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2016 Pacific hurricane season
Season summary map
Seasonal boundaries
First system formed	January 7, 2016 (record earliest)
Last system dissipated	Season ongoing
Strongest storm
Name	Pali
• Maximum winds	100 mph (155 km/h)
• Lowest pressure	977 mbar (hPa; 28.85 inHg)
Seasonal statistics
Total depressions	1
Total storms	1
Hurricanes	1
Major hurricanes (Cat. 3+)	0
Total fatalities	None
Total damage	None
Related article
Timeline of the 2016 Pacific hurricane season
Pacific hurricane seasons 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018

The 2016 Pacific hurricane season is an ongoing event in the annual cycle of tropical cyclone formation, in which tropical cyclones form in the eastern Pacific Ocean. On January 7, Hurricane Pali formed in the Central Pacific, becoming the earliest Central Pacific tropical cyclone to form on record. The season officially started on May 15 in the East Pacific Ocean, and on June 1 in the Central Pacific; they will both end on November 30. These dates conventionally delimit the period of each year when most tropical cyclones form in the Pacific basin. However, as illustrated by Hurricane Pali, the formation of tropical cyclones is possible at any time of the year. No tropical cyclones formed in the month of May, the first such occurrence in five years.

Seasonal forecasts

On May 6, 2016, the Servicio Meteorológico Nacional (SMN) issued its first outlook for the Pacific hurricane season, forecasting a near average season with 17 named storms, 9 hurricanes, and 4 major hurricanes. On May 27, NOAA released their outlook, forecasting 13-20 named storms, 6-11 hurricanes, and 3-6 major hurricanes. NOAA admitted that this season would be difficult to predict because of changing conditions, both organizations cited a dissipating El Niño and the formation of a La Niña event, which resulted in the prediction of a near-normal season in both basins. In the Central Pacific, about four to seven cyclones would form or enter within the basin, citing an equal 40% chance of an above-normal or near-normal season.

Seasonal summary

The Accumulated Cyclone Energy (ACE) index for the 2016 Pacific hurricane season, as of Pali's final advisory, is 9.0325 units.

As the new year began, Tropical Depression Nine-C was in the Central Pacific, but dissipated later that day. Nine-C's remnants led to the formation of Pali on January 7, two days before Tropical Storm Winona's formation in 1989. Pali subsequently surpassed Hurricane Ekeka's record and became a hurricane on January 11. When Pali reached a peak intensity of 100 mph, it beat Winona to become the strongest January hurricane east of the dateline. Pali also reached a record low latitude of 2.0°N, beating Nine-C's record of 2.2°N to become the lowest tropical cyclone on record in the western hemisphere. For the first time since 2011, no tropical depressions or storms formed during the month of May.

Storms

Hurricane Pali

Category 2 hurricane (SSHWS)
Duration	January 7 – January 15
Peak intensity	100 mph (155 km/h) (1-min); 977 mbar (hPa)

At the onset of 2016, the dissipating Tropical Depression Nine-C left behind a large area of moisture across the equatorial Pacific. A powerful westerly wind burst—a feature commonly associated with strong El Niño events—spurred cyclogenesis within the disturbance, resulting in the formation of an area of low pressure. Fueled by unusually high sea surface temperatures, estimated at 85.1 °F (29.5 °C), the system gradually coalesced into a tropical depression on January 7. This marked the earliest formation of a tropical cyclone on record in the Central Pacific, surpassing 1989's Tropical Storm Winona by six days. It soon strengthened into a tropical storm, receiving the name Pali, becoming the earliest such system in the northeastern Pacific on record. Then, on January 11, Pali strengthened into a Category 1 hurricane, becoming the earliest hurricane on record in the northeast Pacific basin, beating the previous record set by Hurricane Ekeka in 1992. Pali reached a minimum latitude of 2.0°N, making it the lowest latitude tropical cyclone on record in the Western Hemisphere, surpassing Tropical Depression Nine-C which attained a minimum latitude of 2.2°N just two weeks prior. On January 12, Pali strengthened further into a Category 2 hurricane. During the next few days, Pali rapidly weakened while turning back towards the south-southeast, before weakening into a remnant low early on January 15.

Unrelated to Pali, Hurricane Alex developed over the Atlantic during the last few days of Pali's existence. This marked the first known occurrence of simultaneous January tropical cyclones between the two basins.

