Select an option below to continue reading this premium story.
Already a Honolulu Star-Advertiser subscriber? Log in now to continue reading.
Hawaii’s record-breaking hurricane season officially ended Dec. 1 with more tropical disturbances than ever, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced Friday.
Hurricane season runs from June 1 to Nov. 30, and this year’s strong El Nino ocean conditions created a “frenetic pace” of activity across Central Pacific waters from July through October, NOAA said.
The Central Pacific region normally sees four to five tropical cyclones each season, but this year there were a record 15 tropical cyclones — the umbrella term for tropical depressions, tropical storms and hurricanes.
Until this year the record for tropical cyclones was 11 — in 1970, 1992 and 1994.
The Central Pacific region’s five hurricanes in August also broke the previous record of two hurricanes in one season. And its three tropical storms in July beat the previous record of one.
For the first time on record, three major hurricanes — Kilo (140 mph maximum winds), Ignacio (145 mph maximum winds) and Jimena (120 mph maximum winds) — occurred concurrently. Each was a Category 4 hurricane. Previously, two concurrent Category 3, let alone Category 4, hurricanes had never been recorded in the Central Pacific, NOAA said.
Tropical Storm Ela (45 mph maximum winds), which appeared July 9, represented the earliest a tropical cyclone developed in the region. And Hurricane Olaf (130 mph), which appeared Oct. 20 to 26, represented the strongest hurricane to appear so late in the year.
