Tropical Storm Georgette (1971)
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The 1971 Pacific hurricane season began on May 15, 1971 in the eastern Pacific (east of 140°W), and on June 1, 1971 in the Central Pacific (from 140°W to 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 ...
); both ended on November 30, 1971. These dates, adopted by convention, historically describe the period in each year when most
tropical cyclogenesis Tropical cyclogenesis is the development and strengthening of a tropical cyclone in the atmosphere. The mechanisms through which tropics, tropical cyclogenesis occur are distinctly different from those through which temperate cyclogenesis occu ...
occurs in these regions of the Pacific. It was the first year that continuous
Weather satellite A weather satellite or meteorological satellite is a type of Earth observation satellite that is primarily used to monitor the weather and climate of the Earth. Satellites are mainly of two types: polar orbiting (covering the entire Earth asyn ...
coverage existed over the entire Central Pacific. As such, this season is often viewed as the start year for modern reliable tropical cyclone data in the Pacific Ocean. It was an above average
pacific hurricane season 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 ...
with 22
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 ...
s forming, of which 18 became named storms. During the season, 12 storms became hurricanes, of which 6 became major hurricanes by reaching Category 3 or higher on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale. At the time, this was a single-season record number of storms. This season also had a record 6 systems make
landfall Landfall is the event of a storm moving over land after being over water. More broadly, and in relation to human travel, it refers to 'the first land that is reached or seen at the end of a journey across the sea or through the air, or the fact ...
: Agatha, Bridget, Katrina,
Lily ''Lilium'' ( ) is a genus of herbaceous flowering plants growing from bulbs, all with large and often prominent flowers. Lilies are a group of flowering plants which are important in culture and literature in much of the world. Most species are ...
,
Olivia Olivia may refer to: People and fictional characters * Olivia (name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the name * Olivia (singer), American singer Olivia Longott (born 1981) * Olívia (basketball), Brazilian basketball playe ...
and Priscilla. __TOC__


Systems


Hurricane Agatha

On May 21, an area of low pressure developed in the very warm waters
south South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both west and east. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþa ...
of
Tehuantepec Tehuantepec (, in full, Santo Domingo Tehuantepec) is a city and municipality in the southeast of the Mexican state of Oaxaca. It is part of the Tehuantepec District in the west of the Istmo Region. The area was important in pre-Hispanic per ...
,
Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...
. Later that day, satellite images showed increasing circulation and Tropical Storm Agatha developed shortly after. Agatha continued moving to the west-northwest parallel to the
Mexican Mexican may refer to: Mexico and its culture *Being related to, from, or connected to the country of Mexico, in North America ** People *** Mexicans, inhabitants of the country Mexico and their descendants *** Mexica, ancient indigenous people ...
coastline and strengthened into a hurricane on May 22. A
U.S. Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its origins to 1 ...
weather reconnaissance aircraft flew into Agatha and found an
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and strong
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. The next day, a reconnaissance plane found winds of . On May 24, a ship reported winds of . Agatha made landfall as a Category 2 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson hurricane scale within of Zihuatanejo, Mexico. The village of Playa Azul was hard hit by the storm. Up to half of the village's homes were destroyed, and much of the
banana A banana is an elongated, edible fruit – botanically a berry – produced by several kinds of large treelike herbaceous flowering plants in the genus '' Musa''. In some countries, cooking bananas are called plantains, distinguishing the ...
,
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, and
coconut The coconut tree (''Cocos nucifera'') is a member of the palm tree family (biology), family (Arecaceae) and the only living species of the genus ''Cocos''. The term "coconut" (or the archaic "cocoanut") can refer to the whole coconut palm, ...
crops were destroyed.


