Central Pacific Hurricane Center

On September 11, 1992, Hurricane Iniki caused more than US$3 billion of damage in Hawai'i.

The Central Pacific Hurricane Center of the United States National Weather Service is the official body responsible for tracking and issuing tropical cyclone warnings, watches, advisories, discussions, and statements for the Central North Pacific Basin. The Central North Pacific Basin is the region of the Pacific Ocean that is north of the equator between 140 degrees west longitude and the International Date Line. In this area, the hurricane season lasts from June 1 through November 30.

Based in Honolulu, Hawai‘i, the CPHC is co-located with the National Weather Service's Honolulu forecast office on the campus of the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa. The Honolulu forecast office activates the CPHC when tropical cyclones form in, or move into, the Central Pacific region.

The CPHC replaced the previous forecaster, the Joint Hurricane Warning Center, starting in the 1970 season.

Hurricane naming system

The Central Pacific Hurricane Center uses traditional Hawaiian names for hurricanes that form within its regional sphere of jurisdiction. It has formed four lists of names to choose from. As soon as all the names are exhausted from the first list, it moves on to the second, then third, then fourth, then back to the first and so on. Unlike the name list in the Atlantic and Eastern Pacific, the names do not start at "A" every year. Two names have been retired, Iniki of 1992 and Ioke of 2006 they were replaced by Iolana and Iopa respectively.

Forecasting system

Since the 1990s, the CPHC has used the Automated Tropical Cyclone Forecasting System to create forecasts, advisories, and their associated graphics.

See also

• National Hurricane Center

External links

• Central Pacific Hurricane Center