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The 1979 Pacific hurricane season was an inactive North
Pacific hurricane A Pacific hurricane is a tropical cyclone that develops within the northeastern and central Pacific Ocean to the east of 180°W, north of the equator. For tropical cyclone warning purposes, the northern Pacific is divided into three regions: t ...
season, featuring 10 named storms, 6 hurricanes, and 4 major hurricanes. All
tropical cyclone A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system with a low-pressure area, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depending on its locat ...
activity this season was confined to the Eastern Pacific, east of 140°W. For the first time since
1977 Events January * January 8 – 1977 Moscow bombings, Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (no ...
, no tropical cyclones formed in, or entered into the Central Pacific, between 140°W and the
International Date Line The International Date Line (IDL) is the line extending between the South and North Poles that is the boundary between one calendar day and the next. It passes through the Pacific Ocean, roughly following the 180.0° line of longitude and de ...
. The season officially started on May 15, 1979 in the Eastern Pacific and on June 1 in the Central Pacific; they both ended on November 30, 1979. These dates conventionally delimit the period of each year when most tropical cyclones form in these basins. The season's first storm, Andres, developed on May 31, while its last, Jimena, dissipated on November 18. In early June, Andres moved onshore Mexico as a minimal hurricane, while in late October, Ignacio struck the coastline as a tropical depression. Impacts from those storms were minimal, as were the effects of the preponderance of systems during the season. No casualties or damage were reported onshore, but two fishermen drowned offshore. __TOC__


Systems


Hurricane Andres

A tropical disturbance developed south of the Gulf of Tehuantepec early on May 31, and became a tropical depression at 18:00 UTC that day. The system coalesced into Tropical Storm Andres by 06:00 UTC on June 2 as it curved from west to north-northwest. It then became the season's first hurricane around 18:00 UTC on June 3. Later that day, forecasters observed a small
eye An eye is a sensory organ that allows an organism to perceive visual information. It detects light and converts it into electro-chemical impulses in neurons (neurones). It is part of an organism's visual system. In higher organisms, the ey ...
on visible satellite imagery. One of many ships encountered the storm after this time, measuring an inner core in radius. The cyclone attained its peak as a Category 2 hurricane with winds of around 00:00 UTC on June 4. Andres veered northwest and began to weaken, striking the coastline as a minimal hurricane about east of Manzanillo at 13:00 UTC. The system transitioned into an
extratropical cyclone Extratropical cyclones, sometimes called mid-latitude cyclones or wave cyclones, are low-pressure areas which, along with the anticyclones of high-pressure areas, drive the weather over much of the Earth. Extratropical cyclones are capable of p ...
five hours later. All flights inbound to
Acapulco Acapulco de Juárez (), commonly called Acapulco ( , ; ), is a city and Port of Acapulco, major seaport in the Political divisions of Mexico, state of Guerrero on the Pacific Coast of Mexico, south of Mexico City. Located on a deep, semicirc ...
,
Guerrero Guerrero, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Guerrero, is one of the 32 states that compose the administrative divisions of Mexico, 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into Municipalities of Guerrero, 85 municipalities. The stat ...
, were canceled on June 3 but resumed the next day following Andres' passage. Torrential rainfall triggered flooding which inundated homes and floated cars left on streets. High winds also downed power lines, leaving many residents without electricity. Offshore, two fishermen were killed after their boat capsized amidst rough seas. The crew of a
cargo ship A cargo ship or freighter is a merchant ship that carries cargo, goods, and materials from one port to another. Thousands of cargo carriers ply the world's List of seas, seas and Ocean, oceans each year, handling the bulk of international trade. ...
rescued four people from the luxury yacht ''Florida II'', which sank.


Tropical Storm Blanca

A westward-moving tropical disturbance crossed
Costa Rica Costa Rica, officially the Republic of Costa Rica, is a country in Central America. It borders Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the northeast, Panama to the southeast, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, as well as Maritime bo ...
and
Panama Panama, officially the Republic of Panama, is a country in Latin America at the southern end of Central America, bordering South America. It is bordered by Costa Rica to the west, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north, and ...
into the East Pacific on June 17. The system was slow to organize initially, but developed into a tropical depression by 06:00 UTC on June 21. It further intensified and became Tropical Storm Blanca around 00:00 UTC on June 22. Blanca moved over warm waters and eventually attained peak winds of on June 22–23. The cyclone curved west-northwest and began to weaken, particularly after it encountered colder waters. It dissipated far away from land after 12:00 UTC on June 25.


