1960 Pacific hurricane season

The 1960 Pacific hurricane season was an event in the annual seasons of Tropical Cyclone development. It officially started on May 15, 1960, in the eastern Pacific and lasted until November 30, 1960. The 1960 season was the first season that Eastern Pacific hurricanes were named.[1]

1960 Pacific hurricane season
Season summary map
Seasonal boundaries
First system formedJune 9, 1960
Last system dissipatedOctober 23, 1960
Strongest storm
NameEstelle
 • Maximum winds85 mph (140 km/h)
(1-minute sustained)
 • Lowest pressure977 mbar (hPa; 28.85 inHg)
Seasonal statistics
Total depressions8
Total storms8
Hurricanes6
Major hurricanes
(Cat. 3+)
0
Total fatalitiesUnknown
Total damageUnknown
Related articles
Pacific hurricane seasons
1958, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1962

Eight tropical cyclones, seven named storms and five hurricanes formed during the 1960 season, none of the hurricanes reached beyond category 1 status on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale.[2]

Systems

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Saffir–Simpson Hurricane Scale

Tropical Storm Annette

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Tropical storm (SSHWS)
  
DurationJune 9 – June 12
Peak intensity50 mph (85 km/h) (1-min);
996 mbar (hPa)

Tropical Storm Annette formed on June 9 as a 45 mph (70 km/h) tropical storm south of Mexico and moved westward before dissipating on June 12.[3] The storm never made landfall and the effects from Annette is unknown.

Tropical Storm Bonny

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Tropical storm (SSHWS)
  
DurationJune 22 – June 26
Peak intensity50 mph (85 km/h) (1-min);
998 mbar (hPa)

Tropical Storm Bonny formed on June 22 southwest of Mexico and moved northwestward as a 45 mph (70 km/h) tropical storm. Bonny then turned northward and then turned westward before dissipating south of Baja California on June 26.[2]

Hurricane Celeste

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Category 1 hurricane (SSHWS)
  
DurationJuly 20 – July 22
Peak intensity85 mph (140 km/h) (1-min);
994 mbar (hPa)

The remnants of Hurricane Abby crossed over Mexico into the Pacific Ocean[4] and regenerated into a hurricane on July 20 and was named Celeste. The hurricane moved northwestward where it winds peaked at 85 mph (135 km/h) before it weakened into a tropical storm and dissipated on July 22.[2]

Hurricane Diana

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Category 1 hurricane (SSHWS)
  
DurationAugust 17 – August 20
Peak intensity90 mph (150 km/h) (1-min);
989 mbar (hPa)

Hurricane Diana formed on August 16[5] And reached hurricane strength on August 17 where it moved northwestward.[2] Diana briefly weakened into a tropical storm on August 18 before reaching hurricane strength again the following day.[6] After brushing southern Baja California Peninsula, Diana entered the Gulf of California where it became extratropical on August 20.[2]

Hurricane Estelle

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Category 1 hurricane (SSHWS)
  
DurationAugust 29 – September 9
Peak intensity85 mph (140 km/h) (1-min);
977 mbar (hPa)

Estelle formed on August 29 south-southwest of Guatemala. The storm moved west-northwest, paralleling the coast of Mexico as an 85 mph (135 km/h) hurricane before becoming extratropical on September 9.[2] The remnants of Estelle brought heavy rainfall across southern California with rainfall totals reaching 3.1 inches (76.2 mm) in Julian.[7]

Hurricane Fernanda

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Category 1 hurricane (SSHWS)
  
DurationSeptember 3 – September 8
Peak intensity85 mph (140 km/h) (1-min);
999 mbar (hPa)

Fernanda formed on September 3 southwest of Guatemala where it moved west-northwest as a category 1 hurricane before dissipating on September 8 southwest of Mexico.[2]

Hurricane Gwen

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Category 1 hurricane (SSHWS)
  
DurationOctober 4 – October 5
Peak intensity85 mph (140 km/h) (1-min);
1000 mbar (hPa)

Only one report of Gwen was submitted to the National Weather Bureau by the vessel Lord Lodrington early on October 4. The system was given the name Gwen and an Air Force reconnaissance aircraft sent to monitor the system. However, by the time they reached the area where the hurricane was positioned, found the storm had completely dissipated. Due to the lack of reports no track data was produced for Gwen.[8]

Hurricane Hyacinth

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Category 1 hurricane (SSHWS)
  
DurationOctober 21 – October 23
Peak intensity85 mph (140 km/h) (1-min);
989 mbar (hPa)

Hyacinth formed as a hurricane on October 21 and recurved northeastward where it made weakened into a tropical storm before it made landfall as a tropical depression on October 23.[2] Damage from Hyacinth, if any, is unknown.

Storm names

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The following names were used for tropical storms that formed in the North Pacific Ocean east of 140°W during 1960. The names came from a series of four rotating lists. Names were used one after the other without regard to year, and when the bottom of one list was reached, the next named storm received the name at the top of the next list. This was the first season in which tropical storms in the basin were officially given names.[9]

  • Annette
  • Bonny
  • Celeste
  • Diana
  • Estelle
  • Fernanda
  • Gwen
  • Hyacinth

No tropical storms formed in the North Pacific between 140°W and the International Date Line in 1960. Had there been, their names would have been drawn from the Western Pacific typhoon naming list.[9]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ hurricane.com (2007). "Hurricane Naming". Archived from the original on August 18, 2007. Retrieved August 20, 2007.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h "1960 Pacific Hurricane Season". Unisys. 2007. Archived from the original on August 7, 2007. Retrieved August 20, 2007.
  3. ^ Unisys (2007). "Annette 1960 Best Track Data". Archived from the original on August 7, 2007. Retrieved August 20, 2007.
  4. ^ Raymond A. Green (1960). "Weather and Circulation of July" (PDF). NOAA. Retrieved August 20, 2007.
  5. ^ L.P. Stark (1960). "Weather and Circulation of August" (PDF). NOAA. Retrieved August 22, 2007.
  6. ^ Unisys (2007). "Diana 1960 Best Track Data". Archived from the original on August 8, 2007. Retrieved August 22, 2007.
  7. ^ Jack Williams (May 17, 2005). "Background: California's tropical storms". USA Today. Retrieved August 23, 2007.
  8. ^ "Mariners Weather Log". National Weather Bureau. April 27, 1961. Retrieved October 27, 2013.
  9. ^ a b Padgett, Gary (July 11, 2008). "Monthly Global Tropical Cyclone Summary: November 2007 First Installment". Australian Severe Weather. Retrieved February 24, 2024.