Hurricane Bridget

A tropical disturbance near
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remained unorganized until June 12. The area of convection started to drift west-northwestward and strengthened into Tropical Depression Two-E. On June 15, the Tropical Depression further intensified into Tropical storm status and was named Bridget, the second tropical storm of the season. Tropical Storm Bridget moved across the
Gulf of Tehuantepec The Gulf of Tehuantepec () is a large body of water on the Pacific coast of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, southeastern Mexico, at . Many (but not all) Pacific hurricanes form in or near this body of water. A strong, gale-force wind called the T ...
which was favorable for Development. On June 16, Bridget continued intensifying and satellite imagery and ship report data confirmed that Bridget had strengthened into a hurricane. Hurricane Bridget continued moving west-northwest along the west coast of
Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...
and came within of
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 ...
on June 17. Bridget later made landfall as a Tropical Storm about southeast of Manzanillo, Mexico. However, the Tropical Depression Re-entered open waters and dissipated on June 20. Bridget was the worst hurricane to hit Acapulco in over 25 years. Hurricane Bridget's
storm surge A storm surge, storm flood, tidal surge, or storm tide is a coastal flood or tsunami-like phenomenon of rising water commonly associated with low-pressure weather systems, such as cyclones. It is measured as the rise in water level above the ...
caused flooding in the bay and damaged waterfront and beach facilities. Rough weather and violent seas also sank 20 boats plus a flagship of the
Mexican Navy The Mexican Navy () is one of the components of the Mexican Armed Forces. The Secretariat of the Navy is in charge of administration of the navy. The commander of the navy is the Secretary of the Navy, who is both a cabinet minister and a career ...
.


Hurricane Carlotta

On July 1 an area of weather developed about east of
Clipperton Island Clipperton Island ( ; ), also known as Clipperton Atoll and previously as Clipperton's Rock, is an uninhabited French coral atoll in the eastern Pacific Ocean. The only French territory in the North Pacific, Clipperton is from Paris, France ...
. On July 2 the area of thunderstorms strengthened into Tropical Storm Carlotta. An Air Force reconnaissance aircraft flew into Carlotta on July 4 and found a system with a well-defined
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 ...
and good
outflow Outflow may refer to: *Capital outflow, the capital leaving a particular economy *Bipolar outflow, in astronomy, two continuous flows of gas from the poles of a star * Outflow (hydrology), the discharge of a lake or other reservoir system *Outflow ...
, but winds only supported a tropical storm. Another reconnaissance plane found winds that were near hurricane strength on July 4. In post-season analysis, it was discovered that Carlotta was a hurricane for 24 hours on July 3 and 4. Later that day, Carlotta started weakening after moving into a less favorable environment. The storm continued to weaken until dissipating on July 8. Carlotta stayed over open waters during its entire life and no land was affected.


Hurricane Denise

On July 2 an area of weather got better organized about east of then Tropical Storm Carlotta. On July 4
satellite A satellite or an artificial satellite is an object, typically a spacecraft, placed into orbit around a celestial body. They have a variety of uses, including communication relay, weather forecasting, navigation ( GPS), broadcasting, scient ...
imagery indicated that the system had strengthened into Tropical Storm Denise and later into Hurricane Denise on July 6. The system continued to move west and on July 7, U.S. Air Force weather reconnaissance plane found a more organized system with sustained winds estimated to be with a minimum central pressure of 963 
mbar The bar is a metric unit of pressure defined as 100,000  Pa (100 kPa), though not part of the International System of Units (SI). A pressure of 1 bar is slightly less than the current average atmospheric pressure on Earth at sea ...
(
hPa The pascal (symbol: Pa) is the unit of pressure in the International System of Units (SI). It is also used to quantify internal pressure, stress, Young's modulus, and ultimate tensile strength. The unit, named after Blaise Pascal, is an S ...
; 28.4 
inHg Inch of mercury (inHg, ″Hg, or in) is a non- SI unit of measurement for pressure. It is used for barometric pressure in weather reports, refrigeration and aviation in the United States. It is the pressure exerted by a column of mercury in h ...
). By July 8, the system had sustained one-minute winds of and a minimum central pressure of . Denise reached a peak intensity of , a Category 4 on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale early on July 9, but then started to weaken. Denise had started a northwest movement towards
Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...
. A reconnaissance aircraft found surface winds of approximately 115 mph (185 mph) on July 9. Soon after, the
eyewall The eye is a region of mostly calm weather at the center of a tropical cyclone. The eye of a storm is a roughly circular area, typically in diameter. It is surrounded by the eyewall, a ring of towering thunderstorms where the most severe weath ...
started to dissipate, most likely because of cooler inflow. Over the next 48 hours, the system continued to weaken into a tropical storm. On July 13 the system was approaching the Hawaiian Islands, but a reconnaissance flight only found winds that were barely tropical storm strength. What was left of the storm quickly weakened and Denise became a remnant low. The remnants of Denise moved south of the Hawaiian Islands, but still brought beneficial rains that caused some minor flooding.