Tropical Storm Carlos

A tropical disturbance formed in the Gulf of Tehuantepec on July 11 and developed into a tropical depression around 18:00 UTC on July 14. The cyclone moved swiftly westward, becoming Tropical Storm Carlos within six hours and reaching peak winds of on July 15. Carlos passed about south of Socorro Island, soon crossing into cooler waters and drier air. The cyclone dissipated southwest of
Baja California Sur Baja California Sur, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California Sur, is a state in Mexico. It is the 31st and last state to be admitted, in 1974. It is also the second least populated Mexican state and the ninth-largest state by ...
after 06:00 UTC on July 16.


Hurricane Dolores

An area of disturbed weather was observed south of
Guatemala Guatemala, officially the Republic of Guatemala, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico, to the northeast by Belize, to the east by Honduras, and to the southeast by El Salvador. It is hydrologically b ...
on July 14. It developed into a tropical depression around 06:00 UTC on July 17 and became Tropical Storm Dolores twelve hours later. Moving along the south side of an upper-level area of high pressure, the cyclone passed over warm waters which facilitated its continued development. It became a hurricane at 18:00 UTC on July 18 and then entered a period of rapid intensification, which coincided with the formation of a well-defined eye on satellite imagery. Dolores strengthened into the season's first major hurricane around 06:00 UTC on July 20 and, after a brief fluctuation in intensity, attained peak winds of early on July 21. High pressure shifted northeast into northern Mexico, causing Dolores to curve northwest into cooler waters and drier air. The system dissipated well to the west of
Baja California Baja California, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California, is a state in Mexico. It is the northwesternmost of the 32 federal entities of Mexico. Before becoming a state in 1952, the area was known as the North Territory of B ...
after 18:00 UTC on July 23.


Hurricane Enrique

After a nearly month-long dearth in tropical-cyclone activity, a new tropical depression formed over the open East Pacific around 18:00 UTC on August 17. It moved west over very warm waters, intensifying into Tropical Storm Enrique six hours after formation, and into a hurricane by 00:00 UTC on August 19. After maintaining that strength for a few days, the cyclone encountered dry air and slightly cooler waters, which caused it to weaken to a tropical storm. Enrique soon moved into a more conducive environment again, however, and began rapid intensification. Over a 24-hour period ending at 18:00 UTC on August 22, the storm's maximum winds increased from to a peak of , ranking as a Category 4 hurricane. Enrique moved toward the northwest, and that trajectory brought the storm over cold waters once again, resulting in rapid weakening. The system dissipated after 18:00 UTC on August 24.


Hurricane Fefa

A tropical disturbance developed south-southeast of Acapulco on August 19. Positioned on the south side of upper-level ridging, the system moved swiftly west-northwest and organized into a tropical depression around 00:00 UTC on August 21. Continued development over very warm waters allowed the depression to become Tropical Storm Fefa within six hours, which then intensified into a hurricane by 06:00 UTC on August 22. Later that day, Fefa developed a well-defined eye. It attained its peak as a Category 3 hurricane with winds of at 12:00 UTC on August 23. A persistent, rapid west-northwest track brought Fefa over increasingly cool waters, which caused weakening. The system dissipated over the open East Pacific after 00:00 UTC on August 25.


Hurricane Guillermo

An area of disturbed weather formed south of the Gulf of Tehuantepec on September 7. It organized into a tropical depression around 18:00 UTC on September 8 and intensified into Tropical Storm Guillermo twelve hours later. Flow around the southwest side of upper-level ridging directed the storm to curve northwestward, while the system's track over warm waters allowed it to intensify. It became a hurricane with peak winds of around 18:00 UTC on September 11. Guillermo decelerated over cooler waters south of Baja California, ultimately dissipating after 12:00 UTC on September 13.


Tropical Storm Hilda

On October 1, an area of disturbed weather developed south of Guatemala. It moved west, coalescing into a tropical depression by 00:00 UTC on October 4. After a short pause in intensification, the depression became Tropical Storm Hilda around 06:00 UTC on October 5, at which time it reached peak winds of . A westward track brought the cyclone over cooler waters, and the brief system dissipated over the open East Pacific after 18:00 UTC on October 6.


