Records
Its 31-day existence made John the longest-lasting tropical cyclone recorded in both the Pacific Ocean and worldwide, surpassing both Hurricane Tina's previous record in the Pacific of 24 days in the 1992 season and Hurricane San Ciriaco's previous world record of 28 days in the 1899 Atlantic season. In addition, despite its slow movement throughout much of its path, John was the farthest-traveling tropical cyclone in both Pacific Ocean and worldwide, with a distance traveled of 7,165 miles (13,280 km), out-distancing previous record holders Hurricane Fico in the Pacific of 4,700 miles (8,700 km) in the 1978 season and Hurricane Faith worldwide of 6,850 miles (12,700 km) in the 1966 Atlantic season.
Pressure readings from John's peak are not consistently available as the CPHC did not monitor pressures at the time, but Air Force Reserve aircraft did measure a surface pressure of 929 mbar (hPa), making John one of the most intense hurricanes recorded in the central Pacific; Hurricane Gilma recorded a lower pressure in the central Pacific earlier in the 1994 season, but with lower wind speeds. (Intensity is measured by minimum central pressure, which correlates with but is not directly linked to wind speeds.) John was also only the third Category 5 hurricane recorded in the central Pacific (the first was Hurricane Patsy in 1959 and the second, Hurricane Gilma earlier in 1994), and possessed the highest recorded wind speed in a central Pacific hurricane, 175 mph (280 km/h). Since 1994, only one Category 5 hurricane, Hurricane Ioke, has formed in or entered into the Central Pacific; Ioke, like Gilma, had a lower central pressure but lower wind speeds than John. However, John's pressure record is incomplete; the 929 mbar reading was only measured when the winds were 160 mph; there is no pressure reading when it had winds of 175 mph, so it could have been stronger than Gilma or Ioke.
Additionally, John was only the fifth tropical cyclone to enter the central Pacific from the western Pacific. Hurricane Patsy and Tropical Storms Virginia, Carmen and Skip in 1959, 1968, 1980 and 1985, respectively, had done so previously.
Read more about this topic: Hurricane John (1994)
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