1975 Pacific Northwest Hurricane - Impact and Records

Impact and Records

At 18:00 UTC on September 3, a ship named Pluvius recorded 50 mph (85 km/h) winds near the center of the storm. At 06:00 UTC on September 4, the U.S. Navy-chartered cargo ship Transcolorado recorded winds of 65 mph (100 km/h) about 120 miles (200 km), the strongest reported winds in association with the tropical cyclone; the ship also reported 27 foot (8.5 m) swells. No significant land impact occurred in association with the cyclone, and no fatalities were reported.

Forming at 31° N, the storm formed farther north than any other Pacific tropical cyclone at the time, though, in 2000, Tropical Storm Wene formed farther to the north. The cyclone marked the first known occurrence of a mid-Pacific upper tropospheric low developing into a tropical cyclone, though Tropical Storm Fausto in 2002 redeveloped in a similar occurrence to the hurricane. The cyclone attained hurricane status at 40° N, a record for a Pacific hurricane. Only Tropical Storm Dot in 1970, Hurricane John in 1994, Tropical Depression Guillermo in 1997, and Tropical Storm Wene in 2000 were tropical cyclones north of the latitude, of which only John was a hurricane; none maintained tropical cyclone status further north than the cyclone.