Hurricane Ignacio

Over two weeks after the dissipation of Hilda, a new tropical disturbance formed southwest of Guatemala on October 22. It tracked steadily westward, becoming a tropical depression around 18:00 UTC on October 23 and Tropical Storm Ignacio at 12:00 UTC the next day. A curve toward the northwest brought the cyclone over progressively warmer waters, and it reached hurricane intensity around 18:00 UTC on October 26. Ignacio soon thereafter began a period of rapid intensification, vaulting from Category 2 to Category 4 intensity within six hours. A United States Air Force reconnaissance plane investigated the powerful storm at 18:00 UTC on October 27, finding peak winds of – tied with Enrique as the strongest of the season – as well as a 25-mile (35-km) diameter eye covered only by broken low-level clouds. Ignacio turned north and then veered sharply east, entering colder waters. Subsequent reconnaissance of the storm found various changes to its internal structure, including a pinhole eye down to in diameter before it ultimately became ill-defined. Ignacio accelerated toward the Mexico coastline, and around 12:00 UTC on October 30 struck about east-southeast of Manzanillo, Colima, with much-weakened winds of . It transitioned into an extratropical cyclone six hours later, then dissipated over the Yucatán Peninsula the next day.


Tropical Storm Jimena

The final storm of the 1979 season began as a tropical disturbance south of Panama on November 13. The system moved generally westward and organized into a tropical depression around 06:00 UTC on November 15. Warm waters aided in the depression's development, and it became Tropical Storm Jimena by 00:00 UTC on November 16. The cyclone's winds peaked at around 18:00 UTC that day. Afterwards, cold and dry northerly winds flowing across the Gulf of Tehuantepec began to affect Jimena, causing it to weaken. The system's center dissipated after 06:00 UTC on November 18, though its remnants were evident on satellite imagery for another three days.


Other systems

Several unofficial tropical depressions accompanied the documented cyclones in 1979. Shortly before the formation of Andres, a tropical depression developed south of Manzanillo on May 31. It curved northwest into cooler waters and dissipated on June 1. Another tropical depression was identified north of Carlos on July 16. It weakened over cold waters almost immediately, however, dissipating around 12:00 UTC that day just offshore Baja California Sur. The last documented tropical depression formed on September 4 south of the Gulf of the Tehuantepec. The system moved onshore about east-southeast of Acapulco at 18:00 UTC that day. It dissipated rapidly once inland.


Storm names

The following list of names was used for named storms that formed in the North Pacific Ocean east of 140°W in 1979. Most of these names were used for the first time, except for ''Blanca'' and ''Dolores'', which were previously used in the old four-year lists. No names were retired from the list following the season, and it was used again for the 1985 season. Had a named storm formed in the North Pacific between 140°W and the
International Date Line The International Date Line (IDL) is the line extending between the South and North Poles that is the boundary between one calendar day and the next. It passes through the Pacific Ocean, roughly following the 180.0° line of longitude and de ...
in 1979 it would have been assigned a name from the west Pacific's typhoon name list by the
Joint Typhoon Warning Center The Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) is a joint United States Navy – United States Air Force command in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. The JTWC is responsible for the issuing of tropical cyclone warnings in the North-West Pacific Ocean, South P ...
on
Guam Guam ( ; ) is an island that is an Territories of the United States, organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. Guam's capital is Hagåtña, Guam, Hagåtña, and the most ...
.


Season effects

This is a table of all of the storms that formed in the 1979 Pacific hurricane season. It includes their name, duration, peak classification and intensities, areas affected, damage, 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 of the damage figures are in 1979 USD.


See also

* List of Pacific hurricanes * Pacific hurricane season * 1979 Atlantic hurricane season * 1979 Pacific typhoon season *
1979 North Indian Ocean cyclone season The 1979 North Indian Ocean cyclone season was part of the annual cycle of tropical cyclone formation. The season has no official bounds but cyclones tend to form between April and December. These dates conventionally delimit the period of each y ...
* Southern Hemisphere tropical cyclone seasons: 1978–79, 1979–80


Notes


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:1979 Pacific Hurricane Season Pacific hurricane seasons Articles which contain graphical timelines