Tropical Storm Eleanor

Eleanor was a short-lived, weak
tropical storm 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 lo ...
that stayed well out to sea. On July 7, a tropical depression formed east-southeast of the weakening Carlotta and west of the strengthening Denise. By July 8,
satellite A satellite or an artificial satellite is an object, typically a spacecraft, placed into orbit around a celestial body. They have a variety of uses, including communication relay, weather forecasting, navigation ( GPS), broadcasting, scient ...
imagery showed that the depression had strengthened into a tropical storm. Eleanor strengthened over the next 24 hours to a top strength of . On July 10, a U.S. Air Force weather reconnaissance plane found a weakening system and the next day the storm was a dissipating depression moving toward the west-southwest.


Hurricane Francene

An area of enhanced shower activity and low pressure circulation developed a couple hundred miles off the coast of
Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...
. On July 18 a tropical depression had formed and on July 19 the system strengthened into Tropical Storm Francene. Francene underwent
rapid deepening Rapid intensification (RI) is any process wherein a tropical cyclone strengthens very dramatically in a short period of time. Tropical cyclone forecasting agencies utilize differing thresholds for designating rapid intensification events, th ...
into a Category 3 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale. However, because of Francene's increasing size, the storm starting pulling in cool surface air which caused weakening. By July 20, Francene had weakened into a tropical storm. Francene continued to weaken over the next 24 hours and was barely a tropical storm by the morning of July 22. That afternoon, Francene began to strengthen once again but it was short-lived. By July 23, the surface circulation had disappeared and Francene was no longer a
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 ...
. Francene stayed over open water and did not affect land.


Tropical Storm Georgette

A tropical depression formed to the east of Hurricane Francene on July 20. A reconnaissance flight found a poorly organized tropical storm with winds of on July 23. Georgette reached a peak intensity of the next day. Ships to the north of Georgette reported weak tropical storm force winds. By July 26 the storm began to weaken rapidly before dissipating the next day.


Hurricane Hilary

Tropical Storm Hilary developed about west of
Clipperton Island Clipperton Island ( ; ), also known as Clipperton Atoll and previously as Clipperton's Rock, is an uninhabited French coral atoll in the eastern Pacific Ocean. The only French territory in the North Pacific, Clipperton is from Paris, France ...
on July 26. Hilary strengthened quickly into a hurricane by July 28 and a recon plane found surface winds of and noted a well-defined
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 ...
. The hurricane would peak as a category 2 with sustained winds of on July 30. Hilary weakened slightly as its motion became erratic across the tropical
Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...
. By August 1 the hurricane turned to the northwest towards cooler waters. Hilary weakened into a tropical storm on August 3 after being at hurricane strength for a week. Steady weakening continued over the next four days before dissipating in the Central Pacific.


Hurricane Ilsa

Hurricane Ilsa formed on July 31 to the south of the Mexican coast. It gradually strengthened into a tropical storm and a hurricane. Ilsa peaked as a Category 3 hurricane before heading further out to sea and weakening. Hurricane Ilsa dissipated on August 8.


Tropical Storm Jewel

Tropical Storm Jewel formed near Mexico on August 6. Heading out to sea, it strengthened into a tropical storm. It dissipated on August 11.


Tropical Storm Katrina

Katrina was a very small storm. Katrina brushed
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 ...
and made landfall in the Mexican state of Sonora as a tropical storm. It dissipated on August 13. Rain from Katrina's remnants ruined crops, destroyed railroad trestles, and washed away three bridges.


