1960 Pacific hurricane season

1960 Pacific hurricane season
First storm formed June 9, 1960
Last storm dissipated October 23, 1960
Strongest storm Celeste, Diana, Estelle, Fernanda, Hyacinth – 85 mph (140 km/h)
Total depressions 8
Total storms 8
Hurricanes 5
Major hurricanes (Cat. 3+) 0
Total fatalities Unknown
Total damage Unknown
Pacific hurricane seasons
1958, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1962

The 1960 Pacific hurricane season was an event in meteorology. 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]

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]

Contents

Storms


Tropical Storm Annette

Tropical storm (SSHS)
Duration June 9 – June 12
Intensity 50 mph (85 km/h) (1-min),  Unknown

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

Tropical storm (SSHS)
Duration June 22 – June 26
Intensity 50 mph (85 km/h) (1-min),  Unknown

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

Category 1 hurricane (SSHS)
Duration July 20 – July 22
Intensity 85 mph (140 km/h) (1-min),  Unknown

The remnants of Hurricane Abby moved into the Eastern Pacific Ocean[4] and intensified 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

Category 1 hurricane (SSHS)
Duration August 17 – August 20
Intensity 85 mph (140 km/h) (1-min),  987 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

Category 1 hurricane (SSHS)
Duration August 29 – September 9
Intensity 85 mph (140 km/h) (1-min),  Unknown

Estelle formed on August 29 south-southwest of Guatemala. The storm moved west-northwest, paralleling the coast of Mexico as a 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

Category 1 hurricane (SSHS)
Duration September 3 – September 8
Intensity 85 mph (140 km/h) (1-min),  Unknown

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]

Tropical Storm Gwen

Tropical storm (SSHS)
Duration September 25 – Unknown
Intensity 45 mph (75 km/h) (1-min),  Unknown

A tropical cyclone in the eastern Pacific was given the name Gwen.[8] However, the system was not included in the best track data.[9] The reason why is unknown.

Hurricane Hyacinth

Category 1 hurricane (SSHS)
Duration October 21 – October 23
Intensity 85 mph (140 km/h) (1-min),  Unknown

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

The following names were used for named storms that formed in the eastern Pacific in 1960. No names were retired, so it was used again in the 1972 season. This is the same list as list 1 used during 1960-1965, Names that were not assigned are marked in gray.

  • Annette
  • Bonny
  • Celeste
  • Diana
  • Estelle
  • Fernanda
  • Gwen
  • Hyacinth
  • Iva (unused)
  • Joanne (unused)
  • Kate (unused)
  • Liza (unused)
  • Madeline (unused)
  • Naomi (unused)
  • Orla (unused)
  • Pauline (unused)
  • Rebecca (unused)
  • Simone (unused)
  • Tara (unused)
  • Valerie (unused)
  • Willa (unused)

The Central Pacific used names and numbers from the Western Pacific's typhoon list. No systems formed in the area, and thus no names were required.

See also

References