimated to have caused sustained hurricane-force winds on the far enough to the south to allow recurvature of the major hurricanes.
coastline, but does not necessarily make landfall in the area of hurricane-force
winds) have been noted along with ten landfalling major hurricanes. All of 7.5 Coastal Variation of Hurricane Threat
these hurricanes struck Mexico. Figure 10 shows the year-to-year distribution
of these systems, including all tropical storms. The long-term record for hur- Many factors relate to the geographical variation of coastal tropical
ricane strikes seems to be more reliable than the basin-wide records, with little cyclone frequency and intensity. Since the intensity of a hurricane depends
trend in numbers indicated. on a continuous supply of warm and very moist air near the surface, a marine
environment with warm sea-surface temperatures is an important factor. Thus,
It is also of note that most of the hurricanes and major hurricanes occur in general, storms hitting the northern Baja California coast are likely to be less
late in the season, with a sharp maximum in September and October (Figure frequent and less intense than those hitting the other areas of Mexico. Another
11). These two months account for about 60% of the seasonal strikes. June has factor is the location and orientation of the coastline in relation to mean storm
a secondary maximum in hurricane impacts, but the maximum is smaller than tracks. There is a significant clustering of hurricane landfall points (Figure 12)

19
 Figure 10. Central American and Mexican landfalls and strikes, 1949-2006.

20
 Figure 11. Monthly distribution of hurricane and major hurricane landfalls and strikes for
Mexico, 1949-2006.

in southern Mexico near Manzanillo and in the Mexican state of Sinaloa. Note Locations of the tropical cyclones referred to in Figure 10 can be found
that eleven major hurricane landfall points are shown on Figure 12 because one on the appropriate yearly map in Chart Series A. In regard to impacts, the
storm impacted both Baja California and Sinaloa as a major hurricane. The fig- weather is usually very asymmetrical about the point of landfall. Looking in
ure does not specifically address tropical cyclones that do not cross the coast but the direction of storm motion, the worst weather is normally to the storm’s
still cause coastal hurricane-force winds, although there is a reasonably good right side where rotational winds and translational (forward) motion are com-
correlation between hurricane strikes and the frequencies shown on the figure. plementary; thus, for a hurricane moving into southern Mexico from the south,

21
 Figure 12. Distribution of hurricane (red) and major hurricane (black) landfall points in Mexico.

strongest winds and storm surge would normally be on the right (east) side; for Other meteorological conditions and terrain features also contribute to
a storm moving into the Mexican west coast from the west, maximum wind and wind, wind gusts, weather and storm surge asymmetries such that it is difficult
storm surge would be expected south of the landfall point. to speculate on the extent and nature of storm damage at a particular site given

22
only the storm track and storm classification. In addition, building standards Operationally, the assignment of category is solely based on the sus-
vary from location to location. Accordingly, persons desiring to know the spe- tained wind speed. For this publication, the Saffir-Simpson hurricane scale
cific effect or potential effect of past or future storms on a given site should seek value shown in Table 6 is taken from the maximum sustained winds at landfall
further meteorological or engineering advice. in the eastern Pacific tropical cyclone best track database. For marginal cases,
or those systems that brushed the coast, a review of the data along with the
7.6 Hurricane Damage Potential tropical cyclone reports or published seasonal summaries in Monthly Weather
Review was used to make a determination of the maximum wind speeds that
A previous section (7.4) dealt with all tropical cyclones greater than likely occurred on the coast.
storm strength. This section concerns only hurricanes. The amount of dam-
age caused by hurricanes is highly variable and depends on a number of fac- The data presented in Table 6 are summarized by region in Table 7.
tors. Obviously, more intense storms can be expected to cause more damage. Entries in Table 7 may be made for the same hurricane more than once if it
However, there are numerous other factors which need be considered such as affected more than one section; thus, sectional totals cannot be summed to get
wind gusts, storm size, the speed of translational motion (affecting rainfall and national totals. The initial line of Table 7 is an actual count of the number of
fresh-water flooding), storm surge (affected by offshore water depth and coastal hurricanes that have affected Mexico from 1949-2006, where only the highest
configuration), astronomical tide, terrain features, local building codes, etc. Saffir-Simpson category in any individual state is used.