Hurricane Lily

The remnants of Tropical Storm Chloe in the Atlantic formed into Tropical Depression Twelve on August 28. Twelve continued northeast and intensified into a tropical storm and was thus assigned the name Lily. Lily turned northwest.
Rapid intensification Rapid intensification (RI) is any process wherein a tropical cyclone strengthens very dramatically in a short period of time. Tropical cyclone forecasting agencies utilize differing thresholds for designating rapid intensification events, th ...
occurred and Lily developed an eye. Lily peaked with one-minute sustained winds of 85 mph and a pressure of 978mb. Lily made landfall soon after. Once over land, Lily fell below tropical storm intensity. Then the hurricane turned northwest and dissipated soon after.


Hurricane Monica

Monica was a Category 3 hurricane which did not affect land.


Hurricane Nanette

Hurricane Nanette threatened southern Baja California but turned west before making landfall.


Hurricane Olivia

Olivia was a continuation of
Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the Age of Discovery, it was known for se ...
Hurricane Irene Hurricane Irene was a large and destructive tropical cyclone which affected much of the Caribbean and East Coast of the United States during late August 2011. The ninth tropical cyclone naming, named storm, first hurricane, and first major ...
. Olivia eventually strengthened into a Category 3 hurricane before recurving and making landfall in
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 ...
as a depression. The remnants of Olivia continued north into California, where they brought rain.


Hurricane Priscilla

Priscilla made landfall south of
Mazatlán Mazatlán () is a city in the Mexican list of states of Mexico, state of Sinaloa. The city serves as the municipal seat for the surrounding , known as the Mazatlán Municipality. It is located on the Pacific Ocean, Pacific coast across from th ...
as a tropical storm. It had weakened significantly before landfall, having once been a strong Category 3 hurricane. Priscilla destroyed roughly 36,000 acres of corn, tomatoes, peppers, bananas, and cotton, resulting in $3.12 million in losses. Heavy rains inundated 30 towns in Nayarit, damaging roads and two major thoroughfares; road damage totaled $544,000.


Tropical Storm Ramona

Ramona formed on October 28, it quickly strengthened into a tropical storm. It later weakened back to a tropical depression. Before dissipation, it made a sharp turn to the north-northeast. It had dissipated on October 31.


Tropical Storm Sharon

Tropical Storm Sharon was a late season tropical storm that formed a few hundred miles from Mexico on November 25. It slowly strengthened into a minimal tropical storm before unfavorable conditions caused it to dissipate on November 29.


Storm names

The following list of names was used for named storms that formed in the North Pacific Ocean east of 140°W in 1971. This was the same set of names used for the 1967 season. A storm was named Sharon for the first time this year. No names were retired after this season, thus the same list was used again for the 1975 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 1971 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 ...
. Named storms in the table above that crossed into the area during the season are noted (*).


Season effects

This is a table of all of the storms that formed in the 1971 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 1971 USD.


See also

*
List of Pacific hurricanes This is a list of notable Pacific hurricanes, subdivided by reason for notability. Notability means that it has met some criterion or achieved some statistic, or is part of a top ten for some superlative. It includes lists and rankings of Pacific ...
*
Pacific hurricane season 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 ...
*
1971 Atlantic hurricane season The 1971 Atlantic hurricane season was an active Atlantic hurricane season overall, producing 13 tropical cyclone naming, named storms (including a nameable system that went unnamed), of which 6 strengthened into hurricanes. The season official ...
*
1971 Pacific typhoon season The 1971 Pacific typhoon season was an extremely active season that featured the second highest typhoon count on record. It has no official bounds; it ran year-round in 1971, but most tropical cyclones tend to form in the northwestern Pacific Oc ...
*
1971 North Indian Ocean cyclone season The 1971 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 ...
* Australian cyclone seasons: 1970–71, 1971–72 * South Pacific cyclone seasons: 1970–71, 1971–72 * South-West Indian Ocean cyclone seasons: 1970–71, 1971–72


Notes


References


NOAA Monthly Weather Review
accessed November 7, 2005

accessed November 7, 2005
CPHC archive
accessed November 17, 2005


External links


Eastern Pacific Hurricane Season of 1971

CPHC Season Summary

ATCR Eastern Pacific summary (PDF)


{{DEFAULTSORT:1971 Pacific Hurricane Season Pacific hurricane seasons Articles which contain graphical timelines