| Timeline of the 1996 Pacific hurricane season | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Season summary map | |||||
| Season boundaries | |||||
| First system formed | May 13, 1996 | ||||
| Last system dissipated | November 11, 1996 | ||||
| Strongest system | |||||
| Name | Douglas | ||||
| Maximum winds | 130 mph (215 km/h) (1-minute sustained) | ||||
| Lowest pressure | 946 mbar (hPa; 27.94 inHg) | ||||
| Longest lasting system | |||||
| Name | Genevieve | ||||
| Duration | 11.25 days | ||||
| |||||
The 1996 Pacific hurricane season consisted of the events that occurred in the annual cycle of tropical cyclone formation over the Pacific Ocean north of the equator and east of the International Date Line. The official bounds of each Pacific hurricane season are dates that conventionally delineate the period each year during which tropical cyclones tend to form in the basin according to the National Hurricane Center (NHC), beginning on May 15 in the Eastern Pacific proper (east of 140°W) and June 1 in the Central Pacific (140°W to the International Date Line), and ending on November 30 in both areas. However, tropical cyclogenesis is possible at any time of year, as demonstrated by the formation of an unnamed tropical storm two days before the season officially began. [1] Activity during the season was below average; [nb 1] fifteen tropical depressions developed, of which only nine strengthened into named tropical storms. Five became hurricanes, of which two further intensified into major hurricanes. [nb 2] [2] The number of tropical storms was below average; the number of hurricanes was below average, and the number of major hurricanes was half of the average of four. [3] Two tropical depressions existed in the Central Pacific in 1996: Tropical Depression Seventeen-W crossed over from the Northwest Pacific, while Tropical Depression One-C formed in the Central Pacific. Activity during the season ceased with the dissipation of Tropical Depression Twelve-E on November 11. [4]
Contents
- Timeline of events
- May
- June
- July
- August
- September
- October
- November
- See also
- Notes
- References
- External links
Much of the season's activity was clustered near the coast of Southwest Mexico, with four hurricanes and one tropical storm making landfall along it. The most impactful were: Hurricane Alma, which was responsible for 20 deaths, and Hurricane Fausto, which left behind damage amounting to around $800,000 (1996 USD). Hurricane Douglas was the strongest storm of the season, reaching Category 4 intensity on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale. Douglas developed in the Caribbean Sea, within the Atlantic basin, as Hurricane Cesar, before crossing into the Pacific as a tropical storm.
Prior to 2015, two time zones were utilized in the Eastern Pacific basin: Pacific east of 140°W, and Hawaii−Aleutian from 140°W to the International Date Line. [5] [6] For convenience, each event is listed in Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) first, using the 24-hour clock (where 00:00 = midnight UTC), [7] with the respective local time included in parentheses. Figures for maximum sustained winds and position estimates are rounded to the nearest five units (knots, miles, or kilometers) and averaged over one minute, following National Hurricane Center practice. Direct wind observations are rounded to the nearest whole number. Atmospheric pressures are listed to the nearest millibar and nearest hundredth of an inch of mercury. This timeline documents the formation of tropical cyclones as well as the strengthening, weakening, landfalls, extratropical transitions, and dissipations during the season. It also includes information that was not released while the storm was active, meaning that data from post-storm reviews by the National Hurricane Center and the Central Pacific Hurricane Center is included.