In 1972, the U.S. National Weather Service accepted a hurricane dam- Thus, over the 58-year period 1949 through 2006, a total of 71 hurri-
age scale devised by Herbert Saffir, and later expanded upon by Robert Simp- canes have struck the Mexican coastline. This is an average of a little more than
son. The Saffir-Simpson hurricane scale (Simpson 1974), as it has come to one hurricane per year. The maximum number of strikes was 4 in 1996, and the
be known, relates the strength of hurricane-force winds and associated storm minimum observed is zero in numerous years, mostly recently in 2005.
surge with potential damage. The scale is now widely used in public awareness
programs and by the news media. It gives the public and disaster preparedness
officials a good estimate of what can be expected from various levels of inten-
sity (Table 5).

23
 Table 5. The Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale.

Scale No. 1--Winds of 74 to 95 miles per hour. Likely effects include: Damage primarily to shrubbery, trees, foliage, and unanchored mobile homes. No real
damage to other structures. Some damage to poorly constructed signs. Storm surge 4 to 5 feet above normal. Low-lying coastal roads inundated, minor pier
damage, some small craft in exposed anchorage torn from moorings.

Scale No. 2--Winds of 96 to 110 miles per hour. Likely effects include: Considerable damage to shrubbery and tree foliage; some trees blown down. Major
damage to exposed mobile homes. Extensive damage to poorly constructed signs. Some damage to roofing materials and buildings; some window and door
damage. Storm surge 6 to 8 feet above normal. Coastal roads and low-lying escape routes inland cut by rising water 2 to 4 hours before arrival of hurricane
center. Considerable damage to piers. Marinas flooded. Small craft in unprotected anchorages torn from moorings. Evacuation of some shoreline residences
and low-lying island areas required.

Scale No. 3--Winds of 111 to 130 miles per hour. Likely effects include: Foliage torn from trees; large trees blown down. Practically all poorly constructed
signs blown down. Some structural damage to roofing materials of buildings; some window and door damage. Some structural damage to small buildings.
Mobile homes destroyed. Storm surge 9 to 12 feet above normal. Serious flooding at coast and many smaller structures near coast destroyed; larger struc-
tures near coast damaged by battering waves and floating debris. Low-lying escape routes inland cut by rising water 3 to 5 hours before hurricane center
arrives. Flat terrain 5 feet or less above sea level flooded 8 miles or more. Evacuation of low-lying residences within several blocks of shoreline possibly
required.

Scale No. 4--Winds of 131 to 155 miles per hour. Likely effects include: Shrubs and trees blown down; all signs down. Extensive damage to roofing ma-
terials, windows and doors. Complete failure of roofs on many small residences. Complete destruction of mobile homes. Storm surge 13 to 18 feet above
normal. Flat terrain 10 feet or less above sea level flooded inland as far as 6 miles. Major damage to lower floors of structures near shore due to flooding
and battering by waves and floating debris. Low-lying escape routes inland cut by rising water 3 to 5 hours before hurricane center arrives. Major erosion
of beaches. Massive evacuation of all residences within 500 yards of shore possibly required, and of single-story residences on low ground within 2 miles of
shore.

Scale No. 5--Winds greater than 155 miles per hour. Likely effects include: Shrubs and trees blown down; considerable damage to roofs of buildings; all
signs down. Very severe and extensive damage to windows and doors. Complete failure of roofs on many residences and industrial buildings. Extensive
shattering of glass in windows and doors. Some complete building failures. Small buildings overturned or blown away. Complete destruction of mobile
homes. Storm surge greater than 18 feet above normal. Major damage to lower floors of all structures less than 15 feet above sea level within 500 yards of
shore. Low-lying escape routes inland cut by rising waters 3 to 5 hours before hurricane center arrives. Massive evacuation of residential areas on low ground
within 5 to 10 miles of shore possibly required.

24
Table 6. Chronological listing of hurricane landfalls and strikes and coastal states affected, 1949-2006. Geographical areas are defined as
southern mainland Mexico (states of Chiapas, Oaxaca, Guerrero, Michoacan, Colima, and Jalisco), northern mainland Mexico (states of
Nayarit, Sinaloa, and Sonora), southern Baja Peninsula (state of Baja California Sur), and northern Baja Peninsula (state of Baja California
Norte). The asterisk means that the center stayed offshore.