Storm names

The following names will be used for named storms that form in the northeastern Pacific Ocean during 2016. Retired names, if any, will be announced by the World Meteorological Organization in the spring of 2017. The names not retired from this list will be used again in the 2022 season. This is the same list used in the 2010 season, except for the name Ivette, which replaced Isis after the rise of the terrorist group of the same name.

For storms that form in the Central Pacific Hurricane Center's area of responsibility, encompassing the area between 140 degrees west and the International Date Line, all names are used in a series of four rotating lists. The next four names slated for use are shown below.

Season effects

This is a table of all the storms that have formed in the 2016 Pacific hurricane season. It includes their duration, names, landfall(s), denoted in parentheses, damages, and death totals. Deaths in parentheses are additional and indirect (an example of an indirect death would be a traffic accident), but were still related to that storm. Damage and deaths include totals while the storm was extratropical, a wave, or a low, and all the damage figures are in 2016 USD.

See also

• List of Pacific hurricanes
• List of Pacific hurricane seasons
• 2016 Atlantic hurricane season
• 2016 Pacific typhoon season
• 2016 North Indian Ocean cyclone season
• South-West Indian Ocean cyclone seasons: 2015–16, 2016–17
• Australian region cyclone seasons: 2015–16, 2016–17
• South Pacific cyclone seasons: 2015–16, 2016–17

Notes

1. The totals represent the sum of the squares for every (sub)tropical storm's intensity of over 33 knots (38 mph, 61 km/h), divided by 10,000. Calculations are provided at Talk:2016 Pacific hurricane season/ACE calcs.

References

1. Pali Becomes Earliest Central Pacific Tropical Storm on Record
2. "Background Information: East Pacific Hurricane Season". Climate Prediction Center. College Park, Maryland: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. May 22, 2014. Retrieved May 29, 2014.
3. ^ National Hurricane Center; Hurricane Research Division; Central Pacific Hurricane Center (April 26, 2024). "The Northeast and North Central Pacific hurricane database 1949–2023". United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Weather Service. Archived from the original on May 29, 2024. A guide on how to read the database is available here. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
4. http://smn.cna.gob.mx/tools/DATA/Ciclones%20Tropicales/Proyecci%C3%B3n/2016.pdf
5. http://www.noaa.gov/near-normal-atlantic-hurricane-season-most-likely-year
6. Bob Henson (January 7, 2016). "Rare January Depression in Central Pacific; Atlantic Subtropical Storm Next Week?". Weather Underground. Retrieved January 9, 2016.
7. Bob Henson (January 8, 2016). "Warm, Wet Year for U.S.; Record Heat in South Africa; Tropical Storm Pali Intensifies". Weather Underground. Retrieved January 9, 2016.
8. "Hurricane Pali Discussion Number 19". 12 January 2016.
9. Erdman, John. "Tropical Depression Nine-C Dissipates; Caps Off a Record Central Pacific Hurricane Season". The Weather Channel. The Weather Channel. Retrieved 6 January 2016.
10. Ballard, R. "TROPICAL DEPRESSION PALI DISCUSSION NUMBER 30". National Weather Service. Central Pacific Hurricane Center. Retrieved 14 January 2016.
11. HURRICANE PALI ADVISORY NUMBER 22
12. REMNANTS OF PALI ADVISORY NUMBER 31
13. Jeff Masters (January 13, 2016). "Unprecedented: Simultaneous January Named Storms in the Atlantic and Central Pacific". Weather Underground. Retrieved January 14, 2016.
14. "Tropical Cyclone Names". National Hurricane Center. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 2013-04-11. Archived from the original on May 8, 2013. Retrieved May 8, 2013.
15. "'Isis' among names removed from UN list of hurricane names". Reuters. April 17, 2015. Retrieved January 7, 2016.
16. "Pacific Tropical Cyclone Names". Central Pacific Hurricane Center. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. April 11, 2013. Archived from the original (PHP) on May 8, 2013. Retrieved May 8, 2013.

External links

• National Hurricane Center Website
• National Hurricane Center's Eastern Pacific Tropical Weather Outlook
• Central Pacific Hurricane Center
• Servicio Meteorológico Nacional Website Template:Es icon

v t e Tropical cyclones of the 2016 Pacific hurricane season
Timeline
	2Pali TDOne-E TSAgatha 4Blas 2Celia 3Darby TSEstelle 1Frank 4Georgette TSHoward TSIvette TSJavier TSKay 4Lester 4Madeline 1Newton 2Orlene 1Paine TSRoslyn 1Ulika 4Seymour TSTina TSOtto
Category

• 2016 Pacific hurricane season
• Pacific hurricane seasons