Season Summary
| TD | TS | C1 | C2 | C3 | C4 | C5 |
This season, twenty-two tropical cyclones formed in the north Pacific Ocean east of the dateline. All but two of them became tropical storms or hurricanes. In the eastern Pacific (140°W to North America), nineteen tropical depressions formed, of which seventeen became tropical storms, nine became hurricanes, and five became major hurricanes of Category 3 intensity or higher on the Saffir Simpson Scale. These numbers are the long-term averages of fifteen tropical storms, nine hurricanes, and four major hurricanes.
In the Central Pacific Hurricane Center's area of responsibility (140°W to the International Date Line), three depressions, two tropical storms, and one hurricane formed. Over all, there were eleven tropical cyclones, eight tropical storms, five hurricanes, and three major hurricanes that formed or entered the central Pacific. These numbers are well above the long-term average of four tropical cyclones, two hurricanes, one tropical storm, and two depressions. The extremely high activity was contributed to by an El Niño ongoing at the time.
The only named storm to make landfall this year was Hurricane Rosa, which killed several people in Mexico. Other notable storms include Hurricane Olivia, which is one of the most intense Pacific hurricanes on record, the three Category 5 hurricanes Emilia, Gilma, and John, and Hurricane Li, which existed in all three basins (East, Central, and West) of the Pacific Ocean.
This season is the end of the eastern north Pacific's most recent active period. That period, which began in 1980, and includes the five most active Pacific hurricane seasons, ended with this season. Starting in 1995, multi-decadal factors switched to a phase that suppresses Pacific hurricane activity. Since then, Pacific hurricane activity has been largely inactive.
Read more about this topic: 1994 Pacific Hurricane Season
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