25
 Table 6 (continued). Chronological listing of hurricane landfalls and
strikes and coastal states affected, 1949-2006.

26
 Table 7. Number of hurricanes striking Mexico, 1949-2006, categorized according to the Saffir-Simpson
hurricane scale. Regional definitions are found in Table 6.

8. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS AND OTHER COMMENTS

In any document of this type, it is impossible to acknowledge all per- thorough reviews and significantly improved the text. Many thanks also go to
sons and agencies who have contributed their time, effort and expertise. Docu- the graphics team at NCDC for outstanding work on this project.
mentation of tropical cyclone tracks and the transfer of these data from analog
to digital form has been underway at the NHC for many years. Some of this The work of George Cry, lead- or co-author of the earliest editions of
work was accomplished by part-time students assigned to the NHC on various the Atlantic track book text, is acknowledged. Indeed, he structured much of
work/study, cooperative education or international exchange programs. Co- the framework about which later editions were patterned (Cry 1959). The late
lin McAdie, Chris Landsea, and Charlie Neumann, recent authors of a similar Dr. Arthur Pike of TPC/NHC is acknowledged for his work on the best track
Atlantic best track book, provided invaluable suggestions. Valuable computer database in the eastern North Pacific.
assistance was given by Chris Sisko. Hurricane specialists at the NHC provided

27
 9. LIST OF ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS

HURDAT Hurricane Data from the best tracks database at the National NHC National Hurricane Center.
Hurricane Center.
NOAA National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration
ITCZ Intertropical Convergence Zone. (parent agency of NHC).

kt knots (nautical miles per hour). Multiply knots by 1.152 to NWS National Weather Service.
obtain miles per hour.
RSMC Regional Specialized Meteorological Center (an agency
m/s meters per second - Multiply m/s by 1.94 to obtain knots. designated by WMO as a major forecasting Center).

mph miles per hour - Multiply mph by 0.868 to obtain knots. UTC Universal Time Coordinated Global time system
(formerly Greenwich Mean Time or Z time).
NCDC National Climatic Data Center, Asheville, NC
(a branch of NOAA). WMO World Meteorological Organization (an agency of the
United Nations).

28
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 APPENDIX A

TRACKS OF EASTERN NORTH PACIFIC TROPICAL CYCLONES BY YEARS, 1949-2008

(CHART SERIES A)

INFORMATION INCLUDED ON CHART

(See Section 3 for definition of various stages)

YEARS
1949-1964 Track type shown usually indicates maximum intensity believed to have been attained at some point along with a reasonable dissipation for
systems that impact land. A few storms have a full lifecycle but they are the minority. Major hurricanes are rarely indicated.

1965-2008 Tropical depression, tropical storm, hurricane, major hurricane, extratropical, and low stages are commonly indicated. Major hurricanes are rarely
indicated before 1971. The low stage is used much more often after 2001.

Notes: In the storm description box, under the TYPE column, occasionally two storm classes are listed. The first one is the maximum intensity attained
while the system was in the eastern Pacific, and the second one in parenthesis is the maximum intensity attained during the storm’s entire life
cycle outside of the eastern Pacific.

Before 1988, storms were often tracked to the coast of Mexico and then no longer tracked (e.g. Paul 1982). The reader should be aware of this
problem, and there is ongoing work to fix this systematic error in the best tracks.

Following the 2008 season, a set of blank pages has been provided for displaying later charts. These are normally published in Monthly Weather Review
or available at http://www.nhc.noaa.gov

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ATTACH 2009 TRACK CHART

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ATTACH 2011 TRACK CHART

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 ATTACH 2012 TRACK CHART

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ATTACH 2013 TRACK CHART

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 APPENDIX B

TRACKS OF EASTERN NORTH PACIFIC TROPICAL CYCLONES BY

INTRASEASONAL PERIODS, 1949-2006
(CHART SERIES B)

Tracks of eastern North Pacific tropical cyclones reaching at least storm strength, including depression stage if known, by months, May through
December and by 10- (or 11-) day periods, May 10 through November 30. Red dots indicate the genesis point of each tropical cyclone that eventually reached
at least tropical storm strength. The monthly numbers of tropical cyclones given in Appendix B do not necessarily match the totals of just tropical storms and
hurricane formations given in Table 4 because Appendix B includes the tropical depression stage.

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